Holly,

I have never seen a tree peony flop. Are you sure this is a tree peony. Herbaceous peonies flop. The stems that they are on bend near the ground or arch to the point the flowers will be on the ground.

Do the flowers instead hang inside the bush. Some of the Chinese tree peony varieties do this as well as some of the old European lutea hybrids(yellow tree peonies).

If the plant is a herbaceous plant it would be best to use a peony ring which holds the stems within a ring which is about 16 inches above the ground.

If the plant is a tree peony I have not had much luck with anything. The branchs don't really move and even with a ring the flowers still hang. You could us some of those wire loops that stick in the ground and have a ring or support at the upper end. But that has to be put on just before or as the flower is opening.

Do you have any photos of the plant?

Here is a link that might be useful: The Heartland Peony Society

Some of the type listed as expanding may need support when the flowers are especially heavy. The support can be as simple as two bamboo or wooden stakes forming a V and bound together for support. I have also seen some gardens use a method similar to tree training where the stems are bound to a straight stick like you would for espallier pears.

If the flowers are not heavy just enjoy the graceful nodding stems.

I'm also not convinced this is a tree peony. Flopping is possible but not the norm. An old tree peony will have a distinct framework of woody stems that remain through the winter. Please confirm that this is your plant.

Staking isn't really the best way to cure flopping. You would have to stake or tiw in each flowering stem. Herbaceous peonies can be kept inside a frame which holds all the stems together so they can't flop out. I don't know if this would work for tree peonies because they don't have such a uniform height and shape. I'm still haveing a hard time getting my head around a tree peony that would flop enough to be a problem. Even big doubles just droop but don't flop down onto the floor.

Similarly with crabgrass. Is that really what you have? Probably not. More likely it is a general mix of scrub and weedy grasses. Roundup will work but the weeds will just come back so you'll have to keep fighting. Use mulch, weeds don't like it and a tree peony would. If it is a herbaceuous peony then don't mulch too deep over the crown. Don't worry too much about digging around tree peonies, the roots should be mostly down deep.

How close? How big are they? What effect do you want? You can have them touching, or you can have them separated, your choice. You might like the effect with something complimentary between the two.

Thanks folks for sharing. It is definitely a tree peony, trust me. Likely you've never seen one flop because most people take much better care of their plants than the folks who formerly owned this home. :-)) I'm sorry I mislead everyone thru my original statement as it bloomed last year and its definitely a TP.

At present they are in two separate locations, one in the *weeds* and one in a front garden area. I want to take the *in the weeds* one and put it together with the other in the front.

Whatever type of grass it is, it's definitely not lawn grass and I want to be rid of it. With the way our weather is progressing of late, it will be a long time before I can use RoundUp. As soon as this latest snow dusting retards, I think I'll use my torch and then dig and move. I'll use the RU once the weather warms on any new weed growth.

I've take a couple of photos & will upload as soon as I get them off my camera.

TY for all your help!
H

Take some of the old grass to a nursery to see if they can identify it. Probably may have some crabgrass but mostly other types. If it is crabgrass, crabgrass is an annual and will come up from previous years seeds the plants that are there will be dead already no need for RU. If another type may need grass killer not broadleaf killer. Then mulch but not on the stems but arround plant. Plan on transplanting this fall. Depending on the size of the plant you may need to start trenching around the plant early in the season to get the best root mass. Please post pictures now and as it matures and comes into bloom.

I dug an old tree peony last fall. Believe me if yours is very old, you need help. I dug this one out in 2 pieces, one came out easy, the other was horrible. When I finally got it out of the ground, there was a root as big as a quart container, and it was heavy. I managed to tear loose an old hernia repair, and had to go to the hospital. The variety was Chromatella, and about 25 years old. Lots of luck!!

For those who wished to see my *floppy tree peony* I finally loaded a photo. I'll come back a little later with the photos of the blooms this year - need to upload yet. :-))

I think it's just been badly cared for and hope with some TLC I'll be able to strengthen the stems.

Really Appreciate All the Input. Thanks VERY Much!

If it is really the Tree form, you might want to consider pruning the branches back a bit. Sooner rather than later is best so you don't cut the buds or branch formations for next year. Reducing the stick length may encourage branching or new stems to come up. My mom trims the branches that get in her way, not a real method to it, just shorter. Her TP has at least 30 or more HUGE flowers EVERY year, lots of new stick, branch growth each year. People stop on the street to look. Pretty nice for a 36" high shrub.

If TP was not planted very deep like the herbacous ones should be, you may have some growth from herbacous graft and grafted TP. Herbacous is planted shallow, just dirt covered, while TP should have deeper dirt cover. I have a TP like that, with both kinds coming up each spring. I need to redig it, plant it deeper. The herbacous flops while the TP stays upright and stiff.

The two TPs that I moved in late summer, both had a miserable fall. Lost leaves early, just barren twigs until spring. Then they both leafed out some and gave me one flower each, made only a few leaves all year. This year they did better, look pretty nice. Just a note so you won't be disappointed if it looks bad for a while. I was pretty sure I killed them both that first fall after moving.

Good luck with your plans.

The woody stems of several of my TP's flop (bend really) rather than grow straight or upright. They remind me of pictures that I have seen of old trees in Japan that have been growing for hundreds of years and are lovingly supported on a framework of wooden props. I prop the branches up from underneath so they don't rest on the ground and rot or tie them to vertical stakes. The "bamboo X" would work well, with the branch resting in the top of the X. It seems that the new growth on some TP's needs some support untill it hardens if you want very upright growth. One of my TP's bears very large pendulous blooms, so I am trying to train its branches into a more upright form than it seems to want to do on its own. My goal is to have at least some of the blooms borne high enough that they are viewed from below. In the meantime, I have sometimes resorted to lifting a bloom so it is proped upright on a branch.

You could try pruning the branches back if you don't like the shape. I had an old one break in a storm, and it sent out several sprouts from dormant buds.