One of my passions is peonies. I have taken on the wondrous task of growing peonies from seed. Growing from seed gives you the joy of producing a bloom that has never been seen before. At the least you can grow your own stock. It is best to note that from seed to flower can take approximately 7 years. (This can explain why some cost so much) It is also prudent to point out that growing from seed means the seed plant is not true to the parent.
At Peel Teaching Garden we have several beds dedicated to this task and for the last two years I have been planting out seed and/or seedlings in the hopes of increasing stock. We had a slight mishap with some weed spray last year that killed off some of the young seedlings, but, this should not be a future problem.

When you get your seed, sterilize them by placing seed in a cup of water mixed with one teaspoon of bleach. Keep in this mixture for approximately one minute, remove and rinse in clean water. Prepare your bags with vermiculite and place your seed in the bag,label bags with name, how many seeds, and the year.
After you have your seeds prepared place in a warm place for a couple of months. Peony seeds have two stages in order to germinate. The first is a warm period to work on root developemnt. The second is cool period for roots to progress.
The size of root is perfect for potting up and putting seed in the garden (if proper planting time - October) Check your bags often for rotting (too much moisture) and progression of root developement.


Planting in 4 pack for winter storage
Take a 4 pack with a medium of sandy soil mixed with perlite and place root into pot with seed at soil level. Lightly water and place under lights. In spring (May) plant out into the garden.

Day +3 partly cloudy pm rain Wind SE16km/h P.O.P.9%
Night -4 mostly cloudy with rain 2.5mm Wind SSW14km/h P.O.P.50%