How to Grow and Care for Peonies (with Pictures) (2024)

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Co-authored byEric McClure

Last Updated: June 18, 2023Approved

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   Purchase peony roots in the early fall before the first frost. Peonies are incredible plants, but they require deep root development before they can bloom. This means that fully-bloomed peonies will die if you plant them without giving the roots time to develop. Purchase peony roots in the fall so that you can plant them in 2-8 weeks before the first frost of the season. This will give the plants plenty of time to settle into the soil.^[1]

   • Peonies actually need a cold winter to grow and bloom. If you plant them in the spring or summer before exposing them to a cold winter, they may never grow.
   • Peonies don’t do well when they’re transplanted to new locations. Take particular care when selecting a location for your flowers so that you get it right the first time.
   • If you live in a slightly warmer part of the world, get tree peonies. They only require 100-300 hours of cold weather a year to adequately grow. You can’t grow peonies where you live if you don’t regularly experience near-freezing temperatures in the winter.^[2]
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   Select a part of your yard or garden that gets at least 6 hours of sunlight a day. Peonies require a lot of direct sunlight to reach maturity. Select a part of your garden that isn’t covered or under shade to ensure that your plants have plenty of access to the sun. Peonies will tolerate a little shade, but putting them under a tree or awning is a surefire way to keep your flowers from blooming. Peonies typically need 6-8 hours of sun a day.

   • You can grow peonies in a pot indoors, but peonies require a lot of sun and a lot room to grow. It is extremely difficult to keep peonies alive in an indoor pot and is not recommended. If you do want to plant peonies indoors, use a pot that is at least 1ft (30cm) deep and 1ft (30cm) wide for each plant.
   • If you’re keeping your flowers indoors, put them next to an east-facing window so that they have adequate exposure to sunlight throughout the day.
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   Avoid planting your peonies near any other trees, flowers, or shrubs. Peony roots will grow deep and wide. These flowers do not like to compete with the roots of other plants. Select a location in your yard where there are no other nearby plants or obstructions. Ideally, there should be no other plant or tree within 3–4ft (0.91–1.22m) of each of your peonies.^[3]

   • If you’re planting peonies that have already begun to bloom or flower, plant them in the early spring to ensure that they fully bloom before winter comes.
   • Don’t stick the peonies in a totally isolated area, though. It’s good to have some shrubs, trees, or buildings nearby to break up the wind and protect your flowers from strong gusts.

   Tip: Peonies can grow in clay or soil. They’re pretty resilient when it comes to the material that they’re growing in. It is much more important that your flowers aren’t competing for resources with other plants in the area, so keep your flowers away from other foliage.

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   Look for a section of your yard with well-draining soil. Peonies do best in well-draining soil. Avoid planting peonies in parts of your yard where water tends to pool or settle. If you’re using your native soil, look for sandy, looser sections of soil. If you don’t have the right type of soil in your yard, buy a well-draining planting soil from your local gardening store and use it to supplement the soil in your yard.^[4]

   • Peonies can do fine in clay soil so long as it isn’t too compacted.
   • A mixture of bark, peat moss, and perlite will create a simple well-draining mix.

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   See Also

   Peonies: How to Grow and Care for the Peony PlantHow Long Do Peonies Take To Bloom? (The Complete Guide) | Flower PursuitsWhen Do Peonies Bloom (And For How Long)?Reblooming peonies – The Peony Society

   Place your holes 3–4ft (0.91–1.22m) apart to give the peonies room. Once you’ve selected an area to plant your flowers, give each plant ample space to keep the roots from competing for resources. If you plant your peonies too close to one another, the roots will fight over water and nutrients, causing at least one of your plants to become underdeveloped.^[5]

   • Giving each root system ample space in your yard or garden is the best way to ensure that your plants grow healthy and strong.
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   Dig each planting hole 1–2ft (0.30–0.61m) into the ground. Use a spade to dig at least 1ft (0.30m) into the ground. Make each individual hole 12–18in (30–46cm) wide. Dig a round hole for each individual plant that you’re putting in your garden.^[6]

   • You can use a shovel or trowel instead of a spade if you prefer. It won’t make a difference.
   • If you’re planting a peony in a pot, use a pot with several drainage holes that is at least 1ft (0.30m) wide and 1ft (0.30m) deep.
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   Add compost and fertilizer to the bottom of each planting hole. Once your holes have been excavated, add a 2–4in (5.1–10.2cm) layer of wood, bark, manure, or organic food waste to each hole. On top of the compost, sprinkle 1/4-1/2 cup (25-50 g) of 10-10-10 flower fertilizer. This will help your roots take hold in the soil as they absorb the nutrients from the compost and fertilizer.^[7]

   • You can use liquid or granular fertilizer. However, some gardeners prefer granular fertilizer for plants and flowers that you plant right before winter.^[8]
   • If you’re planting your peony in a pot, you can put a coffee filter at the base of the pot before filling it to ensure that the compost and fertilizer don’t fall through the drainage holes immediately.
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   Fill each hole halfway with neutral to slightly alkaline soil with a pH of 6-7.5. Regardless of whether you’re using a store-bought soil or your yard’s soil, any soil will work so long as it is well-draining and has a pH balance of 6-7.5. On top of the compost and fertilizer, add enough soil to fill your hole halfway. ^[9]

   Tip: PH refers to the acidity of the soil. You can check a soil’s pH balance by reading the label. If you want to check the pH contents of your garden, get a digital pH reader and insert the probe into the ground to test it.

