How to Plant Peonies Once and Enjoy Them Forever

I’ve been around plants my whole life, and I’ve seen garden trends come and go. But you know what never goes out of style? The peony. This isn’t a flower for someone looking for instant gratification. It’s about starting a relationship with a plant that could honestly outlive you.

My grandmother had these incredible peonies lining her walkway, planted by her own mother. They still bloom every single spring, a living link to the past. That’s the real magic of this plant. It’s not just a flower; it’s a legacy.

So many people see those huge, fragrant blooms, buy a plant, and toss it in the ground, only to wonder why it struggles. They end up with weak stems, hardly any flowers, or a plant that just gives up. But here’s the secret: it’s not that complicated. Getting the planting process right is ninety percent of the battle. If you give a peony a home it loves, it will thank you for decades with almost no fuss. This isn’t a plant you need to baby. It’s a plant you need to start correctly, just once.

First Things First: Know Your Peonies

Before you even think about buying a peony, you have to know what you’re looking at. The word “peony” actually covers three very different types of plants, and they all have different needs. Choosing the wrong one for your garden or, worse, pruning it incorrectly can lead to a ton of frustration. I’ve seen people accidentally kill expensive tree peonies because they treated them like their more common cousins.

The Classic: Herbaceous Peonies

This is the peony everyone pictures—the classic garden workhorse. These are perennials, which means their leaves and stems die completely back to the ground after the first hard frost. Every spring, new growth pops up from a big, fleshy root system. Their flowers are often huge and incredibly fragrant, but they can be so heavy they need a little help standing up. These are the most common and widely available.

Heads up! These peonies absolutely require a cold winter to form flower buds for the next season. If you live somewhere without a real winter chill, this isn’t the type for you.

The Showstopper: Tree Peonies

Okay, let’s clear this up: tree peonies are not actually trees. They’re woody shrubs. Their woody stems don’t die back in the winter; they just drop their leaves. The flowers for next year form on this old wood, which is a critical difference. I’ll be honest, the first time I encountered a tree peony years ago, I pruned it to the ground just like my others. It was an expensive $75 mistake that cost me a full year of blooms. Don’t be me!

They can grow much larger than herbaceous types, sometimes over five feet tall, with flowers the size of a dinner plate. They’re breathtaking.

The Best of Both Worlds: Itoh (or Intersectional) Peonies

These are the cool kids on the block. Itohs are a hybrid, a cross between the herbaceous and tree types, designed to have the best qualities of both. They snagged the enormous, exotic flowers and strong stems from the tree peony side of the family. But they also have the hardy, die-back nature of an herbaceous peony, meaning they’re super easy to care for in the fall. They are also incredibly vigorous and tend to resist diseases better. They are usually the most expensive, but their performance is just outstanding.

A Quick Comparison So You Know What You’re Getting Into

To make it simple, here’s the breakdown:

• Herbaceous Peonies: These die back to the ground in winter. You’ll need to chop all the dead foliage off in the fall. Their big, heavy blooms almost always need staking to prevent flopping. For a good bare-root plant with 3-5 ‘eyes’ (more on that later), expect to pay between $20 and $50. A classic, reliable pink variety to look for is ‘Sarah Bernhardt’.
• Tree Peonies: These keep their woody stems all winter long, like a lilac bush. The only pruning needed is to remove dead or broken branches in the spring. Their strong stems mean no staking is required. Because they are slower to grow and propagate, they are pricier, often starting around $60 and going way up from there for mature specimens.
• Itoh Peonies: These are a happy medium. They die back like herbaceous peonies (so fall cleanup is easy), but their stems are incredibly strong, so you can usually skip the staking. They are the premium option, and their price reflects that. A good Itoh bare-root plant like the stunning yellow ‘Bartzella’ or the coppery ‘Kopper Kettle’ will typically run you $50 to $100+.

What a Peony Really Wants

To grow peonies well, it helps to understand how they tick. Their needs are simple and directly tied to their biology.

