A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 Peonies..Should they be mulched?

Ok...My mom says NOT to mulch around the peonies for the winter, But a good friend says oh yes they do need to be mulched. So whats the verdict??? I am in zone 7b, my mom is in zone 7a and my friend 7b also.


To mulch or not to mulch is the question?

Hmmm...I mulch everything.
I'm a mulch freak. Buy it by the dumptruck load. :rolleyes:

I have hundreds of peonies...well, most of them I've moved to my daughter's now...but I always have mulch around them...and so does she.

I'm in zone 6 something ...southeast Kentucky.

Cindy Marie

Ok...Well I would think that they would need mulching also...but my mom has been growing peonies forever...So does that mean "Mother doesn't always know what is best"? LOL

No...that means I am just lucky probably!

I've had my peonies since 1983...some in sun, some in shade, some mulched, some not...they all grow the same. I have too many of them to take care of...but they must love me!

Everything I plant grows like a weed...
I can transplant anything no matter what time of the year and it never dies...
I have a bazillion plants in my yard and don't know if they are planted in the "right spot" or not, but they always grow and bloom...

I have no idea what I am doing...
...but it always works out!

Just lucky!


Cindy

I seem to have the same kind of luck, nothing dies even when I want it to. And I planted these peonies 3 yrs ago when I moved here and have never mulched them..LOL this is the first year I even cut them back. And as you will notice even the hasn't effected them.

When I lived in zone 3b

I'm peony cursed. I managed to kill the ones cindy sent me

Uhhh...

Cindy Faye

Ok..so "Mother might be right on this one after all"

Listen to your momma Comfrey..
Honestly...

They are a very hardy plant...
And enjoy the cold more than the heat..
*as Njoynit finds out*

Anddddddd to add more insult to injury,
when you add mulch around them,
and don't pull it back later in the very early spring...
your plants may come up thru it, but more than
likely will NOT flower...
cause they have to be at a certain height,
or depth from the top of the soil....
For them to produce flowers..
anything more on top and they struggle..

And I agree with Cricket, I do the same,
I do nothing except admire them and smell them...
No water, fertilizers, mulch, nothing....
Mine are also in several growing places, like Crickets...
y the house, out in back, in the sun and in the shade..so.....
go off and give your attention to something else that really needs your time...

Ok...peonies are off the list for anything more for them this season!!!! Thanks for all the input.

dam I guess I shouldn't have watered them...but they probably died of thirst anyway

Well I never watered mine nor did I weed them all summer & this was the first year I even cut them back, and the weeds were as high as the plants, in fact when I cleaned the flower bed out, I had a deep wheel barrow full of weeds, I found a Lemon Balm plant surviving under all of the weeds, I remember dumping some potting soil out of a large pot that lemon balm had been growing in, but had died, so there must have been seed in the dirt that sprouted, it was off to one side so I left it to grow. I can make tulips live under extreme circumstances, and iris seem to thrive with no attention also. Speaking of tulips, here are few pictures of mine:
Tulips
And here are some of my iris & lillies:
Iris