I cut out most of the mint, but with the rain we have had lately, the little bit that was left has taken hold again. I will have to dig it out again Somehow, the roots stay hidden until a shoot pops up. ... more »

I cut out most of the mint, but with the rain we have had lately, the little bit that was left has taken hold again. I will have to dig it out again Somehow, the roots stay hidden until a shoot pops up. Thanks for the kind words. I lived in California, south of San Francisco for years and had wonderful gardens, but didn't try my hand at peonies. The ones that I have now were from 4-5 spindly plants that were hidden under a tree. I cut them up and transplated those to make about 50 plants and now there are about 150 plants, which put out 10-50 blooms on each plant. I share with friends regularly and now they have nice peony gardens. I think you probably have too much dry weather and not enough cold winters in the hills inland in So California. I almost moved to San Diego to study horticulture, but the terrain was a little too desert for me. (less)