Peony tree seedlings

I finally got 2 peony tree seeds to germinate and now I have 2 seedlings in my house--the temps here are 50's in the day and 40's at night--question is what do I do with the seedlings now--do I plant them outside or what? thanks Cheryl

You could trade them to me. I will take them off you hands... LOL.

Seriously, what did you have to do to get them to germinate?

You live in a very cold zone, so if they're still very small I would probably wait and plant them in the spring. If someone else who lives closer to you says something different I would trust them over me, but you're already at the bottom end of their hardiness range, and very young plants can be more susceptible to cold damage than larger better established ones, so if you have a place to keep them indoors for the winter I would probably do that rather than risk them outside.

Greenjay ---if I remember right I put them in damp peat moss in a plastic bag for three months at 70 degrees--always checking to make sure it was damp and get all the air out of the bag--then for about 2 months i put the bag in the refrigator then I took them out and put them in 60 degree temp--when the roots started about 1 inch long i potted them up and put them in a sunny window--its a long process--I started out with about 8 seeds and 2 made it--one plant is about 9 inches tall with leaves and 2 stems --the other is only 3 inches tall with 1 stem and a leave--now is the time to try to start seeds so in the spring you can put them out side--I started my seeds to late--- I got the directions off the computer

the thing Im not sure about is if I leave them inside all winter will they make it or do they need the cold to go dormant?

thanks ecrane3 for the info--this is my first attempt at tree peonies seeds--on regular peonies I just planted them in the fall and now I have 30 seedling of them growing outside--I wil have to wait and see if they make it through the winter---

Cheryl:
The only thing I could add is, every one I have talked with says they probably won't be true to the mother plant. But they should be a tree peony. I know they do grow here. At least one person in town has one.
I will talk with her, I know hers is around 16 years old. But I don't know any thing about how much a seedling can stand.
You have so many plants, I don't remember that you had a peony tree. Good luck with them. Russ

Russ I have about 8 tree peonies--I have had 3 for about 6 years and the others are about 3 years old--just dont know what to do with these 2 seedlings--it took me about 6 months to get them to germinate--its a process!!!! thanks Cheryl

could you foster them with someone else down south over winter?

Put them in your basement or garage, near a window, and don't let them dry out. You don't need them to do anything but slowly grow a root system over the winter. By spring, they will be ready to put in a bigger pot. I wouldn't put them in the ground until they are about a foot tall - the rabbits will eat the foliage if you do - experience talking here. I have four tree peonys and I did have five! LOL

KayJones thanks for the info --thats what I was kinda thinking--its going to freeze here pretty soon so I was to late to put them out and they are small yet--hope they make it through the winter--I went and picked some more seeds from my peony trees and am going to try again to get some to germinate---Cheryl