my SIL has 2 peonie plants that only have one bud each again this year, these are quite large plants. She has another plant in a different bed with the same sun exposure that is going great. What could be the problem

I'm not sure what the problem is but I do know that peonies need ants.

Poor soil. She probable needs to ammend the soil.

that was my first thought but these dont even have buds for the ants to feed on...all leaves 1 bud

got any recommendations

It could be the soil, it could be the depth it's planted. Has she been pruning the non-blooming one at all? She may be prunning off at the wrong time.

Is she top dressing the plant (adding soil and making in fact deeper than it was)? Side dress peonies only.

Is the clump too large? Does it need to be divided?

I'll watch for more ideas as this is my second year of transplanted peonie sections. I clipped off the 2 blooms that formed last year in hopes that the energy would go directly to the plant.

ETA I found this website - looks like it's full of helpful information. I'm going to recheck my depth tomorrow and remove the layer of mulch I have on top of the plant.

http://www.weekendgardener.net/peren...ony-100810.htm

It says too much nitrogen causes plants to leaf and not flower. use a 10-20-20 fertilizer

I've heard that you should put your ashes from the fireplace where the peonies are planted. (After it has cooled for course) Not sure if it is true.

Mine was planted too deep and did not bloom until I moved it and it wasn't planted as deep.

When I was a kid growing up my dad did this and his peonies always had tons of huge blooms.


PS....you can only move peonies in the fall of the year. If you move them any other time, they will die.

Check with Park Seed co., in Greenwood, S.C. They have a web site. I have asked them many questions and always get a quick response.
Just looking at their web site is fun, so many beautiful plants.

They cannot be planted too deep,or they won't form blooms.

I have found that if I have planted my peonies too deep, they don't bloom well. She might try digging them up (in the fall!) and replanting not quite so deep. They don't need to be planted very far into the ground at all. Just barely cover the roots.
Also, peonies love sun. I have some in the shade I have to move myself... I thought they got more sun where I put them than they actually do. Live and learn.
I hope this works for her.... otherwise, not sure why they aren't blooming well.

When I first planted my peony I must have planted it too deep. It was in full sun...no blooms :( So, I moved it. Less sun - much less, but I couldn't dig too deep because of where I put it. Blooms like mad! Its hardly under earth LOL

I think its august for transplanting time for them and iris too.

Here is a link to lots of good information on Peonies. It is from Kansas State University. Everything you ever wanted to know about peonies!

http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/library/hort2/mf1083.pdf

www.gardenweb.com

is a great free gardening site too.. they have a forum just for peonies.

All I know about them is they are beautiful and I don't have any.... pout

Dig them up and shake off dirt and replant in another area

Are they a different variety?

Peonies want to be in full sun and the time to reset them is in the fall. Dig them up and set them aside while you mix composted cow manure into the hole where they are to be planted. Then replant at a shallow depth. Good luck!

Peonies actually have an 'eye' on the tubar root that needs to be above ground in order to bloom.

With all the talk about it most likely being too deeply planted...why not 'scratch' away the soil from the top of the plant area? If you get rid of the excess soil from the top of the roots you are in essence raising the plant. :)

All I know is they smell soo sooo good and like ants! LOL!

I have peonies and they bloom beautifully. You have to be careful that they are not planted too deep. Wait until this Fall and just lift them up a bit and see if they bloom next year, possibly they are way too deep. (Once they bloom profusely, you will know they are planted just right)! Ants will find their way to the peonies. Mine are planted under a lilac bush and are beautiful, not too much sun, just enough. Happy planting! Edie

I love peonies! Thanks for the websites!

