Peonies in my June Garden

by Doug
(in his garden)

The tulips are pretty much over for this year except for one clump of late ones that somehow crept into the garden. They need pruning and the garden needs its first weeding so you can picture me out there this week doing these housekeeping jobs.

The mulch is working nicely keeping most weeds down but given this is the first year of this garden being turned from grass to garden,

I expect to see a few perennial weeds come back. The old armstrong weed system goes into play this week. I pulled a few this morning to get into the mood (I have to work up to this amount of work) and put half of them in the composter and half right back down onto the mulch to rot there.

Mind you, I did hide the weeds behind some plants so you can’t see dead weeds in the garden but I figure there’s nothing wrong with letting the weeds do a little double duty of mulching the good plants while they rot down to enrich the garden.

The peonies are in mid-bloom now. The early species peonies are pretty much finished off while the yellow Japanese-type with its single blossom style is looking fantastic. I do like this plant and I think it’s going to have to be moved into another spot where I can see it better.

Right now, it’s tucked into the back of the garden and I”m thinking mid-way would be better. That’s the advantage of perennial plants, they can be moved around until you’re happy with plant combinations and the look of your garden.

And with peonies, remember they like to be moved in the fall. Not only that but they don’t like to be buried too deeply or they won’t be enthusiastic about blooming.

If you have a peony that isn’t blooming, then generally either the light levels have changed because a shrub or tree grew up to block the light (move the plant) or the plant is too deeply buried.

The trick for being too deeply buried and low bloom production is to dig the peony root up in the fall and replant at the correct depth. I like to have the eyes (the red pointy parts) at or “just” below the soil line. Bury these points too deeply and you’re never going to see blooms on this plant even though you’re getting a ton of leaf growth.

Some perennials stop blooming after a few years and want to be dug and divided, but a peony is generally good for 20 years on one spot before it needs attention.

Right about now, somebody is trying to figure out how to prop up those developing buds and dreading a storm about mid-bloom that will drive the heavy blooms to the ground.

Here’s my trick. I take a coat hanger - undo it so I have a long length of wire. Make a loop at one end. Wrap the coat hanger wire around the peony at the top of the foliage and stick the straight end into the looped end and turn it back on itself so the length of wire is tight enough to hold the plant upright but not so tight as the peony looks strangled.


If the shape of the peony is about the same as when you started, the wire is tight enough to stay up there itself and the buds are above the wire, you’re close to having it right. The wire will disappear into the foliage (unlike ugly string and posts) and will hold the plant upright.

So even if you get a storm, it will only bend the blooms over and not let them hit the ground and be wrecked. The wire can stay on for the rest of the season. I forget I wired them and remember only when cleaning up in the fall.

Do this once or twice and you’ll quickly get a feel for how tight to pull the wire and even make a small collection of looped coat hangers to stake up your peony plants.

Just when you think you’ve got it straight, you’re going to find the cut flower enthusiast in the house is sneaking those loverly flowers into flower arrangements where they’ll last for a very long time. This is something I can’t help you with although I’d recommend planting some other peonies to make you both happy.

And for the record, ants do not help or hinder peonies opening or closing or doing anything much at all for the plant. They’re up there enjoying a bit of sweet “juice” from the flower bud. It won’t hurt the bud, won’t hurt the plants and will make the ants happy.

Given that ants are one of your primary weed seed consumers (ants and mice get over 90% of all weed seed produced) you want to keep them happy. And yes, you can get rid of ants in your paving stones by pouring boiling water slowly into the nests. And you can get rid of ants on your lawn by mowing taller; you won’t see them that way.

If I was to summarize how to grow the peony plant, I’d do it this way. Great gardeners know that a single shovel of compost is all you need to keep this plant blooming from year to year.

Beginning gardeners try all kinds of funky fertilizers.

Plant it properly, stake it or not depending on your mood, and defend against cut flower fiends.

Relax on this plant because if you’ve got it planted properly, toss a shovel of compost and stake it, the two of you are good for the next twenty years.

Or at least the peony is.