I just planted my first peonies in a new bed too. I have read that they like potash, but not so much nitrogen, so I mixed ashes and leaves in the soil. Have also read that they want well drained, and standing water is death to them, but also that some shade is good during the hottest part of the day or the petals may wilt. I read that they thrive on drought, but that might not have been written for Texas drought. They don't like to be moved, so choose location carefully before planting. They can live 100 years.
Do you get a winter freeze? They need a cold season. Plant so the eye buds are 1 or 2 inches below the surface.

Correction I read that "they are quite drought resistant" not that they thrive on drought. But what's considered droughty in Ontario where that writer is from might be considered well watered in Texas.

Here is a link that might be useful: peony tips

We do get a freeze; first one will probably be Friday night. I have the bed dug, but hadn't added anything yet and it rained last night. So I'll have to wait for it to dry out a bit. We needed the rain badly, but of course it had to come when I wanted to be digging in the dirt! I got notice that my peonies were shipped yesterday, so I'm hoping to be ready when they arrive. I read last night that they need at least 3 ft of space for each plant; I didn't realize they would get that big. Also that they are a minimum of 2' tall and can be much taller. So, that makes me wonder if I've chosen the right place or if they will block the view of the things behind their bed. AND I read you only get about a week of bloom. I didn't realize that at all. I was thinking there would be at least a month or so of flowers, once they got established. Also saw a site that said to add lime to the bed.??? Maybe I should have just stayed with pansies. They bloom all winter here and you don't have to do a thing except try to keep the rabbits from eating all the flowers.

To get a month or more of bloom you need several varities of peonies, early, mid, late season plus a couple of species and tree peonies to be on the safe side. Peonies can be as short as a foot or as tall as four foot or larger. This depends on the type. Do a little reading this winter at your library.

I would block the sprinkler as too much moisture can cause rotting of the root and additional fungus problems.

Yes, I obviously should have done more research before ordering. I just love the flowers and thought I could get them planted this fall. The three plants I ordered are on the way, so I'm a little late on in depth study. If they get here before I have the bed ready I think I'll put them in the vegetable crisper to keep cool. I'm going to see if I can find out the approx heighth of the specific ones I ordered. They are supposed to be "easy, for beginner" types, so maybe I will luck out and not have too many problems.

Consider that the flowers are big and can fill up with water and droop to the ground and be damaged if too often topwatered.

What kind of peonies did you order? Herbaceous doubles would probably suffer more topwater droop than single trees, for example. Maybe you could put them just outside of the sprinklers reach, so they will get some groundwater but not topsoaked.

A few days in the fridge might not kill them, but in general most roots would probably rather be in the soil ASAP, even if not perfectly situated and prepared. YMMV. Also be careful in handling them as some peony roots are surprisingly brittle and could get broken in the drawer if, say, a bag of potatoes or carrots was dumped on top of them, or if they were crammed in the top of a full drawer and forced shut. They will also slowly be drying out as long as they are out of the soil.

My advice is not to worry too much about details and just make a call and go with it. If you add ashes or lime, though, don't have them directly touching the plant or root.

Thanks, Happyday. I decided no refrigerator; instead I've got them under moist paper towels I'm misting now and then. I hope to get the bed finished and the roots in the ground either today or tomorrow. I will water them by hand except for the time during the heat of the summer when I hope we will be OUT of Texas (July and August). They may have already bloomed by that time. And it sounds like they may not bloom for the first couple of years anyway. Maybe I can get a drip system set up for their bed by then. Now, I'm trying to decide what else to put in the bed since it sounds like they look pretty ragged after blooming and you are supposed to let them die down naturally and not remove the leaves unless they are diseased. I read it is best to plant them with things that will kind of cover up the leaves when they are past their prime. Maybe just some annuals? I got some daffodil bulbs I'm going to put in as well, but they have just a brief bloom period here and then their leaves look ratty. We are supposed to get a hard freeze here Friday and Sat nights (our first of the season) and then back to the 60s, so I've got to get a heater in the "tent" over the fall tomatoes. I appreciate all the advice. I'm sure it would be breathtaking to see beautiful peonies blooming freely in an area where they are more easily grown. My mother-in-law lives in northeast Iowa and loves to grow roses and other flowers, but has no peonies. Maybe I can get some for her in the future.

