My three-year old tree peony (from a stick!) has not yet bloomed and is still quite small (less than a foot) ... looks healthy though ... I had planted something tall in front of it and finally realized my mistake and moved those plants ... is there anything I should feed the tree peony in particular to encourage it to grow? I know some things like poor soil so not sure what to do ... I have no buds this year and assume it would have budded by now if it was going to bloom ...
Have no idea what color it's going to be! Can't wait to see it ...
3 year old tree peony
How long has it been planted? Is it growing plenty of leaves? Are they coming from the stem or the base? Mine took a couple of years to get going but it had 3 flowers this year. Do you have a photo?
It's been in the ground 3 years --
I live in the city and garden on weekends -- so I'll check this weekend and answer your other questions and take a photo -- it looks really healthy except for no flowers ...
Here is a picture of my tree peony -- it's still quite short!
Here is a picture of the stem(s) ... there seem to be more than one ... does this tell you anything?
If when you bought it it was a small stick it was probably just barely a year old then. Tree peonies can take up to 5 years to bloom. Some can bloom in 2 years, others 3 years, you get the picture. Just hang tight it will get there eventually. Now, I'm going to ask a silly question. You don't prune it back to the ground in the fall do you? If you've done that, that is why it isn't blooming. Tree peonies bloom off old wood. But I doubt that you've done that. :)
Diann
It was a small stick bought in the summer and planted with no fertilizer or anything (I was new to gardening) ... should I fertilize it with anything? No I don't prune it at all ...
What you really need is time, time for it to grow. You might add some compost around the base, but I don't think you really can do anything else but wait. Peonies are not on anyones time table but their own. So meanwhile, concentrate on the other parts of your garden and then one day you'll look up and it will be blooming. :)
Diann
Thanks Diann -- I'll throw some stuff around it ... I think having it behind the rudbeckia for 1.5 years didn't help it any ... It's so frustrating not knowing what color it's going to be! Color is very important to me ... it was an end of the year sale and I got it cheap but wasn't keeping good records at the time (not that I am now, either!) ... If it ever blooms I'll post a picture ...
Sharron
I don't have any tree peonies (yet)....but I have several herbaceous peonies and I work bone meal into the soil every year in the fall. Maybe that would be good for yours as well. Good luck--seems they are always worth the wait!