When and how to use mulch around peonies

Here’s a big shoutout to Al for this week’s blog post inspiration.

Is it better to put bark mulch after first light frost or immediately?

-Al Gonzalez, Customer

First off, let’s talk about mulch and peonies in general.

The first winter it can be a good idea to mulch your newly planted peony root. You can use a natural wood or bark, straw, shredded leaves, etc. for the mulch. This can help with the heaving soil during the freeze thaw cycle of the root’s first cold season.

Apply about 2” of mulch over the newly planted peony root.

But to answer Al’s question, you don’t want to do that until the ground freezes.

Now here’s the important part… you’ll need to remove the mulch VERY early in spring, as soon as your peony starts to emerge from the ground. Set a reminder in your calendar!

You won’t need to mulch over the top of your peony for any future winter seasons. Mulch should not be applied over the top of your peonies. This can interfere with how deep the crown of the plant is and can keep it from flowering.

Instead, mulch around the outside of the peony and hand weed between the stems.

So the four things to remember with mulch and peonies:

• Mulch your peonies for the first winter after planting only.

• Apply the mulch after the ground freezes.

• Remove the mulch in VERY early spring.

• Keep mulch away from your peony stems after the first winter.

If you ever have a peony question, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Laura@HiddenSpringsPeonyFarm.com

763.218.4540 call/text