How to Buy a Peony

Tree and Herbaceous Peonies

• Herbaceous peonies (Paeonia hybrids), growing 1 to 4 feet tall, look good in the middle of a garden border. They flower in the spring and grow glossy green leaves through the summer before dying back to the ground in the winter. Tree peonies (Paeonia suffruticosa) grow slowly up to 6 feet tall and bloom only after growing for two to three years; hybrid varieties are best, because their blooms face upward instead of hanging down.

Importance of Roots

• Herbaceous peonies grow successfully as both bare-root plants and potted plants as long as the roots have at least three eyes, or growth buds, and are not dried out and shriveled. Because you will invest major amounts of time and money to your tree peony, you'll have a better chance at growing it successfully if you buy a plant that has already started growing its own large root systems.

Other Features

• Unfortunately, not all catalogs indicate whether a specific peony is fragrant. In fact, some peonies actually have disagreeable odors. Check different catalogs to find listings for fragrance, or look for cultivars such as "Moonstone" (Paeonia "Moonstone") or "Diana Parks" (Paeonia "Diana Parks"). Other features to look for include early, mid- or late season bloomers and flower shapes, whether single, double or Japanese, with a single row of petals and narrow petal-like staminodes.

Planting Peonies

• Fall is the best time to buy either bare-root or potted plants, giving the peonies ample time to begin establishing a root system in their new home. Both herbaceous and tree peonies thrive in rich soil with lots of organic compost worked into the planting hole. Plant herbaceous plants with the eyes 2 inches deep in cold climates and 1 inch deep in warmer areas. Place the graft line on tree peonies 6 to 8 inches below the soil level.