How to Grow Peonies and Keep Them Blooming for Years to Come

Lush, fragrant peonies are one of the most breathtaking perennial flowers, and knowing how to grow peonies in your garden will give you a gorgeous display each spring. They've long been a gardener favorite for their exquisite forms and vibrant, saturated colors. With their bold blooms appearing from late spring to early summer, they're the center of attention in any garden—and they know it!

Peonies are also one of the longest-lasting flowers you can grow, with some established stands of peonies living for more than a hundred years. Naturally, peonies are one of the best investments in your garden for long-term beauty. Their huge, showy blooms complement many different garden styles from maximalist gardens to cottage gardens to more formal Regency-style landscapes reminiscent of your favorite Bridgerton garden scene.

Peonies make lovely cut garden flowers too. They come in many colors including white, coral, cream, crimson, hot pink, peachy pink, and bright yellow. You'll find peonies ranging from a few feet to five feet tall with varieties that have single, semi-double, and double petals. Many types of peonies are very fragrant with a scent that can range from spicy to sweet.

Peonies also require no pruning, dividing, or coddling like other garden plants. They're also a deer-resistant plant and drought-tolerant once established in your beds. Give them the right conditions, and they will bloom profusely for decades. Here’s everything you need to know about how to grow peonies.

Peonies need cold weather to bloom, so they grow best in USDA hardiness zones 3–8 (find your zone here). They prefer dry conditions, so make sure your soil drains well and doesn't remain soggy for too long. Also, as you're thinking about how to grow peonies, don’t plant them too close to other perennials or trees because they'll have to compete for water and nutrients.

Peonies bloom from late spring through June, depending on the variety and where you live. After the blooms fade, the attractive, dark green foliage lasts all season, adding interest to mixed borders and garden beds.

There are thousands of cultivars (or cultivated varieties) of peonies, which fall into three main types:

• Herbaceous peonies: These are the easiest type to grow and die back to the ground in the fall.
• Tree peonies: These have a bushy shape and woody stems that don’t die back in the fall. They shed their leaves like other deciduous shrubs.
• Itoh peonies: Also called intersectional peonies, these are a hybrid of the first two types. They also die back to the ground in winter.

One of the most important things to know about how to grow peonies is that they love full sun, which is considered at least six or more hours of direct sunlight per day. They don’t produce flowers well in shade gardens. But if you live in a warmer part of the country where you can grow peonies, the blooms will last longer with afternoon shade. Note that when you shop for them at your local garden center, you may find them as bare roots (with no soil attached) or in containers.

• How to Plant Bare Root Peonies: Plant the tuber about an inch or two below ground. Fall is the best time to plant bare root peonies.
• How to Plant Potted Peonies: Plant them in a hole the same depth as the container it came in and about twice its width. You can plant potted peonies as soon as you buy them.

Regardless of the type you choose, make sure to add some general-purpose fertilizer to the hole when planting and water them well.

Fortunately, peonies are a low-maintenance plant in need of very little TLC. You may need to stake herbaceous peonies with peony hoops to keep the large flowers from flopping over. And if the weather conditions are dry, keep your peonies watered during bud formation and flowering.

Once the blooms fade, deadhead (or cut off) the seed heads to allow the plant to store more energy for next year’s bloom.

Once established, peonies prefer to stay put and not have their extensive root systems disturbed. However, if your peonies need to be transplanted or divided, do it in the fall or early spring. You can do this by digging carefully around the entire plant if you need to move the whole thing or cutting off a piece from the edges to propagate a new peony plant.

Move the entire plant or piece to the new location, ensuring the buds face upward in the hole. They should not be planted too deep, just about two inches below the soil surface. Water well and mulch.

Then, be patient; it can take up to three years for transplanted peonies to produce new flowers. At first, the blooms may be few and small, but they will continue to grow more flowers and bigger blooms in a few years.

Nope, that’s a common myth. While you'll typically see lots of ants crawling in and around peony blooms, don't be alarmed! They're only there to gather nectar from the buds. In fact, ants will protect peonies and actively fight off other insects that could harm them. Plus, you won't have to worry about these ants making their way into your house—even if your peonies are planted by your front door. The type of ants that like peonies don’t live indoors.

You can cut your peonies for bouquets when they’re in the “marshmallow” stage when the buds have a little color but feel slightly squishy. Just shake out the ants or rinse them off before bringing your flowers indoors. Cut peonies should last five or more days in a vase if kept cool and out of direct sunlight. If you cut peonies when fully open, they’ll only last about two days.

Herbaceous peonies should be cut back to within a few inches of the ground after the first hard freeze in the fall. Remove any foliage and toss it out (don’t compost it) to reduce the risk of diseases overwintering. Tree peonies should never be cut back or they will not recover.

Peonies are low-maintenance generally, but in learning how to grow peonies, you may see an occasional issue, such as the following:

• Powdery mildew, a white fungus that coats the foliage. It'll typically appear in hot, humid conditions. While it usually doesn't harm the plant, it can be unsightly. For prevention, avoid overhead watering when possible, and space them a foot or more away from other perennials or shrubs. If you're concerned, you can treat it with neem oil. Just be sure to toss out (i.e., don't compost) diseased foliage in the fall.
• Leggy stems, which means your plant isn't getting enough direct sunlight. You'll need to transplant the whole bush to fix this.

It's also possible that your peonies didn't bloom. A few issues can cause this:

• It's their first year in the ground or you just transplanted them. Be patient and you’ll be rewarded with blooms in subsequent years.
• They're planted too deep with too much mulch. They need to be planted about two inches beneath the surface, so brush back any excess soil or mulch.
• They're not getting enough sun or are too crowded with other plants.
• The buds were killed by a late frost or early heat wave.

Despite these occasional issues, most peonies are easy to grow and are worth adding to your garden if you have the right conditions. Few other perennials have such stunning blooms or an enduring beauty that can last generations.

Follow House Beautiful on Instagram and TikTok.