Tree Peonies

Q. I see that the Tree Peonies in the garden center are grafted. Can any variety of Peony be trained to become a tree peony or is this a process that is better left to the pros?

A. Most tree peonies are grafted plants. The rootstock for them is that of the herbaceous peony - that old fashioned and familiar plant that grows more quickly and strongly than its exotic cousin. This gives the infant tree peony which is grafted to it a strong head start in life. Again most peonies can be grafted onto a root stock but leave this to the pros unless
you are an accomplished gardener.

When you plant it you want to make sure that the graft is buried at least an inch or two below the soil surface. What happens is that the grafted tree peony when beneath the soil will begin to grow its own roots instead of depending on the herbaceous peony. The result is a stronger plant that can live for more than a century given proper care. It may take a year or two before you finally see blooms on your new plant - but when you do you will know what all the fuss is about. And you will be happy to know that the show will repeat itself in greater and greater splendor.

Tree peonies need good soil and regular feeding. They do not like to be relocated so choose your planting site carefully. Prepare a good-sized planting hole - way larger that seems necessary because you want the plant's roots to have plenty of room to expand. The soil should be deep and rich - if not add some well-rotted manure and compost. While they really prefer slightly alkaline soil mine are thriving in acid soil - so they really aren't too finicky as long as the soil drains well. Too much moisture can lead to root rot.

These plants do like iron. I have heard many people say that they toss a couple of old nails into the hole while planting - believe it or not this does release a continual supply of it on into the soil. But you may prefer to buy yours as a soil additive. Otherwise a good balanced fertilizer such as 5-10-5 will do fine.