I didn't even think there could be a "too late" as long as the ground is still pliable!!
Now, I'm worried too!

I just did as Sue described for 6 new bare root peonies.

I dearly pray that they will be okay and bloom like mad next season!!

I didn't even think there could be a "too late" as long as the ground is still pliable!!
Now, I'm worried too!

I just did as Sue described for 6 new bare root peonies.

I dearly pray that they will be okay and bloom like mad next season!!

Things always do best for me in the ground as opposed to pots, regardless of the time of the year.

I would plant it, taking care to not plant it too deeply, and then mulch it well.

Possibly someone else will weigh in on this. What I described above is just what I would do, but someone else may suggest otherwise.

Sue

I found this on Piviones Riviere's website.

WHAT IS THE BEST PERIOD TO PLANT ?
How do you plant a peony? To obtain the best results in peony cultivation, pay very special attention to the planting process.

*Planting bare roots should be done between September and mid-March.
*It is better to plant peonies in the autumn so that the root system can grow before the leaves come out.
*Planting can be done during the winter period even with frost during the night as long as it disappears during the daytime.
*After March, due to the growing of leaves and vegetation, it is not recommended to plant bare root peonies.
*If you want to plant later, we offer cultivated plants in containers that you can buy either from our nursery or at the flower shows we go to.

*Tip : In case of frost when you receive our plants, place the parcel in a cool area  a cellar or a garage - and open the parcel. The individually packed plants can remain for a month in their packaging without any harm.

Thanks, guys. I did plant them two days after I got them, which was about the second week in November. Glad I did, too - a few days after I planted them the weather really turned, it has been very cold for this time of year, and on-and-off snowy (read: who cares about the plants, I'm the one who doesn't want to be digging in the dirt when the snow is flying and it's in the low 20s). I did get a chance to finally mulch well over Thanksgiving, so my fernleaf roots should be nice and comfortable doing their thing underground until next spring. :0)

mxk3,

I am glad you got them in the ground quickly. I would think they will do fine but you probably wont see much growth or bloom the first year.

Fernleaf peonies (Paeonia tenuifolia) are somewhat different from lactifloras in that they seem to do best when divided and replanted early. I try to get mine divided and back in the ground by the end of August. Fernleaf peonies go dormant early (for me usually late July) but they also begin to renew their root systems much earlier than lactifloras. If you wait until mid September they have already begun to put on feeder roots. They need a really advanced root system before winter because as soon as the spring warm up begins they bolt from the ground and bloom before they have much time to develop any more roots.

MXK3, which fernleaf did you get? Single? Double?

*Tip : In case of frost when you receive our plants, place the parcel in a cool area  a cellar or a garage - and open the parcel. The individually packed plants can remain for a month in their packaging without any harm.

Wouldn't this tip be meant for those in mild winter climates or those who receive plants in early spring? What does Piviones Riviere (or other nurseries) recommend if the buyer receives at fall frost ands lives in a climate where it will be 6 or 7 months rather than one month before the frost is all gone?

Mxk3, we got the same weather here and I just finished getting my peonies and iris taken care of too so I sympathize. Hope your fernleaf does well for you.

Well, I'll admit I priced shopped the fernleafs, since I've never grown them and didn't want to pay top-dollar and then end up not liking the plant. So I bought (4) roots of the plain ol' "regular" fernleafs from Dutch Gardens, the price was very good, plus I got an additional discount using a coupon code. The roots actually were very nice-sized; one was a little disappointing, but the other three very good looking. I planted them all in the same hole - hey, I want a bigger plant right off the bat, what can I say.

Depending on size of your hole and how close you planted them together you may find that the roots become so twisted together that they self prune the roots in a couple of years. Next fall dig up and spread apart. You can have a nice clump by planting about a foot apart rather than sickly plants.

The top dollar plants do not look anything like what the cheapies. The true top dollar ones have a almost dill leaf foliage. I have both single and double fernleaf. The single is next to impossible to divid because their was one eye on a stem connected a circle of roots. Perhaps if I had a micro saw I could have divided this fall but I covered back up and left as is.

I do purchase or receive various fernleafs just to see the difference in texture and color of flower. They range from very course to finely cut but none with the true fern leaf of the expensive ones.

Perhaps you are aware that Piviones Riviere is located in France. I am not sure what part of France they are located but parts of France is very mediteranian and mild. The northern part of the country up at higher elevations in the Alps has a mean temperature of only 28f for January. That is just barely below freezing and still mild when compared to most peony growing areas of the USA.

Leon

happyday, I received the tree peony that I ordered from Piviones Riviere last Saturday (December). I planted it in a 10 ltr container and wrapped the container to protect it from frost (I don't have ground to grow it). I'm lazy to buy big container and soil during winter. I live in Berlin, Germany. In fact it should be in zone 7a, but in this few years there're hardly frost due to global warming. The lowest temperature at night was -4C and it's always frost free during day time.
I believe if the frost is more than one month you still can plant it in a container and put the container outside, but I'm not sure, whether it works or not.