Peony help?

I planted a peony last year and doesn't look as if its starting to come back this year. I've read that peonies like it when it's cold over winter for them to go dormant. Well, where I live, in Wisconsin, we've had a cold winter so that's not a problem. The question is, do peonies take longer to start growing or bloom than other perennials or is it a lost cause with it?





Thanks in advance for any advice or help.

Peony help?
I also have a zone 4 garden and have found that when I divide and transplant my peonies, they tend to pout and are slower to come up in the following year.





Year two is better with a lot of foliage and by year three they are blooming again.





Wait for a bit as this may be the situation with yours.





Peonies also can be very fickle about the places they like to be planted. If yours doesn't come up this may be the reason. Once established in a placed that they like, they will thrive for years.
Reply:Are yours in a sunny spot? they do rather like the sun. I am in the UK and mine are just coming through, though we have had a very cold spring so they are a bit slow
Reply:Mine are not in a real sunny spot in the early spring, they were about 2 weeks behind others in my area. have patience, they should grow.
Reply:I'm in Michigan and my Peonys are coming up. Not sure about yours. Maybe you planted them too deep? Mine are about 6 inches tall.
Reply:I live in Kansas, where peonies bloom normally the end of May. I haven't seen any growing very tall here yet, where we had an unusually long and cold wet winter. It may depend on when you planted it. (spring, summer, fall?) It may also not be ideal for your zone. Some plants have cultivars that are not winter-hardy while others of the same species are. I have lost one in two peonies for about the 12 I planted several years ago. Sometimes, it is due to a plant disease from the nursery (many are made from plant cuttings, so if the mother plant has a disease, it is passed on to each new plant genetically), or pests which attack roots in the soil, or if it was rootbound when you bought it, sometimes it is too late when you plant it. If you don't have grubs (the little white and red maggot looking bugs, you can dig in the soil to see them) and it was healthy last fall(especially spot-free on the foliage), i would say wait another few weeks and it should appear. If it died, I hope it didn't cost you too much, and better luck with the next try. Gardening can be 50-50 sometimes.