I have two three-year old Tree Peonies – each in a 30-inch pot. Both have buds – what can I do to protect them from the coming freeze – or will they be ok? The pots are way too heavy for me to move. They are sitting on a blacktop driveway margin. I have no dirt to bury the pots into. Do I wrap them? Would bubble wrap work?
The new one I planted Sunday is covered with an inverted pot – will that be enough?
Your peony (Paeonia) buds will probably be fine, but don’t take any chances!
Protect the pots with bubble wrap and cover the tops with bed sheets or some other cloth. I think the inverted pot over your new plant should be sufficient.
Tree Peonies are quite hardy. The frost would be much more damaging if it came in March or April when plants have leafed out.
Here is an article on predicting frost from Michigan State University.
University of California’s Marin Master Gardeners (now archived) also has useful tips on how to protect plants from damage by low temperatures. Tree peonies are not among the plants most liable to be harmed by the cold.