My Peonies Won't Bloom!

We spent 4 years in Kalamazoo, Michigan---moving back home 3 years ago. Before we left, I dug up one of the Peonies that was in our front yard there (we bought the house we were in while there, and I replaced it with a rose bush!). Almost all of my plants in my gardens are Native to Northern Michigan, but I love Peonies and really want to grow one! Last year it didn't bloom at all, this year there is one big, beautiful bloom, but no promise of any more...what did I do wrong? Can I transplant it to another part of my yard and try again without killing it--and when and how do I transplant it? Any help would be much appreciated!!

If it grows well, but just doesn't bloom, it sounds like it could be planted too deeply. The peony tuber needs to be planted very shallowly in the ground, just barely covering the corm. You may need to mulch it well for winter, although they are very hardy. The best time to transplant them is when they've gone dormant. Our happiest peony bushes get morning sun and late afternoon sun, though they're full-sun plants.

Here's information from Michigan State U. about them: http://www.msue.msu.edu/berrien/homehort/lgsum02.html#success

This message was edited Wednesday, Jun 25th 4:30 PM

Bet you planted it too deep. The eyes should be 1-inch below the soil. If they're too deep they won't bloom. Fall is the time to dig peonies so I'd wait until then to move it.

I wouldn't touch that Peony if it were me.I divided and transplanted a beautiful deep red peony 2 years ago. It was not too deep since I mounded it and mulched it heavily. This spring it produced 2 big blooms and that will be the show for this year. Peonies resent being disturbed. Hang in there it will come around.

Agree, they really resent transplanting. I do not know about mulching though, it is important that they freeze, and they are very hardy; that is the whole point about planting so shallow. As it has now bloomed, I think it is just getting re-established, and there will be a good show next year. A little top dressing of composted, dried, manure (about 1 cup) may help.

The mulching is beneficial in keeping them from heaving out of the soil during hard freezes, though. True, if it is blooming, even one bloom, maybe it ought to be given a reprieve from being moved just yet.

GW, you are absolutely right about heaving. I do have to keep an eye especially on the iris and gently push them back in. Mine also get morning sun and are happy. My neighbor has his planted in late afternoon blazing sun and his do fine also! John

Would it be posssible to gently lift them up with a fork??



"eyes"

Yes, so they do not even know they have been moved... good idea. I'd wait until they foliage dies down in the fall to do that.

Thanks so much for all the advice. Any chance I could dig the soil out from around the base of the plant so it wouldn't be buried so deep? I was thinking of the manure, so I will do that for sure. Eyesoftexas, do you mean lift the whole plant but not transplant her again? Just lift her a little higher above ground level? Seems like that wuld sure be less of a shock than moving her....I was thinking that wouldn't be good.....Thanks again all!

Hey John, I have been meaning to ask you, if and when I am suppose to cut the foliage back on my peonies?? One of them even has a seed head on it, should I cut that off so that it doesn't take away from the mother plant? Should I have already cut the foliage back or should it be done right before frost? I know I know sooo many questions here and this isn't even my thread LOL Sorry Sierrawoman didn't mean to take over your thread.

People around cut them back when the foliage starts to fade, usually toward fall, but we've cut ours back in mid-summer and they've come back fine.

MOLLYBEE, yes, the seedheads should be cut off! The foliage will turn color in the autumn, and when it has browned it should be cut off so that disease will not overwinter in the dead leaves. I left one seedhead on, on purpose, on a new single peony with huge lavender flowers. Want to see if I can get the seeds to germinate, and the seedlings to bloom.

Then I will go out first thing in the a/m and pull that seedpod off. Thanks ya'll!
Now John, if ya get them to sprout....you know who wants one LOL

They are difficult and patience is required. I am so thrilled you actually got a bloom the first year MOLLYBEE!

O meee tooooo! I couldn't be more happy about it! I just can't wait to see what next year brings!

Hi MOLLYBEE,
Good grief---don't worry! Actually I am grateful for any and all questions and advice about Peonies...It has been a while since I have logged on. I really want to learn more about this plant and how to nurture and grow them properly! How far should they be cut back in the fall?

John should be able to answer that question. I hope he comes along shortly and gives us both an update! Because it wont be long til we all have to cut them back for the winter.

Don't mean to butt in but since John hasn't sent anything maybe i can help. Have been growing peonies for 60 years (whoops, does that tell you something). I always wait until the foliage turns color then cut as close as possible to the ground level, being sure not to cut into the fat buds that are next years growth. As someone else said be sure when planting not to plant too deep, and they do resent being moved. When i moved here from my other place I dug out a piece of Red Charm, and moved it, it sulked for three years but now this spring was beautiful. I have about 12 or 15 herbacious (sp) peonies and 7 or 8 tree peonies. I just have one complaint, the blooms last such a short time. Donna

Thanks Donna, I can use all the help I can get as this was my first year to have a peony.
John sent me a Raspberry Sundae Peony for my Birthday last year and it had the prettiest bloom on it this past spring!
So yes I needed to know alot of info on them so I will know how to tend to them come fall/winter.

