Middle of summer is not the best time to plant bare roots into the garden. Its done now so just see that they are cared for through the heat and into the cool of fall. They will die back with the cold temperatures and hopefully they will have stored enough energy to return in the spring. Don't expect a lot of new foliage growth now as they are putting the energy produced by the leaves into the roots. Al

thanks,

actually, I planted my peonies this early spring.

I started some bare root peonies in pots early this spring. The initial growth spurt was healthy and about what I expected from them. I planted them outside in their permanent sunny positions once it was safe to do so here - around Memorial Day.

They're still healthy looking although sort of in a "holding" pattern like the OP's, so I'm thinking this is fairly normal for bare root peony starts.

And like Al says they're concentrating their energy on producing a healthy root system. What comes up next spring is a better guage of success.

I planted bare roots in early spring and the plant is now about 10" tall. Actually, I was impressed at how quickly it reached 10". I figure/hope it will shoot up next year.