Protecting peonies in zone 5. Is leaf mulch enough?

[dhs]

I am still transplanting peonies in my garden in eastern MA in zone 5/6. I
would like to protect them with fallen leaves for the winter. Is this
enough? How thick should they be?
Is there a trick to keep them in place? (I do not have the option to mulch
them...)

Thanks Lisa

[IrisCohen]

I have grown peonies in Zone 5 for many years. They don't need any protection.
Iris
"It is forbidden to live in a town which has no greenery." Jerusalem Talmud,
Kiddushin 4:12.

[Jeffery or Verna Lynn]

peony plants do not need any winter protection, even up to zone three.
covering them with leaves is not a bad idea though....but not for protection from the winter cold.
Peonys love soil high organic plant material such as peat or leaf mould. never fertilize peony plants with manure or
roots might rot. and never plant more than 2 inches deep (one inch if soil is clay) plants bloom better if planted
shallow. don't get discouraged if no blooms next year sometimes peonys are shy for a year or two after trasplanting or
especially dividing. just keep the folliage up until it dies back until you get flowers and then you may cut folliage in
fall on subsequent years.

Jeffery and/or Verna Lynn Keown (j...@iquestFNORD.net)
(Remove the FNORD to email)
Gaming: http://members.iquest.net/~jmk/art.html
Gardening: http://members.iquest.net/~jmk/Vgarden.html

[Kate Hunter]

The advice from Klehm - growers of Peonies in zone 5 - is to mulch the first
winter after a transplant. I believe the original post indicates these
are recently transplanted. I would use a relatively inert mulch of cypress
or cedar - 2-3" deep.

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Kate Hunter
#hun...@fern.igis.uiuc.edu# (remove # signs for email)
Gardening in East Central Illinois
Zone 5b