Cliff Elston looks over a large peony called Command Performance, just one of his 100 varieties of peonies at The Iris Place, 1578 N. 962 Road.

Mother’s Day always makes me a little sentimental about peonies. The three large clumps of the flowers that still grow in my mother’s garden have bloomed their hearts out for more than 40 years. Their persistence attracts me, and this year I will add more peonies to my garden.

Peonies are hardy perennial flowers that grow well with minimal maintenance. You can see them blooming in May and June in this area, growing tended and untended in cemeteries and on old homesteads.

The challenge is that now is the time to shop for peonies, but fall is the time to plant and transplant. Cliff Elston, owner of The Iris Place south of Lawrence, has found a way to work around the timing obstacle, though. He takes orders during the bloom season and allows customers to come back in the fall to pick up their peony root clumps.

Customers who show up wanting a red or pink flower are often surprised at the choices. Elston has more than 150 different varieties to choose from in colors ranging from white, yellow, cream, pink, rose, deep red and everything in-between. There are also variations in petal shape and fullness and in foliage shape and color.

Elston says he likes peonies because they grow on pretty much the same principles as irises. Elston grows both types of flowers along with a few vegetables.

“They like full sunlight, very little water and not too much fertilizer,” Elston says of peonies. “They last forever.”

The only thing peonies are a little picky about is division of the clumps and proper planting. Elston uses a potato fork to dig plants when he starts making divisions in October. After digging carefully to avoid damaging any roots, Elston washes all of the soil from the roots. He then uses a sharp knife to cut off clumps of roots, each with three to five eyes.

Elston explains, “The eyes look a little like potato eyes. They are pink or red or white, depending on the variety.”

To plant, Elston recommends digging a hole about one foot in diameter and 18 inches deep. Mix the soil with compost, peat or other organic matter and a handful (about a half cup) of fertilizer. Elston prefers bone meal, but blood meal or other fertilizers with low nitrogen content are also acceptable.

When re-planting, backfill the hole enough to set the root clump in at the proper depth. You may have to dispose of excess soil in another area of the garden.

“Preferably, the eyes will be one inch below the soil surface,” says Elston. “If the eyes are too deep, they will make nice leafy green plants, but they won’t bloom.”

If you want to give your peonies some tender-loving-care, you can fertilize up to twice a year – once in the spring and once in the fall. The best plan for determining what fertilizer to use is to have the soil tested. Much of the soil in this area already has adequate levels of phosphorus and potassium, so adding more may be unnecessary.

For fresh cut flowers, researchers recommend cutting peonies when flower buds are soft. After cutting, let stems sit for about 20 minutes before placing in a vase of water with floral preservative. Morning or evening is the best time to cut peony flowers.

Elston joked with me about shaking the ants off before bringing flowers inside, also. “The ants are a wives’ tale,” he says. Ants are attracted to the flowers because of a sticky excretion that comes from the sepals as they open.

Most of the peony varieties will be in full-bloom this week. I am shopping for a medium-pink, double-flowering, broad-leaved variety – just like the one that grew in my mother’s garden.

– Jennifer Smith is the Horticulture Extension Agent for K-State Research and Extension in Douglas County. Contact her or an Extension Master Gardener with your gardening questions at 843-7058.