Peony
A long-lived border aristocrat with lush foliage and huge, blowsy early-summer blooms. Slow to settle and famously touchy about being planted too deep — but get it right once and it can outlast the gardener.
Toxic to cats & dogs if eaten
Peonies (Paeonia) are listed as toxic to cats and dogs on the ASPCA database. They contain paeonol, most concentrated in the bark and roots; eating them causes vomiting and diarrhoea. Keep pets from chewing the plant.
Care at a glance
Everything that matters, in six lines. The detail is further down.
Position
A sunny, sheltered spot. Too much shade means plenty of leaf but very few flowers.
Water
Water well the first couple of seasons while it settles; established clumps cope with most weather.
Hardiness
Thoroughly hardy and long-lived — a well-placed peony can happily outlast the gardener.
Soil
Fertile soil that drains freely; dig in compost before planting, as they stay put for decades.
Feeding
A little balanced feed in spring and a potash feed after flowering; go easy on the nitrogen.
Flowering
A brief, glorious few weeks — support the heavy blooms so a downpour doesn't flatten them.
What to do, and when
Growth pushes up fast; get plant supports in early, before the buds grow heavy.
After flowering, deadhead and keep watered; leave the foliage to feed the crown for next year.
Cut herbaceous types down as the leaves die back — the best time to plant or (reluctantly) move them.
Fully dormant and hardy; the cold spell actually helps set a good crop of flower buds.
Plant it shallow, and then leave it alone
Nearly every peony that refuses to flower has fallen foul of one of two mistakes. The first is planting too deep: the growth buds (the 'eyes' on the crown) should sit no more than 2–3 cm below the surface. Bury them deeper and you get healthy leaves and no flowers, sometimes for years.
The second is moving it. Peonies resent disturbance and will often sulk and skip flowering for a year or two after being lifted. Choose the spot carefully at the start so you never have to.
Patience, and support
A newly planted peony can take two or three years to hit its stride, so don't panic at a quiet first summer — it's establishing roots, not failing.
When it does flower, the big double blooms are heavy and rain-prone. A discreet grow-through support, in place before the buds open, is the difference between an upright display and a muddy, flattened one.
Common problems
Leaves but no flowers
Usually planted too deep, too shaded, or recently moved; lift in autumn and replant with the buds just below the surface.
Buds forming then blackening
A late frost, or peony wilt (botrytis); cut out affected growth cleanly and improve airflow around the plant.
Flowers flattened by rain
The heavy double blooms can't hold themselves up; get grow-through supports in before they open.
Ants swarming over the buds
Completely harmless — they're after the sweet sap on the buds and do the plant no damage at all.
Everything a peony needs
Full sun, rich soil, shallow planting — then patience.
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Other plants with a similar temperament.
How we checked this
Care cross-checked against the RHS. Toxicity taken from the ASPCA database, which lists Paeonia (peony) as toxic to cats and dogs — vomiting and diarrhoea from the paeonol concentrated in bark and roots. If our page and these sources ever disagree, believe them — and tell us.
Sources: RHS · ASPCA — toxic & non-toxic plants
Last reviewed · July 2026