First winter only: Mulch your new peony

This is for those of your who are planting peonies this fall. That means new roots sent in the mail or if you are dividing and transplanting some of your own.

I advise to apply a mulch over the top of your peony for its first winter only. In following years this won’t be necessary and in fact, it’s not a good idea to mulch peonies. For big, beautiful blooms, they need exposure to winter’s cold.

But in their first year, they aren’t quite settled yet. Frost is moving things around, soil settles and they can use a little extra blanket.

The mulch can be especially useful in winters that have little to no snow cover during the cold snaps. There were a quite a few peonies, new and established, in the Midwest last year that were either set back or winter-killed with sub-zero temperatures in February with no snow cover. Snow acts as insulation and without any, the mulch can step in and fill the void.

Wood mulch, shredded leaves, pine needles or straw will all work fine.

Here’s the trick. You have to remove the mulch very early in spring. As soon as the mulch is thawed and you can pull it away from over the top of the peony is the right time. There may even still be pockets of snow on the ground. It may freeze or frost again. It may even snow again. This is okay.

What you don’t want is a soggy situation during the thaw that can spell bad news for your peony roots. Earlier is better than later.

Mark the spot and put a note in your early spring calendar!