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   Place your roots on top of the soil with the roots facing down. With your hole filled halfway with soil, place your roots in the center of the hole with the stem facing up. Gently work the individual roots down into the soil. The top of your root should sit 1–2 inches (2.5–5.1cm) below the surface of the hole.^[10]

   • If you put your peonies in backwards with the roots on top, they won’t grow.
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   Add the rest of your soil and work it around the plant to finish. Work the rest of your soil around the sides of the root with your spade or trowel. Continue adding soil until you’ve covered the roots entirely. Then, cover the top of the root with 1–2 inches (2.5–5.1cm) of topsoil.^[11]

   • If your soil is really lose, add 2–3 inches (5.1–7.6cm) instead.
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   Water your plants immediately after planting them to help the soil settle. Once you’ve planted your peonies, water the soil. Spray the planting area with water for 5-10 seconds using a wide-nozzle setting. This will help the soil settle around the roots and ensure that your roots are comfortable.^[12]

   Tip: You do not need to water your peonies over the winter. Begin watering again after you remove the mulch in spring.

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   Mulch your flowers over the winter to protect your plants. A week or 2 before the first freeze of the season, cover your planted peonies with mulch. You can use a commercial mulch if you’d like, but weeds, straw, pine needles, sawdust and grass will work just fine. Cover each of your planting sites with a 4–6in (10–15cm) layer of your preferred mulching material.^[13]

   • While peonies certainly need cold weather to grow, you don’t want the roots themselves to freeze too quickly or for too long. Mulching the soil insulates it and ensures that the soil won’t freeze and thaw repeatedly through the season.
   • Most peonies need around 400-hours of exposure of near-freezing temperatures in the winter to bloom completely in the summer.
   • You do not need to mulch peonies that you’re storing indoors. Indoor peonies do not require as many freezing hours, since their root systems won’t get that big anyway. Keep your pot near a chilly window during the winter months.
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   Remove the mulch once spring arrives and the ground thaws. As spring starts, wait for the temperature to consistently rise above 32°F (0°C). Once it has been above freezing for a few weeks, remove the mulch from your plant. Use a shovel or throw on some thick gloves and scrape it off the top of the soil.^[14]

   • If you accidentally scrape away some of the top soil, go ahead and replace it.
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   Add a low-nitrogen fertilizer to your soil when the stems emerge. Get a fertilizer that is low in nitrogen from your local gardening store. As spring progresses, you’ll soon notice stems sticking out of the ground. When the stems get to be around 2–3 inches (5.1–7.6cm) high, sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons (15-20 g) of fertilizer into the soil and mix it with your top soil by hand or with a trowel.^[15]

   • You may not see any stems emerge from the soil for the first 1-2 years.

   Tip: If you want to produce bigger flowers, clip the bud at the top of the stem as soon as you see it. Removing the top bud will reduce the weight at the top of the plant as it grows, causing the plant to grow wider instead of taller.

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   Water your plants once every other week for the first 2 years. Over the course of the first 2 years, you may not notice much progress with your peonies. Peonies can live over 25 years, but they take a while to get going. During the first 2 years, water your plants every other week to ensure that the soil retains moisture and the roots get some water. Apply a soft stream of water to the top soil for 5-6 seconds when you go to water the rest of your garden.^[16]

   • You do not need to water your peonies in the winter.
   • You can water less frequently once stems begin to grow. If your flower is going to bloom on a given year, you’ll notice the stems in early-to-mid spring.
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   Give peonies water once every 3-4 weeks after the stems grow. Once you notice your flowers growing, water them once every 3-4 weeks. Peonies are pretty easy to care for after the first few years, and it’s particularly hard to starve them of water since their root systems are so efficient. Give them a few seconds of water by spraying around the stem of the plant once your peonies have grown.^[17]

   • Peonies typically bloom around April or May. The blooms may only last a few weeks, but they’ll be back next year!
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   Cut your flowers down to 3in (7.6cm) as the following winter sets in. Once your plants start to wither, you need to trim them down to avoid starving the roots. Grab a set of garden shears a week before the first freeze of the winter season. Cut your flowers down until there are only 3 inches (7.6cm) of stem remaining near the soil. Mulch the soil and repeat the process to ensure that your flowers come back next year.^[18]

   • You can prune your plant to remove dead bulbs if you’d like, but peonies typically don’t require much (if any) pruning.
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   Trim your plants down to the base of the stem if they get ill. The biggest predators when it comes to peonies are blight, rot, and fungus. If you ever notice discolored fungus or dark rot setting into your plants, trim them down to the topsoil and discard the damaged portions of each plant. Wait for a year to allow the winter frost to kill any remnants of the disease.^[19]

   • Peonies tend to be very resilient when it comes to insects and illness. If you ever have a year where your plants seem sickly, the winter will freeze away most of the common offenders and your plants will grow back beautifully next year.
   • You may notice ants feeding on the flowers when they bloom. Don’t worry about the ants, they can’t permanently damage the plant and won’t cause very much trouble—they’re only there for the secretions that come out of the flowers.

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