2018 P. Rockii Peony Seedling Has 2 Buds in Second Year of Bloom

Paeonia rockii Seedling with 2 Buds
A Paeonia rockii seedling from a batch of seed I got in 2013 from Ebay, 2013 P. Rockii Peony Seeds from Cricket Hill Garden, has 2 buds on it. The rest of the seedlings from this batch of seed have yet to bloom. It had one bud and bloom on it last year in 2017, but I missed seeing it and photographing it until the flower was mostly gone. So I can't wait to see what it actually looks like this year. Considering this P. rockii tree peony is still growing in my peony seedling bed very close to its siblings and is still growing so well and so quickly, speaks very highly of its vigor. Hopefully I will get a chance to move it to a better home this fall, so that I can allow it to mature with more space for its roots to grow in. I will keep you posted on its flowers. Spring will be here before we know it!

2018 Record High Temperatures Help Tree Peonies Unfurl in Feburary

Tree Peony 'Yao Huang' 姚黃 (Yao's Yellow)
Today was our last day of 70 degree temperatures. Next week we'll be back in the 60s and 50s for the high. However as you can see from our 5 Day Forecast that we had earlier, we've been enjoying about a week of 70 degree temperatures. We had 3 days with record breaking high temperatures this February, and we went from winter to spring in 1 week flat. Let's hope Mother Nature is a bit more kind this year than she has been in previous years with those late killing frosts, 2017 Protect Peonies from Super Cold Overnight Temps.
February 21 - 5 Day Forecast
I don't see any below freezing overnight temperatures in the upcoming 10 day forecast. So there may be a chance that winter really is over here for 2018. I think Sir Walter Wally (North Carolina's groundhog) may have been right this year about the early spring. I sure am hoping that spring is here to stay (since that will mean more peony blooms in the garden). If the cold weather is gone for the season, we won't lose any peony buds to bud blast from a late spring freeze. I can only dream of how nice the peonies will look in the garden since we haven't had late cold bud-blast free peony season in years!
Tree Peony 'Kamata-nishiki' 鎌田錦

2018 OMG!!! We're Going to Luoyang China for the Biggest Peony Festival in the World!!

I have been waiting for this for a long time. I'm not sure how I got here, but I finally did! The travel is booked, the flight and the hotel. My whole family is going to visit Luoyang, China to take part in the biggest peony festival in the world!!! I am so excited. :-D Now I just need to get the documents in order, passports, visas, etc. My husband's parents are going to come from Shanghai to meet us there as well. I am really looking forward to everyone meeting together in such a beautiful and happy environment amongst all of the gorgeous peonies in bloom.
Peony Festival in Luoyang, China
Don't worry. I will bring you a complete review and of course lots of photos of all of the gardens I visit. There will be more tree peonies than I've ever seen before in one place, and this time they will be in bloom, unlike my trip to see 2013 Peonies in Beijing, Shanghai, and Suzhou China when they were all dormant. I can only imagine it now, and I will do my best to capture everything I can to memorialize and share all of the colorful peony blossoms with the everyone!

2018 Planting Peony Seeds (Late!) ((Again!!))

The peony seeds I planted today are pretty important seeds actually. I purchased them from the APS Seed Distribution Program last year, and some of them are seeds from a really great peony hybridizer that I just missed my opportunity to interview. I had spoken with him by phone just a few days before he passed, and I think he wasn't feeling well. He told me to call him back another time, but unfortunately that "another time" never came. His name was Bill Seidl, and I had the extreme pleasure of visiting his garden after the APS Convention in 2016, where I was able to meet him, hear a few of his stories, and collect 2016 Peony 'Dreamtime' Pollen from Bill Seidl's Garden.
Bill Seidl and Nate Bremer 2016
Some these seeds I ordered are also from Nate Bremer's garden since the seed packs start with "NB-" and appear to be hybrids of some of Bill's and Nate's introductions. I did have the pleasure of interviewing Nate in 2016, and you can read the results of that interview here, 2016 Peony Hybridizer Interview - Nate Bremer. I am very excited to plant these seeds from both of these very successful hybridizers that are helping to create future peony hybrids. In honor of both of them, I thought I'd share a photo of them together and a group photo we took in Bill's garden during my visit in 2016. Most of the seeds I ordered last year were hand pollinated by these two gentleman, for which I am very grateful.
APS Members in Bill Seidl's Garden 2016
So it looks like this is what I ended up with:

