Give Your Peonies Room to Thrive
Give Your Peonies Room to Grow: The Importance of Proper Spacing
This post is inspired by an actual conversation with a customer that purchased a collection of peonies to plant this fall. Helping you grow beautiful peonies is what I’m here for.
When planting peonies, it can be tempting to tuck them close together to create a fuller-looking garden right away. But peonies are long-lived plants that will continue to grow and expand for decades, so giving them the proper amount of space from the beginning is one of the best things you can do for their future health.
The ideal spacing for peonies is 36 inches on center from one plant to the next. This means measuring 36 inches from the center of one peony plant to the center of the next. This spacing allows each plant to develop into a mature, full-sized clump without competing with its neighbors.
When planting near a path, driveway, sidewalk, or other hard surface, leave 18 inches of space from the center of the plant to the edge of the walkway. A mature peony can easily fill a 36-inch diameter area, and giving it room prevents foliage and flowers from crowding pathways as the plant grows.
Think of each peony as needing its own 36-inch diameter circle of growing space. This open area allows sunlight, air movement, and room for the plant’s foliage and roots to develop properly.
Why does spacing matter so much?
Proper spacing helps:
Improve air circulation, reducing the chance of fungal issues like botrytis and powdery mildew.
Prevent competition for sunlight, water, and nutrients between plants.
Keep plants healthier and more productive, allowing them to put energy into strong roots and beautiful blooms.
Make garden maintenance easier, giving you room to weed, fertilize, and care for each plant.
Peonies are an investment that can last a lifetime. A little extra space when planting may seem unnecessary at first, but years from now you will appreciate having healthy, thriving plants that have room to show off their full potential.
This collection of peonies has been strategically chosen to give five weeks of peony bloom, featuring a variety of color and form. When you order the Friendship Peony Collection, you will receive 5 bare root peonies, each a different variety to bloom in succession over an 5 week timeframe.
The collection is offered in limited quantities in collaboration with the Saint Paul-Changsha China Friendship Garden in St. Paul, MN. Aportion of the proceeds raised from the sale of this collection will be donated to the garden.
Varieties will be chosen in the fall at harvest time by Laura Kubes of Hidden Spring Peony Farm. This “Farmer’s Choice style of peony collection allows you to receive the best of what’s coming out of the field this fall. Trust us to curate a collection for you just as a friend would. Be sure you will receive five healthy peony roots that will bloom in a variety of shapes, colors, and forms as a stunning display in your garden. Value of the five peonies will be at or above the $175.99 price of the collection.
All peony roots will be shipped in fall.
Includes five 3/5 eye bare root peonies.
Varieties are decided in fall but may include:
And others!
The Saint Paul-Changsha China Friendship Garden is a sister-city project of St. Paul, MN. Its Chinese name is Liu Ming Yuan and its poetic name is The Garden of Whispering Willows Flowing Waters. St. Paul’s sister-city of Changsha is home to many Hmong, hence the garden also holds the name LUB VAJ PHOOJ YWG and is the only Chinese garden in the world with Hmong elements. The garden is the result of horticultural and architectural collaboration and a place to find beauty and culture just outside of downtown St. Paul in Phalen Park.