Another winter with limited snow so far for the peonies! As you can see in this picture, the only snow we have remaining as of now are the drifts. With warmer then normal temps expected again this week, what should be white color on the ground is now brown. Most of our precipitation this winter was rain which still provided moisture to the ground because some of the frost has left. For those of you in USDA zones 2-4 that planted new peonies last fall, did you mulch are peonies? If you didn’t and you do not have any snow to insulate the ground, might I suggest to mulch them now? With the warmer daytime temps (thawing) and colder nighttime temps (freezing), some newly planted peonies may be forced above the ground. Mulching will prevent this from happening until this spring when the nighttime temps are warmer. Once the peonies have made it through their first USDA zones 2-4 winter, mulching does not have to be done.