Peony Care and Growing Tips

Peony Image:pexels.com

Diversely experienced school administrator Nichole Thiel has fostered leadership and study skills in high school students through her work as a career and technical education teacher. Away from her current work as a certified dementia care provider, Nichole Thiel enjoys gardening and tending to her peonies.

Brightly colored peonies are popular among gardeners due to their hardiness and longevity. If cared for properly, a peony plant can live for more than a century. Hundreds of peony types are available, including shrub-like and hybrid varieties. 

Peonies are generally low maintenance, and they do best in cool to moderately warm growing conditions. The perennials should be planted outdoors six weeks before the first frost in a location that receives at least six hours of direct sunlight a day. Gardeners should add a thick layer of compost around the base of the plant once a year to enrich the soil. Flowers usually appear abundantly in the third year, and dead blossoms must be routinely pruned. 

Peonies are susceptible to sagging due to the weight of their blooms. To avoid this, gardeners can introduce metal support rings and frames early in the plant’s growing cycle.