I cut mine down as soon as the first frost "melts" them. I cut them to ground level, and carefully remove all the stalks and leaves to my compost pile (the compost doesn't ever end up back on the peonies) to try to prevent the botrytis cycle from taking hold.

A bit of new knowledge for you John when you do come back:

I was reading a book on propagation, and it claimed that peony seeds can be fresh sprouted, rather than having to plant them and go through the double-dormancy required. It can eliminate two years of wait for new blooms :)

I haven't tried yet, but I plan to! I was so good and dead-headed all my peonies this year.

If you are anxious to get started you can lift your peonies now... It is getting closer to fall. I am going to have mine dug and divided later this week.

Hi Lupinelover,
What's the best way to divide them? I'm wondering if I should wait a year or two since it's only been three years since I transplanted it here. When's the best time to plant new bushes---fall or spring? I want to put some other colors in. Thanks for all the help all!

Sierrawoman, make sure there are 2-3 eyes per division. You don't have to divide them now, but definitely you can safely lift them now.

Cut off the foliage before you start to make it easier. With mine, about 6" of stem is left on to make it easier to get a good grip on the things, but all the floppy stems just get in the way.

After you have finished dividing or replanting, cut the stems down even lower. That long a stem is just an invitation for the wind to rock them loose or for pests to enter. Mine usually are 1" or even less.

New stems will grow next year. You may lose another year of flowering, but they should be a lot healthier if they are lifted up.

With mine, I prepare the new site a week or more in advance. Lots and lots and lots of organic matter is dug in, allowed to set for a while. Then when the plants are dug, just enough soil is scraped off the top to allow the root-mass entry. BARELY cover the thing when re-planting it. If you are really concerned about winter damage, go ahead and pile mulch on them, but make sure you remove it by early March (or when the snow melts). But peonies are really bone-hardy; they survive -20 with no problems, and probably much colder than that!

Gently handle those roots; they are large and fragile. Root-damage is the reason they usually suffer transplant shock. If one does get broken, make a clean cut higher up, then dust it with sulfur or another fungicide before replanting. Good books always recommend using a fork rather than a shovel to dig these. (I don't own a fork, I just have a very careful transplant helper!)

THANK YOU.. THANK YOU.. THANK YOU!!!

Sierrawoman, let us know how it goes!

I may have missed this in the above info - but be sure you don't use a pesticide on your peonies. The ants are necessary to the plant's bloom. They eat off the wax that prevents the buds from opening.

yep, them ants are good for something aren't they? LOL

I've got a peony that was here when we moved into the house in 1985. It bloomed well for a couple of years and then started having fewer and fewer buds. Most of the buds it does have dry up. This year, there were no buds or blooms.

Can someone tell me if it's just getting too old, or if there is something I can do to help it? It gets about 4-5 hours of sun in the summer.

Thanks, Sue

Hi Sue :)

As with sierrawoman, it sounds as though yours has just sunk too low into the ground. Anytime between now and the time your ground freezes (if it does) would be great to dig it up, add a huge amount of compost to the soil and re-plant it. Make sure that after the ground has been firmed around it, that it isn't buried too deep. You may also want to add some sulphur or other fungicide to the ground -- it sounds as though yours has botyrus which is causing the buds to blacken and fall.

You can divide it at the same time, if you want. Make sure that when you are finished, the buds are just slightly below the level of the ground. If you are concerned about heaving, you can mulch it the first winter, but make sure you remove all the mulch before it breaks through in the spring.

Be gentle when you dig it up; the roots are fragile and very large and fleshy. Divisions should have at least 3-4 buds each.

Best luck! Let us know how it goes!

Greetings HoneyGirl,
Nope, no pesticides....I use fertilizers only very sparingly, only on my two rose bushes, usually only once or twice a year. Actually I think watching the ants is really fascinating! I see that some people say they are not very resistant to being disturbed. I would like to divide them as Lupinelover suggests. And I need to lift it soon, too....I guess I am paralyzed with fear--- I love my Peony and don't wish to kill it!!

Sierrawoman, please don't be afraid. Digging/dividing/transplanting peonies won't kill them! At the worst, they will skip blooming for a year or two. Peonies are incredibly tough!

Rejuvenating them by amending the soil, dividing them, will make them better than ever!