I have both tree peonies and herbaceous peonies. They are full hardy here and I think at least one zone hardier, so your mom should be safe planting them in NH.

Thanks. Her zip comes up with zone 5b which is weird because that's what I am in OH and our weather is so different! Can you send me pictures of your tree peonies? I'm new to them and would like to see the shape of some that are established. The ones I bought are pendulous.
Thanks.

My tree peonies are only a couple of years in my garden, so I doubt their photos will help. They are only just now unfolding their leaves.

Perhaps someone else has photos of better established ones.

zone.. in theory is simply MINIMUM winter cold ... and that might be for two minutes in mid january ....

z5 covers such a wide swath ... that .. as you note.. it doesnt mean much .... e.g. z5 st louis .. is a whole other world from z5 maine ...

and in that example.. its all about summer humidity, rather than min temp ...

and that is why we often ask for major large city.. to narrow down where a peep might be in z5

ken

Molly, your mom won't be disappointed with tree peonies in Z5b NH. I have a small area of my garden pretty much devoted to a bunch of tree peonies and shade perennials. The tree peony I have planted in full sun is much larger than the others in shade. In the shade the flowers hold on longer and don't tend to fade as much as the one I have in full sun. Just a couple of things for her to think about as she chooses the planting site.

Here is a pic of one of the peonies in a shadier spot:

{{gwi:228371}}

One of my all-time favorite plants in the spring even if the flowers are at times fleeting. The foliage is great all season long, no pests, no fuss......

Here is a fairly old picture of some of mine. They are planted on the south side of a large tree, so they get sun in the spring, but shade in the summer.