peonies not blooming

18 years ago

i transplanted some peonies during the summer (daughter moving had to do it then). they have come up and looked good the next 2 springs but never bloomed. should i be fertilizing with something special now or in the spring or what? i improved soil with nitrogen(tested very low in N) and llama manure before planting and top dress with llama manure each spring. any suggestions to make them bloom? thank you for any help. sandy

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Comments (8)

shrubs_n_bulbs
18 years ago
How deep did you plant? One of the most common reasons for no flowers is planting too deep. Herbaceous peonies should have the eyes just barely below the surface. They can take a while to settle in but two years without flowers is plenty, a third would be a definite cause for complaint. Do other peonies do OK in your area? I'm not familiar with them in really cold zones.
calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
18 years ago
Peonies need good soil with ample vegetative matter, but I have never added nitrogen to my peony beds. I wonder if you are getting too much foliage growth? Al
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diannp
18 years ago
If you are top dressing with llama poo, then you might be burying the eyes to deep each year by doing so. Remember, the eyes of a peony should only be 1 to 2 inches deep. If you've top-dressed directly over the top of the peony you may have the eyes 3 to 4 inches deep by now and all you'll get will be foliage and no blooms. You might try going out and gently (and I do mean gently) removing some of the dirt from on top of the peony and see if you can see any new eyes peeking back at you. :) Of course, you may have too much snow to do that right now. :)

Diann
IA Z5a
sandy_s
Original Author
18 years ago
thanks for the ideas. maybe i'll GENTLY pull some soil away next spring and add some phosphorous or fertilizer higher in phos. i didn't top dress right over the plant but next to it so i don't think i'm adding depth each year but maybe i'll skip it this year and use chemical fertilizer. thanks again sandy
diannp
18 years ago
Sandy, really, you don't need to fertilize peonies much, if at all. I have something like 60 or 70 herbaceous peony and 10 or so tree peony and I've never fertilized a single one and they always bloom their little heads off for me... You might listen to Calistoga, he is most likely right that you're fertilizing to much and so are getting terrific foliage growth and no blooms... Anyway, good luck!

Diann
IA Z5a
sandy_s
Original Author
18 years ago
ticker too boy would i love to see them all in bloom!! maybe i should scrape away a little soil and sit back for another summer and see what happens. thanks sandy
calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
18 years ago
When I do my fall/winter cleanup I wash off the soil accumulated on top of the plant with a strong stream from the hose with no bud damage. Of course I have no ice or snow to deal with. Al
sandy_s
Original Author
18 years ago
Al your idea about using water might be more gentle than my hands scraping soil away - maybe i'll try that after the ground melts this spring. thanks