I brought back a peony from Iowa last year. They are so beautiful there! I thought it would be worth a try. The plant is lush and green and had one bud on it, but it dried up and would not bloom. Guess I'll keep trying, tho!

liz h, i live in abilene,just so.west of dfw,150 mile.i have 3, doing well,not like you'd like for them to be,but alive. i lived in mo. for 3 yrs.@tthey throw away more than we'll ever grow.they do need alot of water,keepin them out of the wind as much as possible,is a good idea. they like full sun,as long as they have water,alot of water,.so give it a try,they are so pretty .good luck,molly

I have tried growing a few varieties of peony here, but they all died, except for 'Festiva Maxima'. And that 'Festive Maxima' grows very well here as far as the plant itself. But for the past three years the buds appear, swell up, then promptly rot off and fall to the ground. A neighbor several doors down also grows 'Festiva Maxima'. At this very moment, her plant has big, perfectly formed, beautiful blooms on it. So, I will keep mine for another year, and see what happens next year.

Randy

Mine grows every year, gets maybe 2 ft tall. This year it has a bud on it!! That last freeze we had I wrapped it up and put a big pot over it to protect it.

Today I noticed the bud is all dried up and just about gone. :(

I give up! Pretty plant though.

(answering your question you asked me in the other post)

Liz, it was here in Breckenridge, approx. 100 miles SW of Ft. Worth. They looked very healthy and perfectly happy; I remember each plant having about five huge pale pink blossoms.

I hope you try them!

Wow, I assume your area is even warmer than ours. I'm in southern Denton County. If you ever meet the homeowner, please ask what variety they're growing - and if they have any advice!

sewnmom - do they like full sun even here?

Randy - any differences between your site and your neighbor's? Any secrets she has?

I guess it's a good thing I have a big yard. I won't feel so bad if I don't get any blooms either!

I brought some back from my grandma's (Oregon) in 2003 and they've been hanging on. They are single bloom, white. They bloomed well the first year and not as much the second, then we moved houses and I gave them more sun and they didn't bloom at all and I thought I was going to lose them entirely. So, I moved them this spring to more shade and the leaves look really good - the best I've seen the plant look here yet. I'm not expecting blooms this year, but it's alive and looking healthy so I'm happy. I think I've finally found a good spot. The east sun didn't work (too much, even though it was right next to the house) so now they are facing west under some trees.

Got three big blooms sitting in a vase, right now. I love mine, for the foliage as much as the flowers.

botnnie - good luck. It sounds like you do have a good spot for them.

Rick - hooray! How do you grow yours?

Liz, to answer your question, my neighbor's gets full morning sun, and then filtered sun until about 2PM or 3PM. Mine gets mid-morning sun only, then total shade thereafter. Hmmm ... I think I'm beginning to see the "light"! I'm kinda slow sometimes. Thanks for asking the question.

Randy

I just love peonies - my mom grew them when I was a child and we lived in Irving (Dallas Co.)
~Angie~

I know several people who grow them. They even grow in the city cemetary with very little care - but I suppose the family tends the plot still. I just planted one this year, but it probably won't bloom until next year. I will be surprised if it blooms at all this year.

this comes up pretty often, but the answer doesn't change. peonies need winter chilling as much as they DON'T need the extreme heat in most parts of Texas. so, unless you live in the northern panhandle, best try some other beautiful flowering plant. yes, peonies will survive in some areas of Texas, and even bloom, but the blooms are pitifully small and drab compared to the ones grown in Ohio, Illinois, etc.

Okay, y'all are gonna love this. I drove out to that house again yesterday, talked to the owner and took some pictures. Unfortunately, the pictures will have to wait, as I'm on my way out of town for the day/night. BUT, they were HEALTHY and the elderly man said his wife moved them there from the next door neighbor's property years ago when the neighbor died, and he does absolutely NOTHING for them. They were on the east side of the house which blocks the afternoon sun, and I'm guessing they get a few hours of direct sun from maybe 10-2? They blooms were fading, but looked like they'd weathered all our recent storms well. I'll post the pictures as soon as I can, probably tomorrow afternoon.

I haven't researched the climate here, and I've lived here less than a year, but it seems to be similar to DFW area, except a good bit more hot & dry.

bo - I'll look forward to the pictures! Healthy, with no care? That's my kind of plant. ;> I know they're hardly ideal for our climate, but I would be growing them for sentimental reasons, not looking for a huge showy plant. I'm glad to read that several people have grown them successfully.

Liz, my memory is awful, so don't let me forget. If I don't post them by tomorrow night, feel free to e-mail me a reminder. :)

Liz, here are the pictures. Remember, the plants looked A LOT prettier a week ago when the blooms were fresh and before the rain/hailstorms came through. Still, you can see how healthy the plants look and get a sense of how little special care they're receiving.

That's bare dirt they're growing in. No mulch or anything, but not too many weeds, either, so they must get a *little* care. You can see where the heavy rains splashed the dirt up onto the leaves. The blooms were about four inches across. These are planted on the east side of the house and the picture was taken at about 2 p.m. if I remember right, so that's about the end of their direct sunlight for the day.

Thanks bo. I enjoyed seeing these. I imagine they were gorgeous earlier.

Since the elderly man who owns them said he does nothing for them *ever*, just imagine how pretty they'd be in your garden with some TLC. :-)

Peonies do fine here - I have seen many in older parts of the area. You have to get them to live the first 5-6 years - yep that long - to really be happy here and do well. Some will not make it, to me the older more basic flowers do betetr here then the newer fancy ones.