Peonies in Texas?

I'm planning to move to Zone 7b in Texas soon and am curious about whether there's any hope of having peonies in the garden there.

According to one expert I talked to, yes, you can grow them. Two tips he recommends - start with large roots, 5 eyes if possible. Give them a dormant period - withhold water, starting in Sept. or Oct. and don't water until they start to regrow or you want to wake them up, in Jan. or Feb. This is from a guy who grows over 100 varieties in So. Cal. My zone, it's a piece of cake! You plant, they grow! I even had some itsy bitsy pieces of root growing in a pile of weeds, ready for the garbage!

Welcome to DG, also! If you haven't been to the Welcome Mat forum, head that-a-way post haste and introduce yourself! Love to learn more about your favourite plants, etc.,too!

Thanks, Kooger. I lived in the Midwest for many years but moved around enough that I never got to see mine get well established but loved seeing them on other people's yards. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get some established in Texas.

Would you like me to send you some large roots? I have 3 clumps to dig - have been procrastinating about doing it -partly b/c of cracked kneecap, partly because I don't know where to put them. Sept. is the best time to do this but DH is moving the lawn shed where these are growing. He's starting to nag, so I gotta get em out! I'd send them for postage.

Sugarfoot, yes you can grow them in TX. I am in zone 8a and have 3 plants and intend to get more. Year before last I ordered 3 in a deal too good to pass up. Well, they died over the winter (or I thought they did) since I had them in a large pot to get bigger so I could decide where to put them. Anyway I dumped the pot come late spring and lo and behold where I dumped it a few days later a shoot appeared! I planted it and it had one bloom this year. Of course I immediately ordered two more and have them in a bed on my north side of house but protected from the evening sun by trees. Hopefully next year I'll have a little better show.
Kooger glad to hear your advice about how to care for them. When I order I will specifically ask about the larger 5 eyed plants. I've been hunting varieties that do better in the south. Just been flying by the seat of my pants, but I really want to succeed with these plants. Any other tips for us southern gardeners would be appreciated. Jenny

Thanks, for the information, Jenny. I'll be moving to zone 7b so that should give the peonies a little more of the cold that they like.

sh1025,


I am growing peonies as well. The tips I have red from the experts say that singles and Japanese peonies do better in the south than doubles do, and early bloomers do better than lates. Hope this helps.

Steve

Also, you should plant them more shallow than in the north...
Just below the surface to one inch, instead of the 2-3 inches they normally recommend.
This helps expose them to more cold(which they need).
However, this will give them too much heat in the summer, so you need to mulch over them in the warmer months.
I actually rake AWAY the leaves in the winter, and rake them ON in the summer.(pretty much the opposite of what you do in the north.)
-T

seedpicker, those are very good tips. maybe this will help mine this year. no problem about the cold since we had 20 degree weather for a week around Christmas but the heat in the summer is what is terrible on mine. I will put extra mulch on this summer. Thanks, Jenny

Jenny-

You are welcome...hope it works for you.

-T

thanks for all the tips you posted. (kooger, thanks for the link!).

Here's a piece from a catalog I just received:

kooger, awesome update! thanks again. my peonies are budding, btw. if they survive the storm tonight, i should have blooms in a week or two.