Articles about Peony questions
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Saturday, May 4, 2013

2013 Questions - Marvin Karrels' 1975 APS Peony Medal

I received this question from Tracy in zone 5:
"Hello Adriana, I ran across your blog regarding the metal you found on Etsy which was awarded to Marvin Karrels in 1975. My husband and I purchased Marvin Karrels' house last year in Greenfield,WI. This house he grew all of his award winning peonies at. We still have the garden today. We have yet to identify the many different kinds available and have been told there are many exotic and genetically altered peonies. We have never taken care of this beautiful flower before so we are trying to research care info before spring arrives. Our neighbors have talked so highly about the flowers Marvin grew and made it clear that these 75 yr old flowers need to be taken care of and need to remain on the property. :) We are very excited to see what blooms and how beautiful this will be. We have approx 50 some plants! In addition to caring for the peonies, we have intentions to maintain and restore what we can in this beautiful house he built his family back in 1937. I have been researching Marvin and his family to learn more. Finding the award metal on Etsy is amazing and I'm very curious to know if you found out how this person had the coin to sell? According to the Society, Marvin won 7 metals for his amazing peonies. I would love to put this metal where it was earned. If you are interested in parting from this metal, please let me know."


Marvin Karrels' 1975 American Peony Society Medal

How exciting to purchase the home of a great former peony enthusiast, Marvin Karrels. You must be enthralled in watching his peonies grow and bloom this season. I would love to see some pictures and would be happy to publish some of them on my blog if you'd like to send some in. At this time I am not interested in parting with the APS Medal, but I will keep your information in case my plans change in the future. I am a member of the American Peony Society and intend to preserve the medal for the club, as well as take it to the convention for display. If you are interested in attending the 2013 APS Convention to learn more about peonies and the APS in general, I would love to meet you and learn more about Marvin Karrels and his peonies and fine home. If you have some pictures of the restoration work you've been completing, I would love to see those too! Also I did ask the Etsy seller if the coin was real and how he had come to acquire it. This was his response: "Hi Adriana- it is real, I bought it at a coin and token estate. That's about all I know about it. Thanks! Bill" Good luck with your home and peony garden restoration plans!!!

Saturday, March 2, 2013

2013 Questions - Container Grown Peony Plants

I received this question from Karen in Zone 8:
"I've seen several container grown peony plants for sale in nurseries here in the spring. Is this advisable to purchase a plant rather than bulbs. If buying the plant is okay, should I grow it in the same container over the summer and then plant in the ground in the fall? I'm leery of planting a peony plant here in April as it normally has gotten quite warm by then and think the stress of summer wouldn't be good for it."

The question of whether to purchase a plant or a bulb is answered in the previous post 2013 Questions - Purchasing Peony Plants Versus Roots. As for the question of when to plant the container peony, that depends on how well you take care of your container plants. If you are like me, and you take care of your container plants when you have time, I would recommend planting your peony in the ground as soon as you buy it. However perhaps you are very meticulous and experienced container gardener, and you tend to your containers better than your garden. Then I would say that it would be fine to wait until fall to plant your peony in the ground.

Pink Single Peony in Pot on Deck

However I would not recommend growing your peony in the container permanently. I myself purchased a peony in a nice container years ago, thinking perhaps that it would be nice to have a peony blooming on my deck every year. Even with special care (peonies are my favorite flower after all), it continued to decline each year until it died. I'm quite sure that the peonies for sale in beautiful containers each spring are not grown to blooming size that way. They are most likely grown in super ideal conditions in the ground until they are full of buds and then stuffed into a beautiful pot, which may look nice on the outside, but it makes a sad home for a peony! Peonies actually grow very large roots underground which are needed to fuel those huge blossoms each spring. Zone 8 is actually a good zone for growing peonies. I would just make sure to plant the peony crown and eyes even with the soil level. You may want to check out my post 2012 How to Plant an Herbaceous Peony for pointers! Good luck!!!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

2013 Questions - Purchasing Peony Plants Versus Roots

I received this question from Karen in Zone 8:
"I currently have no peonies growing in my yard, zone 8, Montgomery AL. My first question is should I even attempt to do this with our long, very hot humid summers and mild winters. I've seen several container grown peony plants for sale in nurseries here in the spring. Is this advisable to purchase a plant rather than bulbs?"

