Do Peonies Need Something Extra To Brighten Their Color?

[LillyBelle]

I love peonies, but I have had a terrible time getting the bright, vivid blooms I prefer. I have planted peonies that where supposed to be a deep red or pink color only to have them to turn out to be a pale pink shade. I plant them in full sun as directed and expected them to be the color that was shown, but I always get a much lighter shade. Do peonies need to be treated with special chemicals to achieve more colorful blooms?

 

[Pat]

The peonie's color fade as the plant ages. I don't know if you can get the color to become stronger once it starts to age.

 

[IcyBC]

I had a few peonies in the yard with different pale colors, but I didn't grow them. They were there before I did, and I can't tell if they had a deeper colors before. My neighbor had a deep deep pink peony and I love that color, but again they inherited it from the previous owners.

It would be interesting to find out while the color changed!

 

[LillyBelle]

I had no idea the color faded as they aged. However, the plants that I have put out in the past were new plants that I had just purchased. Maybe it had something to do with the soil I was planting them in? I am going to try again now that I live in a different area that seems to have much richer soil than my previous home.