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How to Grow Peonies from Seed
Do you have difficulties growing peoniesfrom seed? Despair no longer...help is on the way!
Growing peonies from seed is as easy asgrowing carrots, except it takes a little longer, (about 3-5 years). Theresults, however, are far more satisfying.
There are two approaches which we have foundwill have good success.
In late summer / early fall we collect seedpods from many different cultivars. These are strictly open pollinated seeds,so the variety is huge. Simply leave the pods in an open container to dry, andthen remove the seeds. The pods willstart to crack as the seeds ripen.
One has the option of planting the ripeseeds outdoors or indoors.
OUTDOORPROCEDURE:
Use the seeds as soon as they are properlyripened. Prepare a nursery bed area somewhere in your garden area. Simply plantthe peony seeds much as you would beans. Insert a marker label to delineate thearea.
Most seeds should make a shoot in the comingspring/summer months.
The outdoor planting in early fall gives theseeds their obligatory warm moist treatment, the cold treatment of winter followed bythe warming of spring. This sequence is the one mimicked by the indoortreatment.
INDOORPROCEDURE:
About the beginning of October fill 4-6 inchpots with moist potting soil. Plant the seeds ~4 cm. apart and ~ 2-21/2 cm.deep. If you wish you may spray the soil with a fungicide (such as‘No-damp’) or treat the seeds with a bit of ‘bulb’dust. Rotting is not usually a problem.
Place the pots in plastic food-storage bags.Tie with a twist tie and place in a warm place (~ 20 deg.C ), leave for about 3months. During this period the radicle and also a root system will develop.Soil can be carefully removed for periodic inspection without harming thelittle plants. Simply replace soil and place back in the bags.
When radicles androots are sufficiently developed place the pots in a cold spot (justabove freezing). That old fridge in the basem*nt is marvelous for this purpose!Leave in the cold for 2/3/4/months...until SPRING!
Select a spot in the garden for a nurserybed. Carefully knock the soil and seedlings out of the pot (keep intact as muchas possible) and plant at the same depth as in the pot. Insert a plant markerwith the seedling information. Keep planting area moist (mulch). Throughout thesummer you will see the first leaves appear. Some seedlings may not put forthleaves until next spring…be patient. Leave the little plants over winter(a further layer of mulch will help them overwinter without heaving) untilAug-Sept the following year. Transplant at this time to about 1 foot apart andat the same depth as the plant was growing. The little peony roots look a bitlike carrots with coarse roots.
With a bit of luck (and good management) youcan have a few blooms the following year (3rd year). You can expect to haveplenty of blooms in year 4 and 5.
What a pleasure... what a thrill and whatsatisfaction to see the first peony flower from your own plants! Flowers no onein this whole wide world has seen before!
