This fernleaf peony comes up reliably every spring, but I haven't seen a bloom in at least three years. I transplanted it about 2 years ago simply because it was in a location where it might be damaged when we dug something up. So we intentionally moved it about 12 inches to avoid damage. It came up last year without blooming and still shows no sign of buds. I don't remember feeding it but might have. It is in a sunny, fertile location with good drainage, an area where everything grows so well.
It was here when we moved in 2005 and used to bloom.
I think it is an alpine plant, so expected to be an early bloomer. Is anyone growing fernleaf peonies?
Peony tenuifolia
One thing that comes to mind is to ask how deeply you planted it? (Everything else about what you describe sounds great - full sun, good drainage.) Peonies are notorious for failing to bloom, or blooming sparsely, when the eyes are planted too deeply; just below the surface, to up to about an inch below the surface is good. Could this be the reason? Yes, it does bloom early (in June here in this northerly location, which is early) and is a plant of woodland forest clearings and steppes (not really an alpine in the usual sense).
This message was edited Apr 21, 2013 9:01 AM
Thanks, altagardener, you always give good advice. I don't believe she is planted too deeply. As a matter of fat, her sister is so shallow that I had to keep covering her roots as they unearthed. I'm not exactly cert.ain how I got that one unless it broke off when I relocated the original plant. I always have to be careful that my well-meaning prince does not indiscriminately throw soil on my peony plants at the end of the season when they are less visible. This peony is very low growing (6-8 inches high at most) that I cannot recall if it is still there later on as the echinaceas and platycodons grow full in that area. I'll have to do some searching for the photo of the bloom to get a date on it for the month and year.
Does it generally bloom for you after the other herbaceous peonies or earlier? All of the other peonies seem to have broken ground and are anywhere from 1/4 inch to 8 inches high. Around here peonies are known as "Memorial Day Flowers" (the American holiday, May 30th), but they will probably be later this year. Even the tree peony buds are a bit late as we seem to be having a delayed spring here in the northeast.
My cousin is from Calgary, and she has told me of the fluctuations of temperature, so I gather you have many experiences in gardening.
Marcia
Thank you! That's very kind - I hope it useful to someone. Is the first one coming up in the location that you moved it from? If so, it would be a piece of root that was left, and if it is shallower but blooming, perhaps the other really is slightly too deep, if you don't mind me saying .... because otherwise it sounds perfect, and even if it was a small division, one would think it'd be big enough to bloom by now.
You know, I was all prepared to say that P. tenuifolia was my first to bloom but looking back at my photos, all my species and hybrids bloom at pretty much the same time... So much for memory.
I would imagine yours goes dormant much earlier than here in our short and cool season?
Yeah, the weather is certainly unpredictable here! Even so, I find it a pretty good place to garden - no shortage of hardy species, really.
Well, here's a surprise. I took a look today, and I think it might bloom. It's just that it's been so long since it bloomed that I don't remember how it's supposed to look.
I have many of these, they take awhile to bounce back if disturbed or divided. Looks like you'll have a bloom this year!
Do you know if they have the same blooming needs as most of the herbaceous peonies in terms of needing cold weather to set blooms?