peonies

I have just moved to Council, Idaho from Santa Barbara, CA. Needless to say, the gardening is so different! I always wanted to grow peonies but it was impossible in CA because of the warm temperatures. Now, the house I bought in Idaho has at least 9 plants but most are in the shade and have not bloomed since I have been here (April of this year). My question: Do I transplant them to sunny areas and when?...now or in the spring. I dearly want to have them prosper but I find it is almost impossible to get any information on their care. Would someone help with advice or guidance...I would be most grateful.

Typist

Hi - what a change of climate for you!
Peonies: transplant them now, to sunny areas. I have previously dug mine in the middle of December, as well as
in august. They did fine, but I think Autumn is best.
Dig the holes wider than you think you'll need & make sure they're deep enough. I prepare the holes first, so the Peonies go out of the old spot & into the new quickly; the less time it takes, the better.
I water them real well & use B12 in the final dousing. I have some clumps that are very old & they have transplanted just fine. Katye

All very true. My two cents is this: get as big a rootball as you possibly can so the roots are disturbed as little as possible. Then make sure you don't plant them too deeply or they won't bloom for you. Make the growing eyes no more than 1 inch underneath the surface. The B12 is a really good thing to have on hand. Messing with the roots too much might make them sulk for a year before blooming.

I agree with all that has been said, but here we always make sure that the eyes are never covered (I would say to plant either flat with the surrounding soil, or even a couple cm proud). That may be the problem with why they haven't blossomed - we never mulch over a peony, and these may have gotten covered. I wonder if it would be worth leaving one in the shady spot and just clear back the covering soil (very gently) to see if it will make any difference. Mine grow just as well in a woodland setting as they do in the bright hot cutting bed. But that is England for you, and I suspect your winter is colder with that landmass of Canada sitting above you.

Many years back I had dug up quite a number of Peony clumps - One was overlooked as it was behind a shrub.
Even though it sat above the ground for 2 springs, it did flower! I was stunned that it managed a few flowers considering all that it had to endure.

Yes, I don't mulch at all over peonies either, and when I plant, the growth shoots are always poking above the soil. I didn't really make that clear in my post. By the 'eyes', I mean the point at which the growth begins. I make sure that these are no more than 1 inch below the surface. Most of mine are growing in full sun. I do have some in partial shade and they bloom, but not as profusely. I love the foliage even after the flowers are gone.

Katye, your post gives me hope! I dug up a very large peony root last fall and put it in the garage with some lillies and forgot about it. All the lillies are completely dried out and I though for sure I was going to have to toss the whole lot. But I think now I'll take a chance on putting it in the ground. Maybe the lilies are okay too!

I had a large peony clump sit in my concrete driveway all last winter (I took it out of the pot it was absolutely packed into - like cement - and left the poor thing sitting there) - and was still so alive this summer I divided it into a number of plants. I neglected to keep some of them as well watered as they would have liked, but I think most of them survived. Pretty resilient plant!

Murmur - I'm happy to know that i'm in good company with others who practice above-ground survival tactics for Peonies!
Renwings, I soaked the clump well at planting time (you know - when they actually made it INTO the ground!) and had no problems. The clump was not noticeably smaller the next year, nor were the flowers.

Katye & Renwings, confession is so good for the soul - after your brave admissions, I felt compelled to share my story of neglect for my poor peony!! I do hope they all survive my additional neglect this summer and come back next year to surprise me!

In the meantime, one of my dd's sent me four "scented" peonies from Jackson & Perkins. I immediate got them into pots (can't put them in the ground as I have no idea where to put them yet) so for once didn't let something sit for too long!!!

I am so amazed! After all the research and "digging" I had no idea there was such a plethera of advice at my fingertips. My thanks to all of you for your time and generous help..I will keep you informed of my results.

I love that word..."plethera".... LOL

Yep. You'll find everything you need right here! We'll want photos next spring! Good luck!