Peony Advice

[ThursdayLastWeek]

I have two peony plants, planted from bare roots each in its own pot (I don’t have beds to put them in).

Last year both flowered, modestly, as it was their first year but big blousy beautiful flowers!

This year however one of them appears to have just stopped growing! The pink one had two lovely healthy buds that will flower soon - the other one is just foliage at half the height 🤨

Do any experienced gardeners have any insight or tips??

The smaller one looks pretty healthy TBH, it just looks like it gave up growing a few weeks ago.

They're treated equally I promise

No help but I have a similar problem so am bumping your question for purely selfish reasons 😁. Two plants, same variety, similar size pots, although one pot is a little smaller, planted at the same time. The one in the slightly bigger pot grows up big and bushy with multiple flowers, the other is spindly and only has one flower.

While the pots are slightly different sizes, both are plenty big for the plant and, like @ThursdayLastWeek , I treat them the same.

I've got a bunch of them that have somehow managed to grow under a bush and the blooms last year were amazing (no idea how they got there). They started to grow again this year, my dh trimmed the hedge and has chopped them down not realising I'm gutted.

Has also mowed all my bluebells before they flowered in the lawn too - I'm going to ban him from any form of gardening

Oh no. You need to keep all garden tools hidden on him.

I cut them back almost to the ground in Autumn. Did you prune yours back? Otherwise I notice if they haven't had fertiliser, they grow, but don't flower much.

Don’t plant them deeply, the tubers should be barely covered with soil.

Grounds to LTB???

Yes, tidied up in the autumn, both pots left in the same location.

I probably didn’t fertilize them as early as I should have but that is true of both plants and I’m not sure it explains the difference. The foliage has literally just stopped getting bigger/taller.

Following to find out if there are any ideas. Ours usually has loads of flowers. This year, the plant looks healthy but there are only two. I'll follow your advice @fuzzwuss

I would understand this is they hadn’t performed last year, but this is summer number two for both plants.

Is there a difference in the location of the pots and how much sun they get, the peonies in my south facing border flower much more than those in the shady north facing border.

Does the foliage look healthy on the one that hasn't produced flowers? Could there be a pest eating its roots? Or has a small animal died in the pot and you haven't noticed (don't ask me how I know this can be a problem)?

Peonies are greedy feeders, and they are not great in pots unless the sort of very large heavy glazed ceramic pots you see in Chinese illustrations ( the glazing help to keep the roots cool and moist. ) They are essentially plants of light woodland, lots of leaf mould, not too much scorching sun, not too dark.

so : biggest pot you can manage, preferably heavy glazed ceramic, not direct sunlight at noon, regular water, regular feeding, top dressed every year.

It sounds very faddy , but once you have it right, they are easy and reliable.

I think they may be outgrowing the pots and the nutrition in them - they are big plants. As @Allthegoodnamesarechosen says...you need a big pot now they are establishing themselves.

Ah, I guess I know what the problem with mine is. I was wrong initially - it's the one in the bigger pot that is doing poorly. However, that pot is unglazed whereas the one doing well is in a glazed pot.

Yes, I think this is what makes the most sense - I always knew having them in pots wasn’t ideal but it’s the only option I have I I figured it was worth a punt.

I will enjoy this years few blooms and try and source either some bigger pots or donate them to someone with more space than me.

Thanks all

Ooh I didn't prune mine back at all and they're doing really well.
I just left them with last years leaves on them. I have about 9 flowers waiting to bloom.
Should I cut them back after flowering or autumn time? ( or not at all as they seem to be doing well)

I also didn't prune mine back and they've gone a bit mad this year. Usually get about 3 blooms.

I’ve not done anything with this one for years, not entirely sure why it’s quite so happy

ARE peonies greedy feeders?

I always thought I heard/read about them being surprisingly low needs in terms of fertiliser - and maybe better with less than more.

I've always had success with peonies by doing bugger all with them, just removing the dead stalks in the spring.

Another one here thinking peonies are very low needs in terms of feeding. Mine come back year after year with bugger all effort.

Peonies will live for decades or more once established, getting bigger over time. However, they are sulky and slow to establish. You have to leave them to their own devices and ignore them. It can take years to get them properly going year after year.

Peonies are hardy where I grew up (Canada, -30 in the winter, short summer) so they don’t need protection or special treatment, but what they need is time.

I’ve never tried growing them in pots. They are pest free (other than ants but that doesn’t affect them) and they are very hardy, so I would imagine given how slowly they establish, you would be much better off planting them in a sunny or part shaded border.

That's an absolute beauty @ohfourfoxache have you got its name to hand?

@newnamethanks when I bought it the label said Shirley Temple….but it’s definitely not Shirley Temple!

Thank you. I make a point of visiting gardens with peony collections at this time of year so I'll keep an eye out for that one and see if I can name it. I love a coral peony, the way they change colour fascinates me.

Think it may be Coral Sunset.