Bare rooted peonies, i.e. without clod, should ideally be planted in early autumn but spring planting is also a possibility. Pot grown peonies can be planted all year round.
WHEN
Peonies love the sun, which is noticeable because that is where they seem to bloom the best. Full sun, however, is not a must, on the contrary, there are some varieties that prefer somewhat of a shady places. However, if you want to give your peony the best chance to thrive and flourish it should get at least 6 hours of sun a day. If it does not get its daily need of sunlight it will produce a smaller number of flower as well as reducing the size of them. In addition, the risk of fungal diseases is significantly larger.
It is important to choose the location for your new peony with care from the outset. Should you later want to move it, it can fail to thrive for years afterward.
LOCATION
Peonies are very customizable but they'd rather have well-drained, slightly acid soil (pH 6.5-7.0). When planting in heavy clay soil, it is good to use compost or soil mixture for azaleas or rhododendrons, which helps the peony to establish itself easier, in its new environment. Given all the years it will adorn its place on your garden, you may want to give it a great start.
SOIL
PLANTING DEPTH
For optimum satisfaction for both you and your peony it is important that the depth when planting the root is correct. The eyes on the root ball should never be deeper than 5 cm down under the ground. It can feel strange to have the roots so close to the surface but these flowers really need to get the feel of winter chill to reach dormancy so that they, when spring comes, can produce new and healthy buds.
SPACE
Give the peony enough space to be able to grow freely, especially if you have or plan to have more peonies together. These wonderful plants are particularly prone to develop grey mold if they get planted to densely which would deny free air flow. Worth bearing in mind is that tree peonies easily become a bit bushy and want to have at least 1 meter to grow freely in all directions.
Dig a pit about 30 cm and bottom with a layer of compost or manure, then bring in well drained and nutrient rich soil. It is important to remember that the roots do not want to be planted too deep, if this happens, they don't bloom.
The eyes should not be deeper than 5 cm under the soil.
HOW
By fertilizing with Algomin and woodash your peony will lusher even more blooms the following year. Be careful not to give too much manure as this can lead to burns on the plant. Use cow or perennial manure in spring. Extra lime in the soil is a big plus.
MANURE
Peonies are very easy care plants but they might need support to be able to carry the big and heavy flowers, because the stems can only do so much.
The best way to go is to in early spring give it a squared perennial support so that the shots can then grow up, in a natural way.
PLANTING SUPPORT
Cover the plant the first winters when the plant is still young. It is good to use peat or fir branches. In the spring, watering it a little, especially if it's been dry, is a good way to avoid dried buds. When the plant has established itself it won’t need to be covered over and is now faithful and will become very old.
WINTERIZATION
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