Winter Loss In Minnesota Spring 2025
People who grow more than a few peonies in Minnesota and Wisconsin have reported significant peony loss this year. The question was asked, “Why didn’t my peonies come up this year?” Especially hard hit were Intersectional, woodies and some hybrids. The symptoms vary. Plants that were very healthy and well established failed to emerge. Others put up sparse, weak and poor looking stems. Some plants appeared to yellow. The damage was somewhat location dependent. Wetter soils fared worse however the loss appeared randomly in peony beds. There could be several healthy plants then one poor one. In my gardens, I lost just about all my ‘Coral Charm’. The woodies were set back but put up new growth so there were few blooms this year on the woodies.
After discussions with commercial growers, the causes for this setback this year are stated following:
- Inconsistent winter temperatures
- Deep frost
- Surface thaw then re-freeze especially after have winter rain.
- Lack of snow cover
What happens is that the crowns will ‘suffocate’ if very wet conditions occur in midwinter that allow re-freezing. If you carefully check some of the missing plants, you may find that the crown is rotted while the storage roots are intact. This can also cause the poor growth and yellowing.
What to Do
Some of the plants will be rotted and never come back. If not totally rotted, you may see a new shoot emerge. This plant may recover in time. An option is to carefully scrape around the crown to determine condition. Totally rotted plants should be dug up and discarded. Peonies that are still growing can be observed next spring for condition and then decide if it worth keeping. Another option is to dig up the poor performers this fall and determine if there is enough good root to replant. Per some of the old APS bulletins, this is not the first time peonies have suffered this much winter loss in Minnesota. It does not happen too often but when we have winters as last years, expect some loss in your peony collection.