How to Plant Peony Roots This Fall

Peonies are planted once and enjoyed for fifty years, which makes fall planting week the most important hour you will ever spend on them. Here is how to get it right the first time.

Plant in fall, while the roots are dormant. September through November is the window, before the ground freezes. This is when peony roots want to go in, and it is why our roots ship in October, timed to the proper planting window for your zone.

Depth is everything. This is the step that decides whether your peony blooms or sulk. Set the root so the eyes, the small reddish buds on the crown, sit no more than one to two inches below the soil surface. Planted deeper, a peony will grow handsome foliage and refuse to flower. In warmer zones, go shallower, closer to one inch.

Choose sun and give it room. Peonies want at least six hours of direct sun and soil that drains. Work in compost, but skip fresh manure and heavy high-nitrogen fertilizer, which push leaves at the expense of blooms. Space plants three feet apart; they will fill in.

Settle it in well. Dig a wide hole, build a small mound of soil in the center, and drape the roots over it with the eyes pointing up. Backfill, firm gently, and water deeply once. After the ground cools, a light mulch protects the planting, but keep it off the crown itself.

Then be patient. The old saying is true: first year sleep, second year creep, third year leap. Many of our roots are large enough to bloom the first spring, but every peony gets better with each passing year. Plant it well once, and it will outlive the gardener.