The Roots and ‘Eyes’

A peony’s whole life force is stored in its thick, tuberous roots. Think of them like potatoes. They store all the food and water needed to survive winter and explode with growth in the spring. On top of these roots, you’ll find little pinkish-red bumps. Those are the ‘eyes,’ and each one will become a stem. When you buy a bare-root peony online or from a catalog, its quality is based on the size of the root and the number of eyes. A good one will have at least three to five eyes. This ensures it has enough stored energy to get established and probably bloom within a couple of years.

The Need for Cold

As I mentioned, herbaceous and Itoh peonies need a period of cold dormancy to set flower buds—a process called vernalization. They need a few weeks with temperatures below 40°F (4.5°C). Without that winter chill, you’ll get a lovely green bush with zero flowers. This is why they just won’t work in places like Southern California or Florida.

Let’s Talk About the Ants

You will see ants on your peony buds. Every. Single. Time. Gardeners new to peonies often panic and grab the insecticide. Please don’t! The ants aren’t hurting a thing. Peony buds ooze a sugary nectar, and the ants are just there for a free meal. In return, they act like tiny bodyguards, aggressively defending the buds from other insects that might actually want to eat them. It’s a perfect little partnership. Once the flower opens, the nectar bar closes, and the ants move on.

The Most Important Step: Planting Your Peony

I really can’t say this enough: getting the planting right is everything. A peony can live for over a century, so spending an extra hour preparing its forever home is time well spent. The absolute best time to plant is in the fall, giving the roots time to settle in before winter.

1. Location, Location, Location

Peonies are sun worshippers. They need at least six hours of direct sun a day to produce all those flowers. Morning sun is especially great because it dries the dew off the leaves quickly, which is your number one defense against fungal diseases. Just as important is good air circulation. Don’t cram them into a crowded bed or right up against a wall. Give them room to breathe—at least three to four feet apart.

2. Get the Soil Right

Peonies aren’t too picky, but they have one non-negotiable demand: good drainage. They will rot in soil that stays wet. Dig a hole about two feet wide and 18 inches deep. I know, it sounds huge! But you’re creating a permanent home. I like to mix the soil I dug out with about one-third mature compost. This loosens up heavy clay and helps sandy soil hold on to a bit more moisture. Just be sure to avoid fresh manure, which can burn the roots.

3. Planting Depth: The #1 Mistake

This is where most people go wrong. Planting a peony too deep is the most common reason it fails to bloom.

• For Herbaceous and Itoh Peonies: The ‘eyes’ (those little pink buds on the root) should be no more than 2 inches below the soil surface. In warmer zones, go even shallower, just 1 inch deep. Any deeper, and they won’t get the winter chill they need to make flowers.
• For Tree Peonies: These are often grafted, and you need to plant them much deeper. Find the graft union—a noticeable bulge where the woody stem meets the root—and plant it 4 to 6 inches below the soil surface. This encourages the plant to grow its own, stronger roots.

Quick tip: Lay a rake handle or a straight stick across the top of the hole. This gives you a perfect visual guide for the final soil level, so you can see exactly where the top of your root clump is. After you place the root, fill the hole back in, water it well, and add a little more soil if it settles.

By the way, don’t panic if your new peony only sends up one or two skinny stems and no flowers in its first spring. That’s totally normal! It’s busy building its root system underground for future greatness.

Easy Peony Care for a Thriving Plant

Once they’re established, peonies are refreshingly low-maintenance.

For the first year, give them about an inch of water a week if it doesn’t rain. After that, they’re quite drought-tolerant and only need a drink during long dry spells. When you do fertilize an established plant, do it in early spring. Use a low-nitrogen fertilizer (like a 5-10-10 formula) and just sprinkle a small amount—about 1/4 cup for a mature plant—around the base, not right on the crown.

