Tips for Having Beautiful Peonies

The peony is just about the longest-living perennial
plant you will ever see. There are two basic types of
peonies - the herbaceous types and the tree peony.

It would be best to plant peonies at the back of
flower borders as they are large plants. In the
spring, the peonies have attractive ferny foliage and
the beautiful blooms are usually produced in May.

Peonies best thrive in a place that receives at least
half a day to a full day of sunshine. If the climate
is very hot, then provide some afternoon shade for
these plants.

The best time to plant the peony is the early fall but
early spring plantings do well also. Make sure to
prepare the site well. Dig an oversized hole and make
sure that you fill some of it with compost.

The secret of having a successful peony is this: Make
sure that the tuber is positioned so that the eyes
which are located on the crown are covered with about
two inches of soil.

Peonies are picky - they do not like to be planted
very deeply. If your peonies have stopped producing
flowers after a few years, then you should see if
perhaps they have sunken too low in their bed. Perhaps
they have had too much soil sitting on top of them.

If your peonies seem to flop over by mid-summer, then
it would be a good idea to stake them. When you go to
cut your flowers, clip them when the buds are just
beginning to unfurl. Once they are put in water, the
blooms will quickly open and will last for about a
week indoors.