Perhaps these bloom at different times. There are early mid and late peonies. Maybe the middle one is a later bloomer.

Guys, this is year three of the "my peonies are too close together" post. All three still look like this after my third spring in the house. There HAS to be something wrong with the middle guy, right???

He must not be getting something he needs...

Again, all were planted at the same time. No idea what the varieties are. The outside two get beautiful, large flowers. The middle guy does nothing.

Should I wait for fall and move him? Should I dig him up and abandon him? What do you all think?

He's planted too deep! Dig him up and be sure when you replant not to get the pink eyes deeper than 2 inches.
When I plant peonies, I usually try to have the eyes at ground level because they will settle after several waterings and be the right depth then.

Yep, agree with Flowergirl. Expect your plant to sulk for a year after being replanted (it is worth doing this as soon as the blooms on the others are finished). Paeonies can be very temperamental - mine have not bloomed at all this year in 2 sites. The first because scaffolding supports were placed right up against the growing crown - lots of leafage but only those abortive non-swelling buds.......whilst at my allotment, there are no flowers at all.....although on fairly new plants (they did bloom last year, but suspect a combo of weather and immaturity). A paeony-less year for me!

Yeah I would agree with posts above; planted too deep, but by the looks of the lawn area, also lacking in supplemental watering , rainfall, or both.
Covered too deeply with mulch, can also nearly be the same as planting too deep. Unless it was applied long after sprouting up ..
They are also heavy feeders & if you'd have given some slow release in autumn, & again, in, early spring (or even after blooming, is also helpful too) they'd likely have been nearly covered with buds ,all ready to bloom!

Thank you, all. I think it's certainly possible that it is planted too deep, but it would be a surprise because of the 6 peonies planted by the former owner, this would be the only one that is too deep- the rest all prosper and bloom prolifically.

Is there anything else that might cause this? The grass is brown here because we don't water it. We do, however, water the peonies.

Also, it was my understanding that too-deep peonies fail to bloom, but typically prosper otherwise. This is undersized and scraggly looking to me...not just failing to bloom.

Any other thoughts?

Although peonies are generally hardy and long-lived, they can be temperamental. Perhaps that one is not a particularly vigorous cultivar? Maybe there is a large rock or stump or otherwise underneath the root system?

You could try transplanting it in the fall to another location and see if its growth improves, although it may take 2-3 years to rebound.

I transplanted 3 last summer. I didn't even know what they were lol...they were free for the digging. Anyway they are doing great...lots of buds and very healthy. I can't wait to see what color/kind they are. So it's not always true that it takes years to rebound. Hopefully your transplant will go just as well :)

I STILL think they are lacking enough nutrients, as by now there should be a much greater number of flower buds, than currently being produced. Unless you aren't using any fertilizer at all, as they're very heavy feeders. Possibly, one may have a bit of damage, or as someone else suggested, possibly even a large rock is near the root crown. Or else, someone heavily cut a huge bouquet of all three, last year.

Hi Gringo-

We mulch and compost in the early spring but don't do anything else with fertilizer. We have I think 9 peonies in total in our garden and use the same process with all. Only these 3 seem to be suffering. They do get less sun than the others, however. Maybe an hour less per day?

Talk to me about the cutting huge bouquet issue. We do cut lots of peonies. Rarely on the same day. Since we have so many we are able to space them out and not do too much damage at one to any one plant.

Hypothetically though, is there something wrong with using too many as cut flowers from one plant at the same time? I have always been lead to believe that as long as there were ample leaves remaining that it didn't matter if you cut the flowers. Generally people seem to say it's just deadheading early. Sound like you disagree. Please elaborate if you can.

I cut almost every-single- peony-flower in my garden each year. Why let the wind and rain ruin them when I can indulge my senses indoors? Pure heaven......

I still have tons of flowers the next year.

Kevin

I would venture to guess, if your soil is depleted of sufficient nutrients & they haven't been divided often enough, & you cut for long stem bouquets, you get reduced flowering such as seen above in photos.

Long stems being cut annually, is not nearly the same as deadheading, which is removal of just the tip, where the flower was...

That isn't to say, heard of people with extremely rich soil, mowing them down after blooming, and getting huge flower displays, the following year. So, there is something that just isn't right, about those three, going on & can't dig in your soil, don't know how much you or how many stems you cut off, or the last time these were divided.

Perhaps, after going dormant in autumn, carefully dig ( as the roots are brittle) & see what's with the soil, & while you are at it, divide them to rejuvenate them. Then add a slow release fertilizer when replanting & amend the soil too...