2017 APS Seeds
Dreamtime	5 seeds
Dreamtime X Seidl Super	5 seeds
Dreamtime X Vanilla Gorilla	5 seeds
Lemon Chiffon	12 seeds
NB-???? (Captain Kate X MRV-11)	5 seeds
NB-SH79 (Captain Kate X Angel Emily)	5 seeds
NB-SH82 (Angel Emily X MRV-11)	5 seeds
NB-SH88 (Rockii hybrid X Captain Kate)	6 seeds
NB-SH89 (MRV-11 X MRV-4)	5 seeds

Let's see what sprouts!!!

2017 Red Tree Peony Seeds Sprout!

Red Tree Peony Seedlings Sign
Remember those red tree peony seeds I planted this past fall, 2016 Planting Red Tree Peony Seeds from Georgia? Well, I was beginning to think that they weren't coming up, that perhaps there were not actually viable. However about 2 weeks ago, I finally noticed a few green things popping up in that spot (that weren't weeds). LOL! So far I have 6 baby tree peony seedlings from those 2016 Red Tree Peony Seeds from SP Reader in GA. I'm guessing a few more peony seedlings may still pop up. If not this year, then perhaps next spring. We shall see!
Red Tree Peony Seedlings

Red Tree Peony Seedlings

Red Tree Peony Seedlings

2017 In Love with Tree Peony 'Angel Emily'

Tree Peony 'Angel Emily'
I can't help it! I'm in love! Tree Peony 'Angel Emily' is the best tree peony I've ever grown. Not that I have grown that many of them (but I have grown a few - at least tried to grow and tried and tried). Okay, I've killed a couple tree peonies along the way, and it seems like none of them really ever want to get established, but Tree Peony 'Angel Emily' is a totally different story! This tree peony actually grows and grows and grows bigger each year - and more beautiful, with more blossoms on it. This year it actually had 3 blooms on it, and they were all this gorgeous shade of lavender. One of the blooms had already finished, and these two blooms opened a bit later.
Tree Peony 'Angel Emily' Blooms
It's like this tree peony grows how tree peonies are actually supposed to grow. I haven't quite had a tree peony yet to impress me. Sometimes I'd get a couple blooms the first year from the grafted stems of a tree peony, then I'd get no blooms, then the plant might get smaller, or sometimes just grow the same size as it was the year before (very disappointing). However Tree Peony 'Angel Emily' has been a totally different story. I think it had a bud on it the first year, but it didn't mature, the next year had no buds, but the bush got larger and larger. You could tell it was adapting and growing. The next year (this year), the bush was even larger and had three blooms on it. I can't wait to see what it does next year!
Tree Peony 'Angel Emily' Bloom
I was even able to use some fresh pollen from this gorgeous tree peony to pollinate the blooms on my herbaceous Peony 'Martha W.' during the 2017 Good Peony Hybridizing Weather we had last week. So even if the year old pollen I had in the freezer doesn't work, at least I will have tried some fresh pollen too! We will see which pollen actually does a better job at producing seeds. It would be great to get some intersectional peony seeds from this cross, especially since lavender and purple are my favorite colors. :-) We shall see...
Tree Peony 'Angel Emily' Bush

2017 Tree Peony Paeonia ostii at Plant Delights Nursery Open House

Tree Peony Paeonia ostii Bloom
I had the opportunity to visit Plant Delights Nursery's winter open house this weekend. Even though it was the winter open house, it really felt like late spring or early summer. The temperature got up to 80 degrees, and it was so nice to have a spring like day to peruse the hellebores in bloom. I wasn't even planning to look at the peonies, even though I did notice that Tony introduced a new peony for the first time ever in his spring catalog (Peony 'Golden Sunrise').

