Peony Root Planting Guide
Peonies will live for many decades, possibly even centuries if they are happy so the location you plant them in is worth taking some time to select and prepare. Peonies require a winter "chilling" period to stimulate new bud growth. This means they need about six weeks of temperatures below 40 degrees F. Peonies are grown successfully in USDA Growing Zones 3 - 8. Not sure what your growing zone is? Visit this link here: Find Your Growing Zone
Peonies will live for many decades, possibly even centuries if they are happy so the location you plant them in is worth taking some time to select and prepare.
Once you receive your peony roots, plant them as soon as you can. We recommended that you soak the roots for a couple of hours to rehydrate before planting. It is common for a bit of mold to develop on dormant roots. If the root tissue is soft where there is mold, then I would recommend cutting that part of the root off before planting.
Growing Requirements
Peonies require a winter "chilling" period to stimulate new bud growth. This means they need about six weeks of temperatures below 40 degrees F. Peonies are grown successfully in USDA Growing Zones 3 - 8. Not sure what your growing zone is? Visit this link here: Find Your Growing Zone
For the most part, peonies thrive in full sun. The more sun, the more blooms your peony will produce. If planted in less than full sun, your peonies will take longer to mature and won't produce as many blooms. If your growing zone is on the warmer end of their preference (Zone 8), then morning sun and afternoon shade would be best.
Well-draining soil with a neutral pH (6.5-7) is ideal for peonies. Peonies prefer a sandy loam — a soil with equal parts sand, clay, and compost. Peonies are honestly not too fussy and can survive in many different soil types but if you want them to thrive, I would recommend spending a little time to amend the soil upon planting.
How to Plant Peony Roots
Dig a hole 12 to 18 inches deep and 18 inches wide. Fill the hole back up about half full with amended soil. Place the root division with the eyes facing upward into the hole. Backfill the hole, making sure the eyes are not more than 2 inches below the soil surface (any deeper and the peonies will not bloom). Sometimes it can be tricky to determine which way to place the root because the eyes are not all pointed in the same direction and/or are at the same height. Just try to place the root so that the majority of the eyes are pointed up and 2 inches below the ground level and that all of the root is buried and angled down. Once the root is positioned, blend the soil you've removed with compost or a little high phosphorus fertilizer (if you have it) then fill in around the plant. If planting multiple peony roots, space the holes at least 3 feet apart.
Note: if you are planting in growing zone 8 or warmer, it is recommended that you plant the eyes closer to the surface (about 1” deep) so that they can feel more of the winter chill.
Planting Intersectional or Itoh Peonies
Herbaceous peonies will be completely covered with soil when they're planted. Intersectional/Itoh peonies may not be. They can retain some woody, above ground growth like tree peonies and sometimes there are eyes on the woody stems. For both types of peonies, the eyes on the root crown should be no deeper than 2" but Intersectional peonies might have eyes on the woody stems that will remain above ground.
Water thoroughly after planting. Water peonies heavily at least once a week during their growing season and more often during the hottest months. You can apply mulch around the plant to help retain moisture.
Peonies are low maintenance and easy to grow once established. If you are interested in maximizing their blooming potential then we recommend fertilizing in early spring as the peony plant emerges and testing the soil pH every couple of years to ensure it remains neutral (6.5-7).
The Beginning, The Very Beginning
Our beginning is a tale of a woman whose eyes must have been alight with wisdom and whose hands told a story.
To tell our story, I must start at the beginning, the very beginning. This tale begins with a young school girl in the late 1800’s, when she planted a small home garden of violets to pay the ferry fees to attend school in the city. Annie Gooch Darbee was from a pre-Gold Rush Bay Area family that had a farm in San Leandro, CA where they fished oyster beds.
I began to read Annie’s letters to her son, Andrew Darbee sitting at my kitchen table looking up from time to time at our peony field, pondering her existence and what she had accomplished. Annie had grand ideas and with each paragraph I read, I felt a deeper kinship to her strength and independence, but mostly to the glimmer of romantic sentiment that filled her hopes and dreams for the property; “a row of little houses … that could sell all sorts of things to stop over travelers… bath houses, places for rest -someone would have a supply of vegetables, someone would have a supply of poultry and eggs… Baked bread, cakes + pies, some of the native fruits & berries made into jams & jellies… I believe some sort of thing like that would be different and popular.”
Annie’s small home garden of violets continued to grow until it became one of the largest violet gardens on the Pacific coast and she expanded her production to include lilies and other bulbs. At the turn of the century, before the age of 21, Annie developed a shipping method and successfully started shipping boxes of California violets across the country. Annie’s business of shipping cut flowers continued to expand and through World War I, Annie shipped 85% off all cut flowers sent out of California to florists in every city in the United States and even to some cities in Mexico and Canada.
After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Annie purchased land in the city and built apartment buildings on Hyde Street and a storefront where she opened Darbee Flowers. Eventually Annie purchased a farm in Tillamook, Oregon becoming a major grower of tulips and narcissus.
I remember hearing bits and pieces of the previous owners of this property when I was young -tales of a woman who collected Pomo, Yurok and Karuk baskets during her travels from San Francisco to her farm in Oregon. A collection that grew to over 350 baskets, most of which were accompanied by a handwritten note with the name of the weaver and a box full of correspondence from a few of the weavers that she had maintained a friendship with over the years. I hadn’t heard anything about her legacy in the flower industry.
Annie Gooch Darbee bought this property from her sister Miss May Kline. Annie’s sister had owned the property since the early 1920’s. A box that was left to us when we purchased the property from Annie’s son, Andrew Darbee contains old photographs, letters to and from family, deeds to mineral rights, water right dispute details and some county correspondence regarding tax collection and surveying. The tidbits I piece together illustrate a mountain retreat for two independent sisters that loved the freedom of expanses of land, explored wilderness roads over and through mountain passes, held permits to bring hides and heads of two legally killed deer from District 1½ to San Francisco by order of Fish and Game Commission in 1924, and enjoyed multi day campouts and meadow picnics.
