Six years ago, I was able to purchase two-year old already-flowering peonies in 1 - 2 gallon pots for a fairly modest price. The next year, I scoured the local nurseries to find any that were flowering. There were none. All looked like first year stock but well-established. The next year, all the stock in all the nurseries looked like they were the first sproutings of newly cut rhizomes and the price was the same as two-year stock had been. Each year showed a decline in what was being offered until, this year, one single stem, five inches high and certainly not flowering. Online, there also seems to be a decline although I have not ordered online yet I did notice that the offerings are just for the rhizomes and you're lucky if they have two eyes. The cost, however, seems to be as though they were two-year old or more stock. Has anyone else noticed this steady decline. It could have to do with where I'm located, but it seems that nurseries(at least the ones I'm aware of) aren't waiting to put out two-year old stock, but are offering barely sprouted rhizomes now at the same cost. Eight nurseries near me and I couldn't find anything better. It matters to me because I didn't want to have to wait two years to get them to bloom.

Peonies offerings, from garden shops, in Central Minn. has gone way, way down the past two years.

Yes I think they sell peonies too soon and too small.
Obtaining good solid roots from specialty growers is more expensive initially ,but in the long run it pays off.

CarolineScott said: Yes I think they sell peonies too soon and too small.
Obtaining good solid roots from specialty growers is more expensive initially ,but in the long run it pays off.

I'm finding a problem finding anything(online and otherwise) that's like that. Even looking online and checking the reviews, more than a few reviewers are mad at what dried up 2-eyed roots they received and, as one reviewer pointed out " will take five years to bloom". Of course, the site doesn't mention that and it getting to be a risk to order online.

Janyss471 I think you're looking at the wrong places online. Check out places like Adelman's Peony Paradise, Solaris Farms and Brooks Gardens. I also like Homestead Farms—they don't have the same huge inventory the others have but the roots are great. I don't think any of those offer anything smaller than 3-5 eyes with appropriately sized storage roots. There are other sources but it's getting fairly late in the season to order, I'm fairly sure all of those are still open for orders for fall shopping. No one who grows and sells peonies is going to guarantee they'll bloom first year—there's too much depending on planting them correctly in an appropriate location, but given the right spot and treatment most ordered from those places should.

LizinElizabeth said: Janyss471 I think you're looking at the wrong places online. Check out places like Adelman's Peony Paradise, Solaris Farms and Brooks Gardens. I also like Homestead Farms—they don't have the same huge inventory the others have but the roots are great. I don't think any of those offer anything smaller than 3-5 eyes with appropriately sized storage roots. There are other sources but it's getting fairly late in the season to order, I'm fairly sure all of those are still open for orders for fall shopping. No one who grows and sells peonies is going to guarantee they'll bloom first year—there's too much depending on planting them correctly in an appropriate location, but given the right spot and treatment most ordered from those places should.

Thank you for the suggestions, however, I'm in Canada and, even across the entire country, what I mentioned in my first post, is what is being offered right now.

janyss471 said: Thank you for the suggestions, however, I'm in Canada and, even across the entire country, what I mentioned in my first post, is what is being offered right now in the local nurseries and online in Canada.

A couple of the nurseries said they may bring in some packaged tubers late September. I'll wait and see what they're like.

I am in Canada too and there are good peony growers here.
Parkland Peonies, Dutch Girl Peonies, Elysium Fields, Fraser's Thimble farm, others too.
But they are all sold out over the winter.
A good peony root should have a strong storage root attached.
That storage root should be the size of a medium carrot.
Small storage roots such as the box stores offer will not flower next year. I do buy the box store ones ,but I don't plan on flowers for several years from them. One that I received this spring is actually just a slice of the crown from an old peony plant. Even though I baby it …..I do not have hopes of flowers for several years from it.
I am now weighing any roots that I get. If the root is 250 grams or about half a pound……then maybe it will give flowers the next year.
The box store ones weighed 50 to 125 grams or less than a quarter of a pound. Those will take years to flower.

A further thought on buying the potted peony plants that are in flower when you get them…..
Those often have been forced to flower in a warm greenhouse and may not have fully developed roots yet.
I bought one last year….yes there were flowers when I got it.
The roots were sparse when I planted it last summer.
It did not flower this year, but I expect that it will next year.

