When to Plant Peony Roots (and How Long Until They Bloom?)
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Smitten with peonies?? Welcome to the club💛 This is the first of several blogs I'm sending out to help you get the very most out of your peonies! One of the first questions you might ask is...
When should I plant my peonies?
Because peonies bloom in late spring and early summer, fall is the very best time to plant peony roots. This allows them the most amount of time to get established and soak up nutrients before it’s time to break their dormancy and send up their shoots.
When should I transplant my peonies?
Fall is the ideal time to transplant your peonies. Just be aware that a transplanted peony will sometimes not bloom the next season as they can take a while to re-establish. I often describe peonies as temperamental cats that hold a grudge…if you disturb them from their favorite spot, they can stay mad at you for a while. 🐈 The less you disturb the roots the quicker they'll re-establish.
How long until my peony plant blooms?
This depends on a couple of factors.
The first is how big the peony roots are and how many eyes the peony root has. A smaller size peony root (2/3) will hardly ever bloom the first year, whereas a large peony root (5/7) often will.
The other factor is the time of year it’s planted. Fall planted roots have 6-8 months to send out feeder roots (little white “hairs” that are coming off the main root that help feed the plant) before they’ll be required to start up in the spring. This means that if you were to plant the same size root in fall (instead of spring), it will have a better chance of getting established and sending up a bloom the first year. When bare roots are planted in spring, they don’t have the chance to start to form substantial feeder roots, which means they will send up less their first year compared to a fall planted peony.
Note: This applies only to peony bare roots (which is what we sell) and not to potted peony plants, like the ones you might find in a nursery. If you purchase a peony growing in a pot just be careful to not disturb the soil around the root system at time of planting. The less disturbed it is the happier it will be:)
Can I plant peonies at other times of the year?
Absolutely! You can plant peony roots any time of the year that the soil is workable. Just make sure that the root doesn't dry out if you are planting in spring or summer.
Ready to plant?
We've just added more varieties than we've ever offered before in the shop and are so excited for you to check them out!