We get our peony roots from our suppliers in the Netherlands. The roots are harvested in September and them shipped over to us at our farm here in North Texas.
These are HUGE roots - big enough to get through our tough Texas summers.
We grow over 1400 peony plants here on our farm and over the years have found the cultivars that do well in our tough Texas climate. We grow them a bit differently than they do up north since we have such a warm climate and they do well for us here. Each spring around Mother’s Day we bring thousands of gorgeous peony blooms to sell at market.
Peony Care
-We grow our peony out in open fields. We have clay soils but we do not amend it when we plant our roots other than to add a handful of Bulbtone to each hole.
Peony need at least 6 hours of sun daily. I recommend strongly that they have a break from that late HOT afternoon sun. We have a tree line that starts to shade our plot about 4pm.
We plant our peony roots JUST below the soil - not more than an inch. If you walked our peony field you would see the top of the roots at the soil surface. They like to be shallow. If you plant them too deep - they will not bloom for you.
We fertilize with Bulbtone 2 times a year. Once when the shoots appear in the early spring and again when we cut the foliage down at the end of summer.
We cut back our peony foliage anywhere between late July and September. You want to make sure you put the leaves and debris in your trash and not the compost pile.
Peony are pretty easy keepers - they will need regular watering if we are not receiving regular rain (1 Inch a week). Once they are established they will do well with occasional watering. We rarely water unless we have had weeks without and precipitation.
Do not mulch your peony - they do not like a lot of matter on top of their roots.
You may get a bloom or two the first year - go ahead and enjoy it BUT only cut the flowers and leave as many leaves as possible - this is where your roots get their energy to get bigger the first year you have it planted.