Tree Peony Paeonia ostii

However, I just happened by a wonderful tree peony in bloom, and it smelled so good! Someone had pulled it out of its greenhouse, and it was sitting near the checkout lane. It turned out to be a Paeonia ostii seedling, and lucky for me there were several of them in the greenhouse and a couple that still had blooms on them. Needless to say one of them made the ride home with me, and perfumed by car during the whole trip! The scent on this tree peony is just heavenly!


Haul from Plant Delights Nursery Open House
(Including a Tree Peony Paeonia ostii)
If you hadn't noticed yet, the American Peony Society will be taking a tour of Plant Delights Nursery and Juniper Level Botanic garden during the 2017 APS Annual Convention. If you haven't yet made your plans to join us, now is the time to get your registration in! You might actually end up taking one of these awesome tree peonies (and likely several more plant friends too) home with you from the conference. ;-) If you'd like to know more about this Paeonia ostii species tree peony, take a look below at the catalog description from Plant Delight's Nursery's online catalog.


Plant Delight Nursery Paeonia ostii
(syn: Paeonia suffruticosa ssp. ostii) From China's Gansu, Hunan, and surrounding provinces comes an endangered tree peony species that was first published in 1992 and named after Italian peony expert, Dr. Gian Lupo Osti. Similar to Paeonia rockii, the 5' tall Paeonia ostii has narrower leaves and is topped in very early spring (mid-April in NC) with over 100 large, 6-8" wide, sweetly fragrant flowers. Paeonia ostii is unquestionably one of the finest peonies we've ever grown. Flower color ranges from white to pale pink, highlighted by a dark red central blotch and bright yellow stamens. Our plants are flowering-sized plants grown in the US. Interestingly, the 2004 publication, "The Genus Paeonia" says, "This is another recently established Chinese taxon that has not yet been introduced in the West."

2017 Record February Temperatures Cause Peonies to Sprout Early

Peony 'Lustrous'
Weather forecasters all over the country are reporting record high temperatures this month. It is supposedly the 2nd warmest February on record here so far. This early spring warm up has some peonies popping up a bit early and sending new shoots and buds up too. Many of A. P. Saunders' early hybrid peonies are starting to come up - Peony 'Lustrous', Peony 'Red Red Rose', Peony 'Halcyon', and Peony 'Rose Garland'.

Peony 'Red Red Rose'	Peony 'Halcyon'
Peony 'Rose Garland'	Peony 'Prairie Moon'

Tree Peony 'White Phoenix'	Tree Peony 'White Phoenix'

The tree peonies are definitely farther along than the herbaceous peonies. It almost looks like we could get our first bloom in February, especially if these temperatures continue. It has been in the 70s or close to 70 all week! Tree Peony 'White Phoenix' looks like it may bloom first. However, the foliage on Tree Peony 'Kamata-nishiki' 鎌田錦 is definitely the most developed. I can't wait to see these peonies bloom, and I am wishing and hoping that we do not get a nasty cold snap!
Tree Peony 'Kamata-nishiki' 鎌田錦

2017 Tree Peony 'White Phoenix' Growing in January

Yes, this is a tree peony that is growing in January. It is only just starting its growth cycle, but it is starting. When I've seen tree peonies growing so early in the season in previous years, it was worrisome to me. I didn't and still do not have tons of experience with tree peonies. However, I am beginning to learn that these mighty beauties begin their growth cycle much earlier than herbaceous peonies. Also the buds of tree peonies seem to be much more impervious to winter weather (although not invincible). Since almost all of the tree peony's flower buds are above ground all winter long, these buds are built to withstand the cold temperatures and weather fluctuations that can be experienced in a winter to spring warm up transition.
Tree Peony 'White Phoenix'
Beginning to Grow in January
This is likely another reason that tree peonies have a reputation of growing well in Southern climates. Since tree peonies' flower buds are formed in the fall, and remain on the tree peony stem tips all winter long, they are able to accumulate more chilling hours on their buds than herbaceous peony buds, which are at or below the soil surface all winter long. This is yet another reason to plant your herbaceous peonies as close to the soil surface as possible in Southern climates. This allows the buds to accumulate the chilling hours needed to flower. So if you grow tree peonies in a Southern climate, and you notice that they begin to grow so much earlier than your herbaceous peonies, do not fear. The foliage will not be harmed and the buds will likely be just fine too...

