Peony Seeds

Collect seeds as pods begin to open. The harder the outer shell the longer the first dormancy period. Wash the seeds in soapy water, followed by a ten minute soak in a solution of 9 parts water to 1 part household bleach. Rinse. For seeds that have been stored, soak...

Peonies are heterozygous and do not come true from seeds. Named cultivars must be propagated vegetatively to retain their cultivar name. Seeds collected from species plants have an inherent variability within the population and not all are exactly alike, even in...

A peony seed germinates in response to the same sequence of environmental conditions whether it is out of doors where nature has full sway, or is kept indoors in contrived conditions. In either case the minimum requirements of a particular seed must be met or it will fail. Each peony seed has its own individual variations, among which may be its inherent germination timing.