There’s something magical about a garden filled with peonies. Their lush, romantic blooms are the stuff of floral dream! And the best part? Once established, peonies can thrive for decades with minimal fuss.
Whether you’ve just fallen in love with these timeless flowers, or you’re looking to give your existing peony patch a boost, these essential tips will help you grow healthy, abundant blooms year after year.
🌸 How to Grow Thriving Peonies 🌸
1. Pick the Perfect Spot
Peonies love full sun, soaking up 6–8 hours a day. They also appreciate good airflow and a bit of shelter from strong winds. Avoid planting them under trees or too close to competing roots. (However, if you want to stager the growing season of your peonies on your property consider planting some in direct full sun, and some in areas that don’t get a lot of the high afternoon sun. This planting trick will allow you to grow and harvest blooms two weeks longer than those who only plant in direct sunshine.)
2. Plant at the Right Depth
This is the golden rule: if you’re growing herbaceous peonies, don’t plant the eyes (buds) more than 1–2 inches below the soil. Any deeper, and they may never bloom. (Finally, a time when being shallow is totally the right move.) 😉
3. Give Them Space
Peonies aren’t fans of crowding. Allow about 3–4 feet between plants so their roots can breathe and their blooms can shine.
4. Water Wisely
Water deeply after planting and during long dry spells, especially in your first year of planting peonies. Be careful though because peonies don’t like “soggy feet”, so make sure their soil also drains well.
5. Feed Gently
In early spring, when the gorgeous red shoots of your spring peony start emerging from the earth, feed your peonies with compost or a balanced fertilizer. Keep nitrogen levels low to avoid excessive foliage at the expense of blooms.
6. Support Their Beauty
Big peony blooms can get heavy, especially after rain. Install a peony ring or plant support early in the season so your flowers don’t flop when they grow fast and furiously during mid May (in zone 5 in Southern Ontario )
7. Deadhead and Clean Up
When your peony flowers have bloomed and dried up, snip off spent blooms to keep things tidy and redirect energy to their roots. In the fall, cut back the foliage after frost to keep any diseases at bay.
8. Be Patient
Peonies might take 2–3 years to establish, but once they have strong roots, they’ll reward you with armfuls of blooms every spring. Some can even bloom for decades!
9. Divide When Needed
Peonies don’t like being moved, but if you must divide or transplant, do it in the fall, keeping the root system as intact as possible. (Personally, I have transplanted peonies into a shaded area of our property so I can have later peony blooms and their roots took two years to establish and three to get its first flower.)
10. Don’t Fear the Ants
You might see ants crawling all over your bud, but they’re harmless and just love the sweet nectar from the peony flower. (There’s a myth that ants are needed to help peony buds open, but this isn’t true. The buds will open all on their own, the ants are just freeloaders enjoying a sugary treat!Let them do their thing!)
If you’ve ever dreamt about growing a garden that looks like it belongs on a vintage postcard or in a Nancy Meyers film (with that soft, timeless charm), peonies are the flower for you!
With a bit of care, and a lot of patience, you’ll be rewarded with showstopping blooms that return faithfully every year.
Do you have questions about your peony patch? Drop them in the comments. I’d love to help you grow something beautiful.
