What is a peony “eye”?

Peony eyes, dormant buds, and vegetative buds are all terms for the same thing. Most often the term eyes is used.

Straight from the American Peony Society, here is the official definition:

“A dormant bud containing plant structures which may grow into new stems, leaves and flowers in the coming growing season.  These buds are produced on crown tissue in peonies.  Often referred to as “eyes”.  Peonies produce numerous vegetative buds, not all will become new growth/stems.  Buds are most well developed in the fall of the season, but are present throughout the year in smaller, less obvious forms.”

-American Peony Society

Basically, the eyes are next years stems, leaves and flower that are just starting to form. These are small pink or white buds that form on the roots before they grow above the soil as those new stems and blooms. The size of the eyes depends on how fully developed they are.

The industry standard when buying a bare root peony is that the root will have at least 3 to 5 eyes. Sometimes you will see some 2 to 3 eye roots available. The pricepoint is a little different.

The peony roots we sell have 3 to 5 eyes.

The picture above is a coral charm root. The eyes are the white buds you see on the root.

You’ll want to pay attention to those buds when you are planting your new peony roots. They should always point up.

Peony roots grow much more horizontally that vertically and that can get a little confusing sometimes when you’re figuring out how to put the root in the ground.

If the eyes are pointing up, you’re good.

The eyes should also be 1” to 2” below the soil surface. Zones 3-4 should be closer to the 2” mark while zones 5-7 can aim more for the 1” depth. Those planting peonies in zone 8 should place the eyes just below the soil surface.

Detailed growing instructions are included with your peonies and I’m always available to help with any questions that come up so don’t hesitate to ask!