Growing Peonies: An Affair to Remember

Each spring, my back yard provides the stage for a great love affair between me and my peony garden.  Every year for Mother’s Day, my husband and daughters have given me a different variety of peony—some purchased and some traded with other local collectors.

The word Peony (pronounced pee’-uh-nee with the accent on the first syllable) is derived from the Latin genus, Paeonia, which, in turn, comes from a figure in Greek mythology.  Peonies have been grown for centuries—admired for their elegant beauty, intoxicating perfume, ability to hold up after cutting, and medicinal properties.

For the home gardener, peonies are landscape flowers supreme!  Few perennials can compete with them in longevity as they happily grow in the same spot for 40 years or more.   According to Clemson University Cooperative Extension, some varieties live up to a hundred years.   If properly cared for they can survive the harshest winters, spring freezes, and summer drought only to return the following spring with vitality and beauty.  The bitter taste of the foliage makes them resistant to both deer and rabbits.  As if the beauty and fragrance weren’t enough to entice one to grow peonies, once established they are among the most drought-resistant perennials, perfect for water-conserving times.

In the twelve years since my love affair began, I have learned a few things about growing peonies.  Much like the 1957 cinema classic, “An Affair to Remember” starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, the courtship between gardener and peony requires dedicated patience. Keep in mind that if planted correctly, a peony garden will reward your senses with the most spectacular and elegant blooms for years to come with very little attention from you.

– Buying Peonies –

To begin your own love affair, visit a local nursery to choose a peony that grows well in this area.  You will find various colors and fragrances of herbaceous (dies back in the winter), tree peonies (woody perennial), and intersectional (cross between herbaceous and woody).  There are a number of plant nurseries and farms in Haywood County that carry peonies, visit our Online Directory.

Wildcat Ridge Farm in Clyde, NC, is home to the largest selection of herbaceous and intersectional peonies in WNC— ranging in price from $25-$200.  The peony season at Wildcat Ridge runs for 4 weeks in May, with cut flowers available for weddings and also open to the public for “pick your own” from their extensive selection.  Wildcat Ridge Farm is a featured stop on our Find your Adventure! 2014 Agritourism Guide as a farm destination as well as a “Local Flavors” experience through Chef Ricardo’s Mountain Cooking Club.

– Growing Peonies –

When planting the object of your affection, pick your spot carefully because once planted they do not like to be disturbed.  If you choose to ignore this rule and move them, they will punish you by not blooming for up to three years.

Peonies like to be planted in full sun though some varieties can tolerate part-shade.  It’s best to plant them in the cool weather of fall or in early spring before the season gets too hot.  Amend the soil heavily to create the ideal environment rich in organic material, assuring good drainage.  Growing peonies will test your gardening patience much like the seemingly hopeless courtship between Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr.  After committing time and attention to carefully choosing their home and amending the soil, your peonies will likely make you wait until the following season before gracing your garden with bloom.

– The Courtship –

As the buds develop, you will observe that peonies have other admirers in the garden.  Each bud will likely become covered with ants enamored by the sweet secretion of the emerging bloom. However, the ants do no harm and some speculate they actually assist in opening the tight buds.  Do not give into the temptation to spray! 

As the buds approach maturity, they become too heavy for the stem and require staking, much like a tomato.  After the blooms are fully opened, cut them, shake out the ants and bring these treasures into your home for weeks of pleasure in cut arrangements.

– Peony Care –

For their care, peonies like a tender courtship.  Sprinkle the soil at the base of the plant with humus enriched with bone meal in the spring and again in fall. Once the killing frost of fall comes through the garden, cut back the foliage and remove the debris to encourage good air circulation, decreasing your chances of developing Botrytis blight and other diseases.

Try growing peonies in your own garden.  It will truly be an affair to remember!

Tina Masciarelli, Buy Haywood Project Coordinator

Photos courtesy of Ricardo & Suzann  Fernandez
of Wildcat Ridge Farm