I got a small division at our farm market. I planted it in a mostly sunny spot. Any special advice? Should it be protected this winter?
Intersectional peony
I wouldn't think you would have to protect it from weather - maybe critters like voles. Azomite is a great mineral and is really good for the peonies. Low nitrogeon fertilizer. Mine lived for four years in Alaska - I caged and wrapped in lanscape cloth to try to mitigate the dessication of the set buds the last two years. They blossomed for the first time after the second one. Not sure if just coincidence or it helped. Either way the mice ate them up last winter so starting over. Good Luck. They are quite beautiful
People differ on this for the first year. I've done it both ways. I planted high last fall so I could maximize seeing the blossoms soon, so that meant protection was necessary in that case. First layer was buckwheat hulls, then salt hay, as recommended by the local nurseries. My doggie helper, who never hesiitates to check out what I've planted, chose this as a roost for lounging throughout the winter.
You guys have the strangest sounding gardening materials. Stuff I have never heard of. Adelman's uses nut shells (can't remember which but might be pecans) crushed to line their paths between beds in the fields. Works great as it doesn't trap water, of which they have a great deal I found out. lol. I am toying with the idea of not caging this year. both my rhody and azalea did poorly this winter. Last year it worked. it is so confusing trying to figure out what is apparently inconsistent results. I guess it depends on what kind of winter you have.
Maybe your area sells different stuff, but the two I mentioned are easy to get in New England plant nurseries. I bought the buckwheat hull bag after it went on sale in fall because it is a premium product, but at least a little does go a long way. I think any quality plant nursery can say what is effective for a particular region. Placing some pine boughs might be fine protection, too, and they are easy to move around.
I use what I have available and rarely purchase anything except soil amendments for planting.
The shells that the Adelman's use are hazelnuts. Although I have two coppiced plants I rarely find the shells. Since I and my neighbors have oak trees the nuts are mixed with the leaves, each spring it is a task to pull all of the babies.
One thing that people on the West coast and Southern regions may have that are just showing up here are rice hulls.
Recently I saw ground corn cobbs for mulch but would advise never to use near anything that you are planning on eating as several fungi and molds grow on them in the right conditions.
I usually use oak leaves inside a cage. I collect the leaves and put them on sometime after Thanksgiving. It sounds as if this wouldn't be the best plan?
The problem with putting any type of mulch over the crown is two fold. The weight of the leaves around the crown could prevent the air that is needed to keep the crown dry. And if the crown is covered it will be subject to fungi and mold including the ones that cause roots to rot.
Tree peonies in harsh areas can be mulched to keep the changes in air temperatures from causing early bud opening and to keep the main plant from deer, especially young and very hungry ones, from trying the plants. However I have been thinking of wrapping in burlap such as you would trees that are subject to winter dryness. Perhaps someone who does this on other plants could chime in.
I used burlap the first year around the cages. then got really motivated and wrapped with burlap then landscape cloth. I think it might have been a mistake. the plants were only in about 2' of snow with the tops barely showing. I don't know what might have happened if they hadn't been eaten. I think that since they are not evergreen wrapping them in burlap and then letting the snow protect them might have been a better idea. I started using cages around my rhody's as they are evergreen and they get beaten down with snow load on the burlap if they are not supported by a cage. Wasn't thinking through the difference in what I was trying to protect.