I have not had problems. In fact a possible plus is that maybe you can plant them where they get a little more shade than further north.

You have to plant them more shallow than in the north, almost at the surface level. That would help them to get all necessary hours of chilling (about 400 for Peonies) if the winter is not cold enough. Water them if there was no rain for a week or so. East exposure is the best, so they can be protected from afternoon sun.

After reading the advice about planting Peonies in the east, I'm feeling quite disappointed. I was out in my garden about an hour before reading your reply. I decided how to rearrange my perennial bed to make room for five Peonies. Aargh!

Well, I won't be able to plant them there as the summer sun is fierce in my southward facing garden. That's where I found a space to plant them. Shoot, even my coneflowers and black-eyed susans wilt there by noon. (I have a post regarding the wilting thing in this same forum.)

Oh well . . . back to the drawing board. The east side of my house is already heavily planted . . . sigh.

My peonies bake all afternoon. I mean bake. Just north of the driveway. Shaded in the morning, but harsh sun from about 12 o'clock onward.

They are as happy as clams. They put on a show that is second to none---I own a ton of peony cages as a result. (I got tired of creating and tearing down bamboo and twine structures .)

The foliage is also fine.

So do not worry about baking them.

My peonies are planted right alongside my driveway, and get sun most of the day (western exposure). They're living large and have been in that spot since the fall of 1996.

I have peonies doing wonderfully in southern exposure. They are planted near a sidewalk and the parking lot is about 10 feet away. I also have them planted in morning shade and afternoon sun and they are doing fine as well. I will say that the peonies planted in full sun have more buds. I love them. :-)

Next door neighbor has one on the west facing side of the house, and it does great!

Blazing summer sun won't hurt these guys at all. I do think, though, that if the weather gets hot early, sometimes the buds don't open well. I had a mature peony that seemed to respond badly to early season heat. All the others are doing just fine - all in full NoVA sun!

Hi leslies:

After reading all these testimonies I started browsing the websites compiling a list of peonies. Can you tell me what the name of the peony is that you have that pooped out in the heat? I would like to avoid buying it. It's probably a beautiful one, alas.

Wish I knew, summerstar, but it was already in the garden and quite large when I moved in. The flowers were creamy white and the petals somewhat "spiky" in appearance on the rare occasions when they opened. I felt a little bad about shovel-pruning a mature plant, but so many others are doing fine, that I just did the deed.

Truly, I don't think I would worry about it. Buy the ones you like, plus one or two extras for cutting!

AFAIK, the biggest hazard down here is that the later-blooming varieties may 'ball' (glue themselves shut) and not open properly in the hot humid weather. I have Festiva Maxima (one of the classics - you'll easily find pics on the web) and it usually does well here in Herndon. Other early varieties are usually OK, but if you want to grow a mid-season or later variety, the word is to make sure it's a single or anemone-flowered, not a full double.

Happy peony-growing -

Robin

I have never had a Mons Jules Elie ball up. If you like powder pink it is great. A classic like festiva Maxima. with a great form.

OTOH I have had some of the more complex roses ball up.