Peonies Help Needed

[Doug in Alaska]

Two years ago I had to remove two peonies after having them for almost 25 years. They were in an area between the front sidewalk and the house. They were beautiful for many years but finally stopped doing well. Last year I planted replacement peonies I bought from a local greenhouse and they didn't do very well either. Only one of the two came up this spring and it looks very small. I have tiger lilies in this same garden and they do very well. Is it possible that the 25 year old peonies finally depleted the soil in this area? I've heard bone meal is good when planting peonies but couldn't find any when I put the new plants in. Any ideas on how to get peonies to grow again in this area.
Thanks

 

[Flower4Yeshua]

hey doug nice ot see ya ...when you planted them you couldhave added organic material and compost...I assume oyu have good drainage as the others did so well for so many years...you could add a good plant food (10-6-4), bone meal or superphosphate to feed them...but now that they are planted to feed them ...if I remember correctly...work in a low nitrogen fertilizer ...5-10-10 when the stems are only about 2 to 3 inches high....if you soil is high in nitrogen...then you get tiny stems and week blooms...with mine I work in a bit of ash form the wood stove when they are coming up...being careful of the roots of course...I also use some leaf and clippings to mulch them...straw works well also......also remove /deadhead as soon as flower is dead...as if you allow them to go to seed it will effect the following years growth and bloom..hope this helps a bit
Vegemm :0)

 

[Doug in Alaska]

Thanks much for the advice, I'll give it a try. I may have to start all over next year with new plants. Peonies do very, very well here in Alaska so I thought it odd to have problems. Thought maybe my green thumb was going to heck the same as my back, eye sight, hearing, etc....

 

[Maggie]

Hope you didn't replant them to deep. It took mine 3 years to bloom after I moved them. They would have buds but then dry up without blooming. Now they are blooming so pretty.

 

[Flower4Yeshua]

they do that when you replant...

 

[RonsGarden]

Hey Doug, nice to see you!
General rule:
The red bud on the crowns should be no deeper then 2 inches below the soil surface!
The life expectancy of a clump of peonies is well over 100yrs!
The only problem is that the plant will cover a sizeable area after all that time!

 

[Kya D]

The only time I replanted peonies was a couple of years ago. I dug them from a neighbors yard and they bloomed the next spring.
They were old established ones so I guess they just wanted to be beautiful for me.