Nine years ago I transplanted two peonies from my front yard, where the tree had clearly expanded its canopy, into my backyard.
Shade generally only reduces the flowers, but the buds being set too low in the ground will stymie them. You might want to get to know the neighbors and see if they know if they've bloomed in the past.
(I'm suspecting that you are much more southernly than I am.)
I'm in Illinois, less than an hour north of the Kentucky border. Technically we're zone 6b, but most years it's more like gardening in Tennessee.
The previous owners are friends of ours -- I can ask if the peonies ever bloomed for them. If they've been there for decades and soil has built up over the crown, would that have the same effect as planting them too deep, I wonder? There wasn't a single bud on either of them.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2017-05-30 03:44 am (UTC)Shade generally only reduces the flowers, but the buds being set too low in the ground will stymie them. You might want to get to know the neighbors and see if they know if they've bloomed in the past.
(I'm suspecting that you are much more southernly than I am.)
no subject
Date: 2017-05-30 11:53 pm (UTC)The previous owners are friends of ours -- I can ask if the peonies ever bloomed for them. If they've been there for decades and soil has built up over the crown, would that have the same effect as planting them too deep, I wonder? There wasn't a single bud on either of them.
no subject
Date: 2017-05-31 05:07 am (UTC)I was fortunate that the white peonies bloomed the very next year after their fall move many years ago. It took more time for the magenta to recoup.
btw, you might be far enough south to need to concern yourself with assuring afternoon shade even for full sun plants.