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Problem with peony! Lack of watering in the summer?

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Joakim B:
Dear all
I hope to learn what is the problem with the peonies I grow in Portugal since they do not develop well during the summer, it is only during spring they have nice foliage. During summer they are more or less just surviving not continuing to grow.
The peonias are "tree peonies" three seedlings from Sweden that are single flowers that can be in red orange or even yellow some 5-7 cm across and two are garden center versions that have not developed well since I bought them.
They are watered well during spring both by me and by rain, during summer they get less watering both from me and from rain. The soil is well drained due to the neighbour is 10 m below behind a wall. In spring  there is no competision but in summer the peonies get crowded by dahlias and other plants but none is closer than 10 cm to the plants so it is more of giving shadow.
What should I do to have a longer growth? I have not seen many peonies here in Portugal but I see a lot in Hungary and it can get equally warm there and it has not been so warm yet in Portugal but the peonies are still a bit tired.
Any tip is wellcome
Kind regards from a wet and cold (20C) Portugal
Joakim

Lesley Cox:
Paeonies like a really cold winter Joakim. Perhaps yours are too warm when they want to be cold and so try to die back too early?

Joakim B:
Thanks for the answer Lesley but they do look the best after the winter in early spring so they do get some "rest" but would they already now be semi dormant due to a lack of a winter? In Sweden they are still in their prime and it is at least 20-25C there now. But maybe they are stressed into rest/lack of growth now here in Portugal?
Does peonies grow during the summer? Maybe I am not used to that the "summer" comes so early in Portugal (April) while in Sweden it comes in June/July with the flowers of the peony lactiflora and the rest. They do start growth much earlier in the year here in Portugal compared with Sweden and Hungary.
Kind regards
Joakim

Lesley Cox:
Here, paeonies flower in the spring to early summer, so by the time they finish flowering, I doubt if there is much new top growth, rather putting energy into making new growing shoots for the next year. Like many perennials they look quite tatty after flowering.

Joakim B:
Thanks for the help Lesley
I think they are just earlier here in Portugal than what I am used to. I also think they are a bit crowded and will try to give them more space.

Regarding planting new grafted plants I have read some places that they should be planted so that the graft is in the soil  and by tilting it (maybe as much as 45 degrees) the graft also develops roots. Does anyone have any experience with that (tilting and getting roots)? I have generally planted tree peonies at the same hight as they are in the pot. That is the advice for p. lactiflora but I have now understod that tree peonies should be planted deaper.
In one plant that I bought the "root part" is an old stem that is a bit open and I am a bit afraid that it will rot in the ground. Do the forumists think that that will be the case if I plant deep?
Have anyone tried to grow them in pots/vases/planters? If so how big do the pots need to be?
Sorry for the many questiones but I hope to get some answers so that I can start planting soon (Sunday).

Kind regards
Joakim

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