2012 Intersectional Peony Bed Preparation

Since I decided to create a new bed for my intersectional peonies, my mind has been busy thinking of all the things I need to do to complete the project. Last weekend I started the process by laying out a clear plastic tarp over the section of ground where I will plant the new peony bed. I placed bricks on the edges of the tarp to keep it in place. The sun will heat up the ground and the plastic will prevent the heat from escaping. So it will get really hot under there to kill the current grass, weeds, unsprouted seeds, even bugs and plant pathogens such as viruses and bacteria! This process is called soil solarization, and the best time to do this is in the summer. So now is a good time to start if you'd like to prepare some peony beds for fall planting! If you're leery of chemicals, this is a good organic way to prepare the soil since no chemicals are needed to kill weeds. After the soil has been sterilized, I am planning to get a truckload of pro-mix and garden soil delivered. I usually just plant my peonies in the ground as is with a bit of lime and organic fertilizer mixed in. However the soil in the site for my new intersectional peony bed is not very good since this is a section of my yard that used to be forest and was scraped clean with when my house was built. So there is little to no top soil in this area. The grass and weeds don't even really want to grow here. Since I want to make sure my intersectional peonies are successful, I am going to do a little more advance preparation this time.

Intersectional Peony Bed Soil Solarization

2011 Peony Kincaid Garden Markers and Labels

I planted my peonies a week ago, although I realized I had run out of plant markers for them. For the last few years I have been using Kincaid Gardens 100% Stainless Steel Plant Markers, and they have been awesome. They don't rust, are very sturdy, and definitely last longer than any other plant markers I've tried. So last week I put temporary labels on the new peony plantings, and today I'm replacing them with the Kincaid Gardens plant markers that I just received in the mail this week. They are definitely more expensive than other plant markers, but they also last! Here's a link to their site if you're interested... Kincaid Gardens I also use Brother P-Touch Extra Strength Adhesive Tape for printing the peony labels, which also last for years. I haven't had any of those fade or peel yet, and I've been using those for a few years now as well. Happy planting!

2011 Fall Is For Peony Planting!

So I got a copy of the Fall 2011 Creative Ideas magazine in the mail from Lowe's home improvement store. There was a page about fall being the optimum time to plant, and peonies were listed as one of their suggested plants (which I think is awesome). However they described peonies as "old-fashioned flowers". I can't decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing as far as publicity for the flower is concerned. There are many varieties of modern peonies and loads more colors to choose from than what people think of as the traditional "old-fashioned" peony varieties i.e. pink, red, and white double style herbaceous peonies. I guess "old-fashioned" could also mean that they can stand the test of time, but I'm not sure that's the idea most people would get from that adjective. The magazine also suggests that peonies be planted in "rich soil with the crowns 2 inches below the soil." However if you plant your peony like that here in NC (which interestingly enough is where Lowe's home improvement is based) you may not get any blooms. I plant all of my peonies with the crowns right at soil level. When I first tried to grow my own peonies, I followed the directions on the box that my peony came in. (I know, I know, the box was a bad sign, but I didn't know that back then.) The box said to plant the root 3-4 inches below the soil. That poor peony. There was never even a chance it would create a bud. It was fighting just to get leaves up to the light! It grew several years and the number of stems slowly increased, but never a bud! Anyway, I guess it's good that peonies are being advertised as one of "the" plants to plant in the fall. I guess I should get busy...

2010 APS Peony Seed Planting

I actually got all of my seeds planted that I purchased at the American Peony Society Convention this June. Usually the seeds I plant are from peony cultivars. I don't usually buy seeds, but this year I purchased several varieties of species peony seeds. I made plant labels for each seed type. I decided to plant them in a grid instead of rows, which is how I usually plant my seeds. I ordered them alphabetically in the grid in case the plant label is lost (hopefully not). These are the varieties that I planted: P. brownii, P. caucasica, P. mascula, P. mlokosewitschii, P. ostii, P. peregrine, P. rockii, P. tenuifolia, and P. veitchii. I don't currently have any of these except P. tenuifolia, which hasn't bloomed for me yet. So I am curious to see how these different species peonies will grow here in my southern climate.

2010 Fall Peony Planting

Today was a beautiful fall day. It went from burning hot summer to nice fall weather in one week. It will probably be winter next week! So it goes. I was actually able to plant my peonies today in the nice fall weather. I like to use Espoma Organic fertilizer and lime in my planting holes. The soil here is generally a bit acidic. So I add the lime to try to balance the PH of the soil. I am excited about the peonies I planted today. I'm not sure if any of them will bloom next spring, but the varieties are all ones I've had my eye on for quite some time. I didn't get any award winners this year, but I did get some nice varieties that have unique characteristics. Peony 'Rose Heart' is supposed to have a darker pink center. I am curious to see how that one will bloom here. Peony 'Goldilocks' is supposed to be a yellow herbaceous and Peony 'Etched Salmon' is supposed to be a salmon, which are not very common colors. I also planted Peony 'Pink Derby', which was awesome as a cut flower when on display at the APS convention this year, and Peony 'Athena', which is a replacement because the first one I had died out. I am hoping Peony 'Athena' will survive and thrive this time. Only time will tell...

2009 Peony Seed Planting

I got the seeds planted in the peony test bed today. Some of them had shriveled quite a bit even though it has only been four days since I collected them. I know some instructions say you have to put them in a bag with moistened peat moss in the fridge, etc. to get them to germinate, but I've had really good luck just planting them in the ground and letting Mother Nature handle things. I finally got around to making the signs to label the peony seedlings. I have planted peony seeds since 2007. So I should have my first flower by 2012! You can see the 2008 peony seedlings in the upper left of this picture. So the seedlings are actually quite small their first year. Peonies are a practice in patience, which I need to learn more of anyway...