PEONIES

hi Harli, i don't have huge amounts of experience growing them, but i bought some last year, that did'nt flower, they come up nice and green but no flowers, i have since been told that this could be because they are planted too deep - apparently they need to be just below the level of the soil. the other reason is, they dont like too much disturbance so newly planted or divided ones can come up blind for a year or two until they get established. my neighbour has some beautiful clumps that she does nothing with - that have masses of buds on already, - mine look as though they are going to be blind again this year, but then again i replanted them closer to the surface, so they have been disturbed. so i think the key with them is less is more, and when you put them in don't plant too deep! - good luck, hope you have more success with them tham i have so far!

The best thing is to buy them in pots from a reputable Nursery/Garden Centre so that they get minimal disturbance - then as majeeka said, don't plant too deeply. In our area we have Kelways Nursery who hold the National Collection - in catalogues you will find their name in front of varieties e.g. 'Kelway's Beauty' etc. They sell theirs as bare roots from orders, arriving in November! However, they and I wouldn't expect them to flower for a few years from bare rooted plants. I know which I would go for - Good luck!

True, they do take their time before flowering but the wait is [u]so[/u] worth while.
I planted one beside my front door when I first moved into my present home and it was three years before it flowered. Sadly I had to disturb it again last year to remove a rather determined perennial weed which had encircled it, so I am not expecting it to flower this year but I am looking forward to its beautiful flowers next year, maybe.