I found this on Piviones Riviere's website. WHAT IS THE BEST PERIOD TO PLANT ? How do you plant a peony? To obtain the best results in peony cultivation, pay very special attention to the planting process. *Planting bare roots should be done between September and mid-March. *It is better to plant peonies in the autumn so that the root system can grow before the leaves come out. *Planting can be done during the winter period even with frost during the night as long as it disappears during the daytime. *After March, due to the growing of leaves and vegetation, it is not recommended to plant bare root peonies. *If you want to plant later, we offer cultivated plants in containers that you can buy either from our nursery or at the flower shows we go to. *Tip : In case of frost when you receive our plants, place the parcel in a cool area  a cellar or a garage - and open the parcel. The individually packed plants can remain for a month in their packaging without any harm.

My Mary Helen Eggenberger is pushing a late inflo so right now I have her under a light fixture similar to Jeffreyjoe's with a 5500k bulb. The inflo has proceeded to grow more and my buds are forming pink coloring and 2 are opening. I leave mine on for at least 6 hours as I don't know if it will raise the light bill or not an I have reynolds wrap formed around my plant and light to keep the light source as close to the plant as possible without it scattering around the room. Since my bulb is a compact florescent, I can place it really close to my plant without any burning or damage. I am surprised at the results I am getting which makes me very happy. I will post pictures of it once the two are open. ;) .

OK it's not Late Blight. Apparentely, some yellowing of the lower leaves is normal. There has been no progression of the problem over the past few days. Late blight would've taken out the whole row by now.

jc, I think she means temporarily, as in until she can get them planted into the ground. I have done the same thing. It’s kind of a compromise between keeping them potted on the patio, (where they dry out quickly and need water twice per day in summer) and planting them in the ground. It keeps the roots cooler(summer) without actually planting the rose. In my case, I use this trick when my sons have dug the hole for me, but I’m not physically up to planting the rose yet. I just pop the container into the hole, mulch the top, and water as needed. It works great! I just need to remember that the rose isn’t actually planted in the ground yet. I once had a rose grow it’s roots right through the drainage holes and continue growing on its merry way! Oops! I ended up just leaving it. Roses grow enormous here, and it helped keep it “mannerly”, for a while:). Lisa