Under plant the peonies with the daffodils. That way the peonies will hide the ratty daffodil foliage. The peonies should bloom for you in March or April. After they have bloomed cut the bloom stem back to just above the main leaf at a diagonal. Some peonies have great foliage and may have fine fall color. This year most were yellow gold or deep bronze. This was not a normal year. Try to plant the annuals so that all of the plants in the bed have good air circulation. You can look at earlier posts for suggestions of plantings to go along with your peonies.

I addition to your question chickenmom, you can also amend your soil with kelp meal, lime, bone meal, alfalfa meal, aged manures, humus and even Azomite which is an excellent source of trace minerals,,,its made from the minerals of volcanic ash. Keep in mind that over fertilizing can be unfavorable too. Do not plant your division more than 2 inches below the ground.

If your soil is extremely clay then some gypsum and any organic conditioner like peat moss or compost might help keep the soil loose. Peonies prefer organic fertilizers as oppose to synthetic ones. A nice 6-10-10 bulb food boost in the spring, placed around and about 12 inches from the crown would benefit them also. In the fall (nornally September) cut the herbaeous ones down to the ground rather than allowing them to die back.

You are correct in that peonies are beautiful! You do have to purchase a variety of them by season (early, mid, late), as our friends stated earlier. I have about 175 of them but take your time! They are wonderful as cuttings in your home or to brighten a friend's day!
Good Luck!

Thanks, ywilliam!! Do you have photos online? I can't imagine 175 plants with such beautiful flowers. The five roots I ended up with are tucked away in the new bed and in an older bed. I ended up adding some compost, a bit of lime, a bag of "humus/manure", & some of our best soil we've been adding leaves to for several years. I just hope they will get enough cold weather. We still haven't had a freeze. I put them down with only about an inch of soil over the pink buds and I understand that, as the soil sinks down, they will be just slightly covered. I haven't put any mulch at all over them. I did plant 3 types of daffodils around them, since they usually reliably return in our area and used bone meal under the bulbs. Also put some crocus in the front of the bed and pincushion plants as the first perennials for the bed. I would love to see photos if you have any online. Thanks for the encouragement!

I have a few pictures that I could upload but have not learned how to do that yet. The garden materials you used were fine. I know they will do well. Some people recommend to mulch the first year and pull the mulch back in the spring but I don't think your winters are that harsh is it?
What were the five divisions you chose? You can never have enough of peonies!

Some years we get several days of freezing weather. Especially bad are the ice storms in January or February, but in general, winters are very moderate here. I thought I was getting a package group of easy to grow roots good for warm areas which included: Sarah Bernhardt, Mrs. F.D. Roosevelt and Duchess de Nemours. Then I found out that only the Duchess is considered an early bloomer. So, I also ordered Shirley Temple and Monsieur Jules Elie. I know I have to be patient and just hope I've given them the best chance to do well where they're located. I haven't figured out how to post photos either. I just got my first digital camera a few months ago and it is smarter than I am.

Those are wonderful! I find "in my garden" that "Red Charm" is a beautiful deep burgundy bomb that blooms early! The ones you mentioned I noticed are blush to deep pink in color with the exception of the duchess, do you prefer pink as oppose to the nice corals, yellow or white?

Oh .....its no secret that with all this new technology, we all can use a little help. Darn! just as we were getting good with this! LOL.

I was trying to get colors of pink and white. I like light colors and pastels. It is so hot here in the summer I am not fond of reds or oranges. They look too warm to me. My ideal garden would have lots of white, light pink, blue, violet and some yellow.