Planting Peonies
Peony Root
Peonies are one of my favorite spring flowers, they are fragrant and their large blousy blooms are truly a showstopper! Now I’ve planted one or two peonies bushes back in Denver, but I’ve never planted more than that until this year!
My cutting garden research confirmed that people will pay good money for a bouquet of peonies. They will buy said arrangement even if the bouquet only includes one or two of these stunning flowers! Armed with this knowledge, I decided one of the flower beds in my cutting garden would be dedicated to growing Peonies. Of course, when it came time to order the Peony root(s), I also discovered that they were insanely expensive, especially if you are growing them in bulk! So, I dialed back my original plan and only order twelve roots, versus the 24 I was originally going to plant.
I ordered them from Eden Brothers online store. It was more economical to order collections, so I decided on six roots from the Romantic Mix collection and six from the Bridal bouquet. The combined collections will give me a range of colors from white, to soft and hot pink, to a salmon color and a quiet pink with a soft yellow center. I placed my order in December of 2025, and they arrived mid-March 2026.
Peonies are a Perennial flower which means you plant them once and then you don’t have to do it again! My cutting garden is approximately half perennials and half annuals. If I could have gone all perennials I would have in a heartbeat as they are a huge time savor in the garden. However, I also love flowers like Zinnias, Queen Ann’s Lace and Snapdragons so I had to include annuals as well. That said Queen Ann’s Lace and Snapdragons self-seed so in a way they are like perennials. But I digress…
Peonies typically bloom in late spring to early summer. This means I probably won’t have a crop this year, and probably not next year either, except perhaps one or two blooms. Unlike the potted Peonies plants you buy in the garden store, it takes time for the roots to get established.
To say I learn everything the hard way is probably an understatement, but it is true! When my roots arrived (in March) my first concern was that it was too cold to plant. Usually, it is recommended that you wait until the last “killing” frost to plant anything, and that is typically around Mother’s Day. So, for a moment I was completely freaking out until I read in the instructions that came with the roots, what a concept. It said, Eden Brothers took into consideration where I was located and what our zone was when they shipped the roots. Colorado is zone 7, however Palisade is unique in its weather and temperatures when it comes to climate, much warmer than other parts of the state. I too them at their word and planted my roots.
It should be noted here that most of Palisade’s agriculture is watered via canal water and this year they are not turning on the canal water until April 1st. So being the genius I thought I was (not so genius it turns out), after I dug my hole, I saturated it with water from the garden hose to ensure the ground was well watered before I planted. Turns out that was absolutely NOT the thing to do! Sure, tell me that now… Peonies do not like wet roots! While I wanted for the soil to absorb the water, I read through the rest of the planting instructions to ensure that I avoided any more “oh shit” moments.
When planting more than one peony root, you should space them approximately three feet apart to allow enough room for them to grow. Peonies bulbs (roots) should be planted face up with the buds positioned upward. Digg a hole about eight inches across and twelve inches wide with the soil about two inches above the buds. Any deeper and the buds may not be able to grow out of the soil. After planting generously water the plants taking care to really soak the soil.
Foliage will appear in the spring and will be easily identified because of the bright red or pink color. The sprouts will grow and change to green as they mature. Flower buds will follow although buds don’t always form the first spring. The first year the roots will produce two to five leaves and maybe one or two flowers. The plant will continue to grow each year and by the fourth or fifth year it will be fully established. So, planting Peonies from roots is a long game and patience is key!
Peonies love sun so as far as locations go, find a spot that is in full sun, and you will achieve the best results. This could explain why the Peonies that line the walkway to the front of our house are not thriving… some previous owner clearly was not a keen gardener as our walkway is shaded by all our very mature and very tall Pecan trees! At some point I plan to relocate them to a sunnier location, the Peonies not the Pecan trees! But for now, they will stay in their current location, and I will continue to plant out the Cutting garden. Next up… Ranunculus!
