Peonies

darren hansen 134 · February 2023

Have just planted a few peonies and one is like this... have had someone say it is gd.. but just wanted to make sure

KeenOnGreen · February 2023

It seems very early for them to be shooting. It is also very pale, have you had it covered up with something, as it looks like it has been forced?

They mustn't be planted too deep, otherwise they don't flower. The maximum you want the crown to be below the surface is about 2 inches. We prefer to have our crowns just visible, at ground level.

Has it successfully flowered for you before?

darren hansen 134 · February 2023

This is first year for them.. have just planted 3

KeenOnGreen · February 2023

If you planted them deeper than 2 inches, then I recommend you plant at a more shallow depth. Make sure they are also somewhere where they will get as much sun as possible, and are not shaded out by other plants. We are due a cold snap over the next few days, so I would wait until that has passed, if you do need to replant them.

Ideally it would have been better to wait until Spring before planting them, but as you have already done so, you'll have to hope that any frosts don't shock them.

Whatever you do, I would maybe give them a mulch with bark chips, or something else, just to give them some protection. However, make sure this doesn't cover the crown, where the growing shoots will emerge from.

JennyJ · February 2023

Were they bought in pots, or dry bare-root, maybe in plastic/card packaging like Wilko and suchlike sell them? That looks like the kind of shoot that grows when bare-root perennials start shooting in the dark.

darren hansen 134 · February 2023

Got from Wilko and homebase

Fairygirl · February 2023

I wouldn't have planted those out just now - it would have been better to pot them up.
The ground looks very wet too.
As @JennyJ says - those shoots are what happens when a plant is essentially 'forced' because they've been in warmer conditions. The plastic contributes to that too.
Most peonies, regardless of location, wouldn't be at that stage, even with milder conditions.
I'd be inclined to lift those and pot them up - just in any compost will be fine, and keep them somewhere sheltered for another month or so. Then gradually acclimatise them for planting out. They need decent drainage and a sunny site.
Mine are always planted with the crown slightly proud of the soil to counteract the wet, but it's important to keep them quite near the soil surface for the reasons @KeenOnGreen describes.

JennyJ · February 2023

I agree, better potted up until they've made some good green growth and the roots have got to the edges of the pot (not pot-bound, just so that they make a nice root ball).

Don't be too disappointed if they don't do much this year in terms of flowering - those bare-root ones sold in packets always look like little divisions to me. They need to build up the roots and crowns.

Fairygirl · February 2023

JennyJ said:

Don't be too disappointed if they don't do much this year in terms of flowering - those bare-root ones sold in packets always look like little divisions to me. They need to build up the roots and crowns.

Totally agree

darren hansen 134 · February 2023

Would they be ok in a single pot..I have 3..and placed in this...or have them indoors

JennyJ · February 2023

They'll be fine in individual pots, big enough to fit the roots in but not so big that there's lots of extra compost. I think they'll be better in the mini-greenhouse than in the house.

Peonies

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