I would strongly suggest that you plant the peonies in as large a container as you can muster. The larger the container the more reduced the stress due to inconsistent watering. I planted one tree peony last fall in a 35 gallon pot. I am not sure what I was thinking at the time, I may have to hire a moving crane to get the plant out of my garage this spring and then back into the garage next fall. If you have some type of automatic drip irrigation system you could get by with smaller pots. I would think you should not use a pot smaller than 10 gallons.

I understand that some people in California are able to force dormancy in some varieties of tree peonies without any chilling at all. They carefully remove each leaf from the plant which throws it into a pseudo-dormant state. When the plant begins to grow again it may bloom. I assume you would need to wait for the plant to set buds before you remove the leaves just as they would before frost kills the leaves here. I have never tried this since I live in a temperate area with a bad temperament. It is here that if you don't like the weather don't worry, it will change. I think they are forecasting 3°F tomorrow.

Tree peonies are not too fussy about the soil they grow in. Almost any garden loam or potting soil that is near neutral in pH will keep it happy.

What cultivars of tree peonies are you getting?


Leon,

High Noon
Kamata-fuji
Kamata-nishiki
Kinkaku
Kinshi
Koukamon
Renkaku
Rimpoh
Rockii
Seidei
Shimadaijin
Shima-nishiki
Taiyo
Yoshino Gawa

This is my first time growing Tree Peonies, granted that I grow everything else, well except Ceanothus. I figure I get all that they offered, expecting that some of them might not survive. Besides the price seem to go up compared to last season. I figured next season would be even more. Anyway, thank you for your tips.

You will need to keep us posted on their growth in the pots.

Best of luck with them.

Leon