Those big, double-flowered herbaceous peonies will need support. The key is to put the support in place early, when the plant is only about a foot tall. You can use peony rings or grow-through grids. My favorite lazy-gardener trick? A simple tomato cage. Just pop it over the plant in early spring and let it grow up through it. It’s not as elegant, but it’s fast and it works!

Can You Grow Peonies in Pots?

Yes, you can! This is great news for patio and balcony gardeners. The key is to choose the right peony and the right pot. Herbaceous or Itoh peonies are your best bet; tree peonies generally get too large.

You’ll need a BIG pot—think 15-gallon capacity or larger, and just as wide as it is deep. Fill it with a high-quality potting mix blended with extra perlite or fine bark to ensure excellent drainage. Potted peonies will need more consistent watering than those in the ground, and you’ll have to make sure they get that winter chill without their roots freezing solid. In very cold climates, you might need to move the pot to an unheated garage or shed for the winter.

Troubleshooting Common Problems

Even the best of us run into issues. Here are the most common ones.

“Help! My Peony Won’t Bloom!”

This is the question I get asked most often. Before you do anything else, run through this checklist:

1. How deep is it planted? Seriously, this is almost always the problem for herbaceous and Itoh types. The eyes must be near the surface.
2. Is it getting enough sun? It needs 6+ hours of direct sunlight. No exceptions.
3. Is it still young? Be patient. It can take 2-3 years for a new plant to bloom.
4. What did you feed it? Too much nitrogen from lawn fertilizer runoff will give you lots of leaves but no flowers.
5. Did you get a late frost? A sudden hard freeze after the tiny buds have formed can zap them before they have a chance.

Buds Turning Black and Mushy

This is botrytis blight, a fungal disease that loves cool, damp spring weather. The best cure is prevention: make sure the plant has good air circulation and always do a thorough fall cleanup. If you see an infected bud, snip it off immediately and throw it in the trash, not the compost bin.

The Big Job: Dividing a Peony

A happy peony doesn’t need to be divided, ever. You only do this job if you want to make more plants or if a very old clump isn’t flowering well in the center anymore. And be warned, this is a workout.

In the fall, after cutting back the foliage, dig a wide circle around the plant. A mature root ball can be huge and weigh 50 pounds or more—trust me, get a friend to help if it’s an old one. Pry the clump out, wash off the soil so you can see what you’re doing, and use a strong, clean knife to cut it into divisions. Make sure each new piece has a good chunk of roots and at least 3-5 eyes. Replant your new divisions right away, and you’re good to go.

Growing peonies is an act of faith. You put in the work upfront to give the plant a good home. Then, for years and years, you get rewarded with a show of beauty that’s hard to beat. It’s a journey worth taking.

Inspirational Gallery

Peonies are undoubtedly the stars of the late spring garden, but they shine even brighter with the right supporting cast. Choosing companions that complement their form and extend the season of interest is key to a truly breathtaking display.

• Alliums: The tall, spherical blooms of varieties like ‘Globemaster’ or ‘Purple Sensation’ create a striking vertical and textural contrast to the lush, rounded form of peony bushes. They often bloom at the same time, making for a perfect partnership.
• Nepeta (Catmint): Once the peonies have finished their show, their foliage can look a bit tired. Planting a low-growing catmint like ‘Walker’s Low’ at their base helps to beautifully mask the leggy stems and provides a soft haze of blue flowers all summer long.
• Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla mollis): The pleated, chartreuse leaves of this perennial are fantastic at catching dew and raindrops, creating a lovely contrast against the darker green of peony leaves.

Contrary to a persistent garden myth, ants do not help peony buds to open. Their presence is purely opportunistic.

If you see ants crawling all over your peony buds, don’t reach for the pesticide! They are simply feasting on a sugary nectar the buds exude. This relationship is actually beneficial; in exchange for the sweet treat, the ants act as tiny bodyguards, protecting the buds from other pests that might cause damage. Once the flower unfurls, the nectar supply dries up, and the ants will move on. Just give the stems a gentle shake before bringing your beautiful cut flowers indoors.