CarolineScott said: I am in Canada too and there are good peony growers here.
Parkland Peonies, Dutch Girl Peonies, Elysium Fields, Fraser's Thimble farm, others too.
But they are all sold out over the winter.
A good peony root should have a strong storage root attached.
That storage root should be the size of a medium carrot.
Small storage roots such as the box stores offer will not flower next year. I do buy the box store ones ,but I don't plan on flowers for several years from them. One that I received this spring is actually just a slice of the crown from an old peony plant. Even though I baby it …..I do not have hopes of flowers for several years from it.
I am now weighing any roots that I get. If the root is 250 grams or about half a pound……then maybe it will give flowers the next year.
The box store ones weighed 50 to 125 grams or less than a quarter of a pound. Those will take years to flower.

Thank you. I will check them out. Also, you've given a lot of information I did not know. Thank you for that.

CarolineScott said: A further thought on buying the potted peony plants that are in flower when you get them…..
Those often have been forced to flower in a warm greenhouse and may not have fully developed roots yet.
I bought one last year….yes there were flowers when I got it.
The roots were sparse when I planted it last summer.
It did not flower this year, but I expect that it will next year.

May I ask who sells 250-gram roots? Are they in Canada?

The Holland growers rate theirs by weight.
Heavier ones cost more.
I expect to get good heavy ones from Parkland or from the specialty growers. I only just got the idea to weigh them.
You can see pictures of good roots under the threads for Peony Orders.

Janyss, it's a trend in regular nurseries and those summer nurseries that popped up near grocery stores. 15 years ago, when I started my garden, you could buy some fascinating plants in the stores around my house (e.g. Loblaws and Metro nurseries, Canadian Tire). They had some exciting trees, tree peonies, terrestrial orchids and many other plants. These days, they have nothing. It is so sad.
These days, if you want peonies, as suggested in the forum, you will have to buy them from the growers directly.

CarolineScott said: The Holland growers rate theirs by weight.
Heavier ones cost more.
I expect to get good heavy ones from Parkland or from the specialty growers. I only just got the idea to weigh them.
You can see pictures of good roots under the threads for Peony Orders.

Good to know. Thank you.

Jasmin said: Janyss, it's a trend in regular nurseries and those summer nurseries that popped up near grocery stores. 15 years ago, when I started my garden, you could buy some fascinating plants in the stores around my house (e.g. Loblaws and Metro nurseries, Canadian Tire). They had some exciting trees, tree peonies, terrestrial orchids and many other plants. These days, they have nothing. It is so sad.
These days, if you want peonies, as suggested in the forum, you will have to buy them from the growers directly.

Realizing that now, although I purchased from local nurseries. The point of my original post was also the fact that more and online nurseries are offering smaller and smaller peony roots every year . The specialty nurseries do offer larger, however, it's become harder and harder to get them before they get sold out.

I am in mid-Minnesota and there used to be a gentleman (actually a dork) who had literally dozens of different peonies for sale every year, really good shite as we of the hippie generation used to say BUT the dork did not pay his taxes so the gov. came a cleaned him out and up. (Really sad as his growing area was truly a nature haven with a micro-climate, and they totally levelled it.)
Any way:
The other half bought 8 peonies from Breck's (I have zero love for Breck's) 2021 and amazingly all but two bloomed nicely this year.
I will replant the two that did not bloom as that may be the only thing wrong with those.

Janyss471, you're certainly right about the specialty growers selling out fast but that has been a thing for a while now with peonies. I think they're growing in popularity to start with and there's a major interest from overseas as well. The price for new intros has gotten pretty high but if the market will support….Painful hopefully it'll encourage those growers to continue to sell for longer.

RpR said:
Any way:
The other half bought 8 peonies from Breck's (I have zero love for Breck's) 2021 and amazingly all but two bloomed nicely this year.

l looked at what Brecks had to offer(2 - 3 eyes but most likely 2) and the roots were smaller than small. It would take at least three years for them to bloom even in optimum conditions. I also see that there are still some online nurseries who are offering specialty peonies, however, they say 2 - 3 eyes(most likely 2) and they want a king's ransom in shipping costs over and above the more than three times costs for a root than what others are selling(probably why they still have stock).