Depending where you purchased them the answer is probably yes. Some growers know how to leave a mature bloom bud on the root. You might be able to tell already. Go look at the emerging foliage for a round ball. Do not touch at this time. This is the bloom bud. Some plants will have a large one, some a small one. This said one that is larger as the foliage appears generally will provide you bloom unless it is damaged by something. This is why I said do not touch. Have fun looking but be very gentle.

My Klehm's Songsparrow Farm peonies have all bloomed first year. Others (box store, tree and species peonies) took a few years to settle in.

Lisa

"A terrible freeze back in the middle of January" ROFL

Sorry, didn't mean to be rude, but to a Canadian, a statement like that is almost too funny for words.

BTW, our peonies do just fine. Even with terrible freezes from November to March. And less terrible ones on either side. Now a terrible thaw in January, that scares me stiff...

I chuckled too. Being somewhat older I remember having a week or two each winter of -5F or less each year. I did not grow peonies then only iris. It seemed the colder the winter the larger the flower. With the climate changes that we have been experiencing we are lucky or unlucky to have more than 1 or 2 days below 0F. I think the mid 80's was the last time I heard my breath change to ice crystals in the air and sing on the way down. In parts of Canada that experience is probably normal.

In twenty years time a terrible winter will probably only have a few cold days.

For those that worry about peonies being too cold to survive many come from mountain regions and are well adapted to the cold. What damages them more than anything is dry cold where the temperature takes the moisture out of the newly emerging growth. When the plants are under ground they are more protected.

Hey all:

Thanks for the advice. I looked and 6 of the 10 have buds, so I will likely get some kind of flowers from some of them.

To clarify on the "terrible freeze back in the middle of January," our average daily high temperature for the month of December was 48 degrees, with the two weeks before Christmas in the middle to high 50s.

8 of the 10 plants were actually up in the middle of January and were wondering why the sun didn't seem to stay out longer. Then it turned back into winter, with temps in the single digits and a 20 mph wind.

My worry was whether they would come back after getting such freeze damage while their first year shoots were up. However, they all seem to be up, though the ones that were 10" high in January are definitely fighting to catch up.

Igwiz

Now that's what I meant by a terrible thaw scaring me stiff! I can see why you were worried now, Igwiz. It wasn't the freeze that was the problem, but the thaw that triggered your peonies too early. You are indeed fortunate that they've survived. One year we had a three week thaw in January that pulled my daffs out of the ground, and then a frigid February did them all in. They were my very first daffodils and it was years before I worked up the courage to try again.

Don't be too dissapointed if the buds stop growing and drop off, a common occurance with young peonies. Al

Good to know, Al. My primary goal is just to have them survive and settle in well so they are happy and ready to go for the future. But...it would be great to see some blossoms, even though I have read that flowers on first year plants are often atypically shaped/colored, if they flower at all.

I guess these little guys are pretty close to my heart. Peonies were my dad's favorite flower, so besides being a really nice border to the front walk, its also sort of a memorial tribute to him. I am just really glad that they all seem to have made it through the winter and are ready to spend a good summer growing and preparing for next year.

Thanks again for all your comments,

Igwiz

My peonies are on their third year and have been problem free. They were in bloom when I bought and planted them. I bought them from one of the better garden centers in the area. They have tons of buds on them. The only mistake I made was that I planted two varieties in a border and didn't know that one blooms earlier than the other. I was envisioning them all in bloom at the same time. Oh well, they're still beautiful.

I also didn't cut any for the vase the first two years, not sure if that matters.