Peonies are difficult to transplant, but I would give them a bit more time before deciding that you were totally unsuccessful. It takes a long time to get a good stand of them in any case.

Some of the doulbes are very droopy and will need to be supported.

I doubt your peony is dead. I have bought several peonies in worse shape than the fresh peonies that you planted and they still survive. Can I ask you how deep you planted your peonies? The deeper you planted the eyes the longer for the pips to come up.

I live in zone 5 as well and with the winter we've had I had to pull mulch back to see if the peonies planted last year made it. The pips are just starting to show. I'd give them more time. Unless water logged I've found them to be pretty tough plants.

Also zone 5, some of my peonies are showing tiny starts of leaves, some barely show pips and some haven't shown signs of life at all yet. I agree with the others, don't give up on them yet!

Thank you all for the encouraging words. I will give them a little more time. However, I'd still like to add some more peonies to my yard. I only have a pink one right now and I'd like to get a couple more colors (reds, whites, yellows, etc).

I have a Bowl Of Beauty peony I'm hoping to remove and give away come Fall. It's actually been the "parent" of several others in my yard. However it was planted in a super-shady location by the original homeowner and so never blooms more than once in a blue moon. It's a two-toned pink bloom with a cool looking "red eye."

If you're still looking when Autumn rolls around (and don't mind more pink), bump this thread and we'll talk. Hopefully your current plants are just taking their time at surfacing. :) Good Luck.

I would give them more time. My peonies are slowly coming up. Most of them are still sleeping, but eventually, I'm sure they will show their pretty faces. :-) Give it some time. They are worth the wait.