When to plant peonies?
- Botanical name
- Paeonia officinalis
- Family
- Paeoniaceae
Peonies are planted from September to October. They flower from April to June.
Peonies are perennial plants.
The rhizome goes in shallow, so that the eyes sit only just under the surface. Planted deeper, a peony does not flower.
A peony is propagated by dividing the rhizome, and that is done at planting. The rhizome is cut into pieces with several eyes on each. Seed is not the route, because it takes years and the variety is lost.
In ground where water stands, peony roots rot, so free draining loam suits it. A mature plant takes drought well and needs little water.
Peonies through the year
- planting
- flowering
In short
Growing conditions
Are peonies toxic to cats and dogs?
Yes. Toxic to cats and dogs, toxic parts: roots, stems, leaves, flowers and seeds.
Pests and diseases
Listed here is every problem for which the sources name this plant as a host. The problems are not listed in order of how common they are.
- Signs
- The flower buds turn brown and dry up before they open. The stem blackens at ground level and the shoot keels over, and in damp weather a grey mouldy coating forms on the affected parts. The same plant often gets irregular brown violet spots on the leaves as well (peony leaf blotch).
- Prevention
- In autumn cut all the top growth down to the ground and take it out of the garden, not onto the compost, because that is where the disease overwinters. Leave enough room between the plants for the air to move, do not overwater and do not wet the leaves.
- What to do
- Cut affected buds, shoots and leaves back to a healthy part as they appear and remove them. There is no product for the home garden, and the measure is the autumn clear up.
- Signs
- A white, floury coating spreads over the leaves, first on the lower and older ones. The leaf under it yellows and dries up. The fruit stays small, because the plant loses leaf surface.
- Prevention
- Plant resistant varieties, leave an airy spacing and sun, and clear the debris at the end of the season. Unlike most fungi it is not helped by wet foliage, since it spreads in heat and high air humidity, in a dry summer too.
- What to do
- Oil products meant for powdery mildew on the squash family work on contact. They do not cure a leaf that is already affected, but they stop the spread to healthy ones. On herbs cut the affected shoots back instead, since the new growth comes clean. On ornamental perennials what is left is spacing and moisture.
Check the registration and the label before use.
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Sources about the plant: ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants, Clemson Cooperative Extension, CliniTox Pflanzengifte, GBIF Backbone Taxonomy, University of Illinois Extension, University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, Wikidata. Checked between 14 and 28 August 2026. The problem descriptions also draw on: KGZS, Royal Horticultural Society, UF/IFAS Extension, University of Maryland Extension, Utah State University Extension.