I love peonies, but am not much of a gardener. Any tips on how to take good care of them?

I'm like you. I love those sweet smelling flowers, but I don't know what I'm doing in the garden.





I generally just let the peonies grow and try to keep my husband from mowing over them when they start growing in the spring. They do best with some sort of support, like a ring or one of those circles with a grid of widespaced wire that forms squares for the shoots to grow up through. Just plop it over where the peony is growing and it will grow up through the spaces.


After the flowers have bloomed and wilted, cut off the spent blossoms and you will have a really pretty shrub to look at the rest of the year. When the leaves die in late fall (if you're in a colder place), clear them away, being considerate of the roots.





I've never had any kind of trouble with my peonies with this sort of general neglect, except that I've found to my sorrow that they do not do well near a black walnut tree. Those trees have roots that secrete juglens and they kill peony bushes.





Here's a site I'm going to have a look at.


http://lancaster.unl.edu/hort/articles/2...

I love peonies, but am not much of a gardener. Any tips on how to take good care of them?
Just leave them alone. Never dig them up or try to move them.


Buy peony cages because the plants are very heave when in bloom.


Don't be concerned about the ants on the buds. They need ants to help them open.


The plants only bloom starting in their second year.
Reply:I have beautiful white peonies that is getting ready to bloom. all I do is let it flower and once it complete the flowering I just let it die back I never cut it. back