This is going to sound very unrealistic, but way back in my girlhood days, watching my grandmother go to the cow barn and dip out the "soup" from teh gutters, and she brought it up to her peonies, dug about a six inch hole all around her peony bushes, about a foot away from the bush itself, and in spring time, there were no green leaves that showed for all the blossoms that took over, but first make sure that your plants are not planted too deep. If you transplant, don't put in the ground deeper than the earth line on the plant you dug... then you have the perfect depth, unless they too had a problem blooming, then they were just too keep... but a good healthy fertilizer will make a world of difference... we lived off the main road about a block - but the row of peonys was from one end of the lawn to the other, and a row of beauty - pinks, reds, whites, all those inbetween, and doubles as well as single blooms; breathtaking. For Memorial Day we'd pick a bouquet for each grave, adn my grandmother did not drive, so we'd load the coaster wagon with fruit jars full of peonies(maybe iris) and walk the half mile with a milk can of water on teh wagon; we were very tired before we got there and then had to come home again - but we saw to it there was always fresh water on the flowers and fresh bouquets put out. People gave so many compliments on how beautiful our yard always was too. If it bloomed, my grandmother owned it and never a weed in it - every day she was out in her flowers or garden weeding; she was a miraculous hard working lady - wish I could stand the heat now - I would spend much more time than I do with my flowers I have, but I'm limited to how many, cause I can not take care of too many any more.

My husband just moved mine a couple of months ago,and going to bloom.Is it true they don't bloom for 7 years after planted? Connie in CO

Never heard of that one. Ours were planted in the fall and they bloomed the following spring and we have lived here 38 years and they have bloomed every year since. Maybe someone planted too deep and it took seven years for the ground to erode to the correct depth. Maybe! Edie

Probably the answer is they are to deep. Only transplant in fall.
I just got new plants last fall from a neighbor and they are full of buds.

They are probably planted too deep. Take a garden fork and lift them this fall and that should help.

Add bone meal around the roots. and don't kill the roots. Sometimes peonies can take 5 years before they really bloom.

I am spoiled. I have a gorgeous hot pink peony outside my front door. The only thing I do for it is snip the stems at their base when their bloom has expired. :-D

When we have plants that don't do well, we move their location until we find a 'happy' place for them to bloom & grow!

Maybe that's why i have one in a corner that doesn't do anything it could be to deep.It's still pretty chilly here,i might just lift it up a bit.

And if they don't have small buds when they come up, they won't be blooming.

I grow peonies, and they are pretty carefree plants. If you only planted them in the past couple of years, sometimes it takes peonies 2-3 years to settle in and get happy enough to bloom. That's the only way they are finicky. Otherwise, I would dig them up, mix some compost in the soil and add some time-release fertilizer for flowering plants like Osmokote, be sure the root ball is broken up enough that it will spread out, and then re-plant and let them be. I live in the south and plant in red/yellow clay soils and my peonies do fine. They like their soils a little on the acidic side, so that might be a thing to take a look at. Also, be sure that they are getting a good 4-5 hours of afternoon sun, the hotter the better, with good drainage. Attached are pictures of my favorite peonies.

i have peony plants on the East and the West side of my house. the East ones come up first and usually bloom first too. and yes, ants are what help the blossoms open.
my dirt is old and no new neutrients added but they do well.

they need the ants to pollnate [sp] them , not to really eat them.

That's the first thing I thought of - they're planted too deep

lots of sun, not too deep - was it a new plant or was it moved? I've been told they don't like to be moved.

I live in the home my husband grew up in we have a row of peonies that he said has been there as long as he can remember. He is nearing 60. The only thing we do is mow them down in the fall, they are full of blooms every year.

I was thinking it might not be planted deep enough. My late MIL had some absolutely gorgeous peonies that I brought back from Wisconsin after the house was sold. I was so afraid they wouldn't do well because I dug them up in the nasty heat of late July/early August!! :shock: Well, those plants grew like weeds!! I planted one in the backyard, but it never did quite as well. I realized that it was because it wasn't planted deep enough so I dug it up, replanted it, and it did very well after that! :-D I sure wish I still had those beautiful plants, but my ex now has them. :thumbdown: