They are usually up the first year . Must be very careful not to plant them too deep and best with eyes up. Maybe scratch down a bit and see what is going on?

Ginny

PS Where did you get them?

I have found that with nearly all my perennials, peonies included, they come up faster the older they get.

I got them at La Pivoinerie D'Aoust, and a few more at Les Jardins Osiris(mainly itoh's from here). The itoh's seem to be very slowly emerging, but quite a few of the herbaceous(besides Nosegay, which has been up for awhile) haven't peeked out yet.

I did dig down to one of the herbaceous, and I did find one eye that is just starting (!!) to kind of ripen on the crown. Sooooo slow! I don't think I planted them too deep, I followed the instructions that came with them. But I'll have to wait and see whether all of them come up. Hope so!

The ITOHs usually take a bit longer to get growing but I would think even they should be up. ???

I have bought many peonies from both of these reputable growers and only had one so far that didn't come and Lindsay replaced it. I've also had peonies come the following year or even a couple of years after I thought they were gone. :)

Have you ever ordered peonies from Parkland in Bruderheim, Katie? Another really quality grower. :)

Ginny

I have one that finally emerged today. I was kinda sad thinking it was a goner. Very late year

I don't want to hijack this thread, but since you're talking peonies....

They sell them in the spring, but everyone seems to plant them in the fall.

If I buy one now will it stand a chance?

Sure you can buy one now. They are sold bare root in the fall and potted in the spring. Just be careful not to plant it too deep.

IME, I prefer to plant bare root in the fall and miss a few blooms. :)

Ginny

NAF - yes, I've bought cheap (I'm assuming tissue culture) itoh's from greenhouses in spring before, and they did just fine.

Ginny - yes! I was really impressed with his plants. All of them came up the next spring and were good sized. I got peonies from Lindsey this past year because she had a few varieties that he didn't have that I wanted.

I was surprised to find my new itoh's faster than the new herbaceous, this year. I so hope none of them rotted.

Sigh..I just got impatient and went and dug down a bit to see what is going on with those new peonies. All the ones that haven't come up seem to be half-rotten. I see a few of them grew leaf buds and looked to be trying to come up, but the leaves are all slimy and rotten.

What went wrong? They were planted the exact same as all the other ones. In the same area, I had 4/6 itoh's come up alright, but out of the herbaceous, the only 1 out of the 5 I planted that survived was Noemie Demay. Grr...that is so much money down the drain. I don't know whether to bother replanting or not, since I don't know what went wrong!

Maybe it is a bad spot for them? It is quite exposed and is one of the first spots in the yard to lose its snow. Aren't itoh's more sensitive to cold though? You'd think if any of them were to die, it would have been them instead of the herbaceous!

Just wanted to update:

I emailed Lindsay about it, and she thinks I should dig up my remaining peonies in the fall and hill up the soil so the drainage is better, and replant. This was probably a terrible first spring for them, being so soggy and cool.

She was VERY kind, she offered to replace them, although she didn't have all the plants I had bought last year, so she gave me alternatives instead. I sure wish she had "Bev", that was the one I wanted most out of all that I ordered! Alas, I'll have to wait and reorder it another year. At least she was nice enough to replace at all, the Osiris garden I got the itoh's from wouldn't. (not that I blame them, really..it is expensive to replace plants when it could be improper growing conditions).

That's good to hear, Katie. :) I believe that where there is a will, there is a way. When there is no will, there is still another way. :) Relax, don't try so hard, and let the powers that be do their job. They know it better than we do. :)

Uh oh, I feel a poem coming on.......(((( hugs))))

Ginny