Peonies & Roses

Peonies. The timeless, exquisite beauty of the Peony in late Spring and early summer is an absolute delight to behold, their showy, large papery blooms of many shades and colours add a touch of exotic drama to our British gardens and its not only the appearance, peonies have a wonderful fragrance too. Although the flowering season is fairly short compared to many other herbaceous plants, the magnificence of the flowers is unrivalled and well worth growing. Despite their delicate looking, exquisite beauty, peonies are not difficult to grow and in fact could be considered a low maintenance plant requiring very little attention once planted. Peonies make beautiful cut flowers and will add a glorious scent to the house. They suit most garden soils provided the ground is not waterlogged and are very hardy, so will grow happily all over the UK. Peonies can be grown in a pot or in the ground and will probably out live you or I, they have a very long, happy lives indeed!

Peonies start off the growing season by the eagerly awaited emergence of their beautiful ruby shoots and then, as their growth matures, they start to turn green and produce their attractive foliage, their leaves are large and deeply lobed and will look great throughout the growing season. In mid Spring we will see the flower buds start to grow and fatten and by the end of May onwards, depending on your location and peony variety, those stunning blooms will burst into flower. It is worth noting that your newly purchased Peony will probably not flower in its first year of planting but it will defiantly be with the wait. 

Our Peonies are pot grown so that means they can be planted at any time of year providing the soil is not frozen. Peonies love sun, however they will tolerate some light shade but their flowering abundance is much better in full sun. They will grow well if they have a little space and airflow around them, they prefer not to be overcrowded by other plants. As our peonies are container grown you can plant into ground at exactly the same level as they are in the pot. Herbaceous peonies do not like to be planted too deeply. It is worth inserting a plant support over your peony, this will allow the plant to grow up through it and the large blooms can then be supported. 

Cut down fully faded foliage in Autumn. Apply a good sprinkling of a well balanced fertiliser around the base of the plant in Spring.

Who said that Peonies cannot be moved? Not true!! They can be moved and the best time for this is in the autumn.