Last spring DH bought a fernleaf peony. It did okay for most of the spring and summer, but then it started drying up and the stems all broke off so that I wouldn't have been able to tell that it had ever been there except for the plant marker.
Any ideas of what happened to it? I've since read that they don't like a lot of water, and I did keep the bed it was in fairly well watered because I had all new plants in it.
I hope it comes back, or DH won't spring for another expensive plant ever again. :(
I know that all I can do right now is wait to see if it comes back, but I would like to know if what it did was normal for this plant, and what I could have done differently in case I can talk the greenhouse into replacing it.
Fernleaf Peony qestion
HI Joan,
They die back completely later in the summer. I have had one for three years; it has never bloomed and the first year when it died back I thought I lost it but it still comes up every year. Think the reason it didn't bloom was that I planted it to deep; so every year I lift it up and put some soil underneath. Maybe this year it will bloom?
Twinlakeschef, I hope yours does bloom this year. I will print your post and remind myself that maybe I need to lift mine a bit this year too, it it chooses to come back.
Thank you so much for your reply. Let's keep in touch and try to get our fernleaf babies to be happy. :)
This message was edited Mar 7, 2004 9:57 PM
twinlakeschef is right, it does die back during the summer. The other thing is that the fern leaf peony likes its eyes to be planted shallow...They bloom best if the eyes are planted about an inch (or less ) below the soil level. The roots are not as big as the herbacious peony and does not like being buried too deep.
Heres the single fernleaf peony. I have the double fernleaf peony also but this one seems to be easier to grow.
Anahi,
How long have you had this and how tall does it get?
Thanks,
a
twinlakeschef,
Ive had this for about 3 years...it gets about 1 1/2 feet tall(approx.) and blooms around mothers day.
double fern leaf peony is to the right of the early iris (still in bud stage) and blooms alittle later than the single fern leaf. The fragrance of the double is fantastic! Even though this plant is rather expensive to buy ($35.) its well worth the price!
Will cross my fingers for mine this year!
Beautiful plants anahi! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that mine will come back this spring so I can see if it's planted too deep and such. Thanks for all the valuable information.
I've heard that peonys don't like being moved, so maybe it would be better to just remove soil from the top rather than lifting the plant up, unless that would leave it sitting in a hole that would collect too much water. Peony experts, am I right?
anahi, ever since you posted your picture on the perennial forum, I have been longing for a fern leaf peony. I had heard of them, but never seen one. It is just sooooo different, and I do like "Different". LOL You can bet, I'll be looking to buy one, now.
Dee