How to plant peonies correctly

They are probably one of the most desired flowers in the world of gardening. There is no doubt that they are incredibly beautiful but also extremely capricious. For this reason and apart from knowing the care of the peony, it is essential to know when and how to plant peonies correctly. Two fundamental aspects to ensure that our bulbs give us their long-awaited flowers.

Beyond knowing how to plant bulbs in a pot or in the ground, there is another fundamental aspect to consider. The peony not only has a short flowering time but is also demanding in its needs to be able to bloom generously. Two good reasons to know in detail what you need and thus be able to enjoy the spectacle that it entails.

So let’s see, step by step, how to plant peonies and what those specific needs are so that our plant not only has leaves but also flowers.

WHEN TO PLANT PEONIES, THE STARTING POINT

When we think about how to plant peonies, we tend to completely forget another equally important aspect: when to do it. Knowing the ideal time for a bulb is key, and does not allow you to experiment. Doing so may imply that it does not have determining factors for its growth, such as the cold at night or the intense heat of summer; but, in addition, it can have a decisive influence on its flowering. That is why if we want to fully enjoy our plant, we will have to rigorously follow its planting times.

In this case, knowing when to plant peonies is key to being able to enjoy their flowers. It is important to understand that most of the peonies that we can find are herbaceous plants. A term that implies that our peony will disappear with the arrival of the cold, to sprout again when the days get longer in spring. Although it may seem like a minor detail, knowing the peony’s vegetative cycle will allow us to understand why it has a specific time to be planted.

So when to plant peonies? At the end of winter. In fact, the ideal is to do it in February or, at most, in March. Only in this way will the bulb have time to complete its vegetative cycle, blooming in spring and withering with the arrival of the strong summer heat. And what happens if we follow planting schedules, and put off planting our bulb until April? Without being too serious, it can affect the development of the plant. Something we will notice because our peony will sprout every spring, but it will take at least a couple of years to bloom.

What if we have opted for a tree peony? In that case, the ideal time will be autumn.

HOW TO PLANT PEONIES STEP BY STEP

Understanding this detail, it is time to know how to plant peonies. A task that, as such, is not very complicated. Now is when the but comes. Although planting them is not difficult, we will have to consider some important details for their correct development. What do we mean, exactly? Simple: to the place of planting and the type of peony that we have chosen. Because, although we may think that they admit any place, the reality is quite different.

So let’s see in detail how to plant peonies, according to each place where we do it.

1. Plant peonies in soil

One of our priorities when it comes to how to plant peonies is to choose the location correctly. Not only do we have to prevent our plant from being exposed to wind. It will also be essential that the planting place has some shade but also six hours of light per day.

Apart from this consideration, we will start by making a well in conditions. Although the bulb of our peony seems small, we are talking about a plant that demands a good depth to establish its roots correctly. Therefore, we will have to dig a space at least 50 centimeters deep and 35 wide.

In addition to the dimensions, we will have to create a fertile and well-drained soil for our peony to grow in conditions. The ideal is to fill the space with a mixture of topsoil and perlite, which will help us to favor the expulsion of excess water. Finally, we will add a fertilizer to enrich the soil and give our peony what it demands.

With the soil ready, it’s time to plant peonies. The ideal is to do it at a maximum depth of five centimeters with respect to the surface.

2. Plant potted peonies

If we want to enjoy our plant in pots, we will have to opt for a peony of the herbal variety. The main reason is that they require less planting depth. Although we may believe that growing our peony in a pot will look less, nothing is further from reality. The fact of being able to play with the weather that affects our plant, changing the place of our pot, can make them bloom even more abundantly than when planted directly in the ground.

Planting potted peonies only requires taking into account a couple of aspects. To begin with and among the types of pots, it is advisable to avoid those made of clay. By maintaining the hydration of the substrate, it can play tricks on us with irrigation and play against us. To give our plant the depth it needs, it will be important to offer it a good space in which to grow.

In addition to this, we will have to prepare a well-fertilized universal substrate soil so that our peony has the nutrients it demands to grow and flourish.

And now that you know how to plant peonies, do you dare to grow it?