They bloom well only after a period of pronounced winter chill. Winter cold and summer heat are not problems, but the flowers do not last long where spring days are hot and dry. In such areas, choose early blooming varieties, and give plants some afternoon shade and ample water. Feed established clumps like other plants, and provide support for heavy flowers. Cut off stems carefully just below the soil surface in fall, after the leaves turn brown.
Tree peonies are deciduous shrubs with an irregular, picturesque branching habit.
Plants grow from 3 to 6 feet tall and, eventually, equally wide. Tree peonies can be planted from containers any time of year in rich, deep, well-prepared soil away from competing tree roots. Plant deep, setting the plant several inches deeper than it grew in a nursery container. To prune, remove spent flowers and cut back to live wood in spring when buds begin to swell. Tree peonies are very hardy in the cold and are less dependent on winter chill than herbaceous peonies.