I would say that if you find a plant for sale in your local nursery, most likely the plant should grow in your zone. Most nurseries want repeat customers, and if they sell plants that don't grow well in your zone and just die, they're not likely to get to many repeat customers that way. Peonies will definitely grow in zone 8. The question of whether to purchase a peony plant or a bulb (which is really a root) depends on how much time and money you have. If you can wait a little and want to buy the peony at a lesser cost, buy the root, since the root will likely be cheaper. However it may take one or more years to see blooms depending on the size and condition of the peony roots. Conversely if you don't mind spending a little more and would rather see results sooner, buy the container plant. Usually you can find peony container plants in bud or in bloom, so you know you will have blooms this year and for many years to come! If you do find a container peony in bloom, you will also know exactly what color you are purchasing - which is not always the case with roots, which could get mixed up. Good luck with your peonies, and I'd love to see pictures!
Intersectional Peony in Container
Intersectional Peony Root

Sunday, February 3, 2013

2013 Questions - Where to Buy Peony Seeds

I received this question from Courtney in Zone 7:
"My father is interested in purchasing some peony seeds. He has always been into flowers and gardening and its evident by his yard. His favorite are peonies and he has just become interested in trying to grow them from seeds. I found your site online today after he requested that I try to find some catalogues or places where he could buy seeds. I’m not sure if you sell them or could help me in finding a place that sells them. I would appreciate your advice!"

The places that come to my mind for buying peony seeds are either on Ebay or the APS Seed Distribution Program. Doing a quick search on Ebay, there are lots of peony seeds you can buy from China. Also there are some peony seeds offered from Hirt's Gardens (based out of Ohio) on Ebay. Thanks to your inquiry, I decided to purchase a few of these seeds myself.

Peony Seeds for Sale on Ebay

You may want to check out my previous posts on the 2010 APS Peony Seed Program and 2012 APS Convention Peony Seed Sale . Also you DO need to be an APS member to participate in the APS Seed Distribution Program. The costs of the APS seeds are typically very affordable (usually $2-$3 per pack + shipping). If your father is not already a member of the American Peony Society, an APS Membership would make a great gift! I do not sell any peony seeds myself, and although I cannot personally vouch for the outcomes from any of the seeds you might buy, the costs of your endeavor should be low and the rewards great, provided you have the time. Peony seeds typically take 3-5+ years to develop into a flowering plant. I'd love to see any pictures from the fruits of your labors. Good luck! :-)

Thursday, October 11, 2012

2012 Questions - Itoh Peony Planting Depth

Itoh Peony 'Barztella'
I received this question from Karen in Zone 6:
"How deep do you plant your Itoh peonies?"

Itoh Peonies are intersectional peonies. Toichi Itoh is credited with being the first hybridizer to successfully cross a tree peony with an herbaceous peony, resulting in an intersectional peony. Since these peonies are a cross between tree peonies with woody stems and herbaceous peonies with herbaceous stems, the stems of intersectional peonies are semi-woody. These stems can be left on the plant and cut back to the lowest bud or be cut off completely. This picture is of intersectional Peony 'Bartzella' whose stems were cut back to above the lowest bud. I have drawn a line on the picture to show the proper planting depth for this type of peony. The stems (above the red line) face up towards the sun, and the roots (below the red line) should be planted below ground. So the proper planting depth for intersectional (Itoh) peonies is right at this joint between the stems and the root. If your intersectional peony does not have any above ground stems, then I would recommend planting the roots below the soil with the eyes or buds facing up towards the sun. The eyes or buds should be even with the soil level or just below the surface of the soil.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

2012 Peony Questions and Topics

I received a question on growing peonies as a comment on one of my posts. I would like this site to be as helpful to others as possible. So to that end, I would like to invite you to send me your peony questions, concerns, or topics you'd like me to cover. It doesn't matter how crazy or silly it might be, as long as it pertains to peonies, send it in! I will also creating a permanent link for Questions on the front page. So if you've got some burning question, that you'd love to have answered, please send it in. I'd be happy to answer any questions I know the answer to, try to research it for you if I don't have the data, and possibly even do some experiments to get an answer! You can contact me by email Send Your FAQ to Southern Peony. Also if you'd like to subscribe to this blog, you can do so here Subscribe to Southern Peony by Email.