I can’t remember a time in my life that I didn’t love peonies. They remind me of my mom’s garden in the spring during childhood. Flowers filled our house for two weeks as they bloomed in the spring with big, beautiful fluffy ruffles.

All of my peonies (and peony knowledge) relates to herbaceous peonies, so that’s what I’m going to cover here.

I’m sharing my basics of peony care today. They are one of the easiest plants to care for, and you reap the benefits of them every spring.

When to plant: Peonies are sold at garden centers from late winter through the fall. When to plan really depends on your zone and climate. Like most plants, planting anything in the heat of summer is really hard on plants, and I avoid it at all costs.

The ideal time to plant a new peony is in the spring or fall. Peonies are spring blooming plants. They flower once in the spring, and then are just green foliage the rest of the spring and summer season.

Peonies are full sun plants, meaning they need 6+ hours of sun during the day. Aside from the sun requirement, soil that is well draining is important as well.

If you’re transplanting a peony or dividing a peony, this is best done in the fall. It allows it time to establish its roots, and get ready for a spring bloom.

When to stake: There are many varieties of peonies that benefit from staking. This is because the blooms of the peony get so heavy that the stems bend, and can sometimes end up lying on the ground, which doesn’t equate to the pretty spring show you want from your peony.

When you see the new growth coming up from your peony in the spring, its easiest to put a stake like THIS over the top, 8-10 inches off the ground, and the peony branches for that year will grow through your stake.

You can move the stake up if the branches continue to grow and you need more support.

Is this absolutely necessary? No. I have five peony bushes and I don’t stake any of them. The varieties I’ve chosen are not particularly heavy. My advice, see how it does the first year and then decide whether you want to stake the second year of the peony.

When to cut your blooms: You want to cut your blooms before they open, when they’re at the ‘marshmallow’ stage of budding. Push lightly on the center of the bloom. If it gives and feels soft like a marshmallow, it’s time to cut and bring inside. This gives you the longest vase life for your flowers!

What to do in the Fall: During fall garden clean up when you see the leaves start to brown or spot, cut back the branches to a couple of inches above the ground. The bush will grow new branches in the spring. Also, if you’re dividing or transplanting a peony, fall is the best time to do this!

Two of my peonies are from dividing a peony that’s in my mom’s garden. Nathan and I went over in the fall one year and dug up two peony bushes that had gotten really large for their spot, and removed a chunk that had several “eyes,” and then planted them in our garden. The eyes of a peony root are actually the flower stems for next year, so when you’re dividing peonies, divide them so that each chunk has several eyes, and then you’ll both have blooms the following spring.

I particularly love this because I know so many friends, and myself, that have wonderful memories of their grandmother’s garden or mother’s garden with peonies. Given how easy it is to divide them, it’s so special to now have those same peonies in my own garden.

My Favorite Varieties: I grow three different varieties in my garden. The white peonies that came from my mom’s house, neither of us knows what the variety it is. I’ve tried to match it to similar flowers I see at the garden centers and online, but we’re just not sure. It’s fragrant and probably my most favorite peony because it reminds me of her garden.

I also grow red charm:

And coral charm:

I also LOVE the Sarah Bernhardt peony:

But I’ll have to wait until I have a bigger garden to plant it. 🙂

Peonies are virtually maintenance free. They’re a beautiful way to welcome spring in the garden.