2016 Paeonia rockii Purple Tree Peony Seeds

Try, try again. Remember those Purple Peony Rockii Seeds from Ebay Canada last year? Well, after the P. Rockii Seeds Arrived via Air Mail from Canada they seemed a bit dry, and some of the bonus seeds were cracked upon arrival. None of the Purple Paeonia rockii tree peony seeds I ordered or any of the bonus seeds actually germinated this spring. I was quite disappointed. However, I decided to email the seller to see if she might be willing to replace the seeds since none of the actually sprouted. I explained to her that none of the seeds sprouted and nicely asked if she would send me another set of 10 seeds from this year's harvest. She agreed as long I remembered to email her again in the fall with a reminder. I emailed her two weeks ago with my address, and this week I received another set of Paeonia rockii Purple tree peony seeds in the mail. She didn't have to replace them, but she did. I am really happy and excited to see if this set of P. rockii tree peony seeds will actually sprout. It is little things like this that renew my faith in people. I am off to plant these seeds right away!
Replacement Paeonia rockii Purple Tree Peony Seeds

2016 $20 Tree Peonies on Ebay from Hirt's Gardens

Tree Peony 'Hanakisoi' 花競 (Floral Rivalry)
I couldn't resist buying one of each of these $20 tree peonies on Ebay from Hirt's Gardens, Tree Peony 'Hanakisoi' 花競 and Tree Peony 'Houki' ('Hoki') 芳紀. Unfortunately some of the tree peonies I've purchased in the past on Ebay (from different sellers) were not the variety advertised. (Ebay peony seller's reviews still to come!) However, after receiving these, I could recognize immediately upon receipt that these were much better quality and seemed to be packed in a professional environment. Both of these are Japanese tree peony cultivars. They appear to be imported from overseas, and they come with a high quality garden tag with a nice color photo on it. So hopefully these tree peonies will be true to name. There are still a few left if you're interested in getting one or both of them at this awesome price point. Also the combined shipping for both of these together was only around $12.50 (about $6 each). You just can't beat that price point! If you are looking to expand your tree peony collection or get one started (like me), these tree peonies may be just what you're looking for!

Tree Peony 'Houki' ('Hoki') 芳紀 (Charming Age)

2016 Tree Peony Buds

I am really excited to see these tree peony buds bloom! I have 6 different tree peonies with buds on them this year, and I have only seen one of them bloom before - Tree Peony 'White Phoenix'. That means 5 of these I have never seen bloom before. Yippee! Two of these that I have labeled as Unknown are the first two plants from the 2013 Ali Express Chinese Tree Peonies $5.52 for 3! that have gotten a bud. So I am excited to see what mystery tree peonies I got from China! Also since these are the only 6 tree peonies in my garden with buds, that also means that several more tree peonies do not have buds and will not bloom this year including some tree peonies that have bloomed for me in the past. (I'm still getting the hang of this tree peony thing.) However, 6 distinct tree peony varieties with buds is the most I have ever had bloom in a single year before. So I am filled with anticipation to meet these new beauties...

Tree Peony 'Black Lotus' Bud	Tree Peony Unknown White?
Tree Peony 'Tria'	Tree Peony Unknown
Tree Peony 'White Phoenix'	Tree Peony 'Lavender Hill'

2016 Japanese Tree Peony 'Chojuraku' from Ebay

Tree Peony 'Chojuraku' 長寿楽 Garden Label	Tree Peony 'Chojuraku' 長寿楽 from Ebay

I just bought this Japanese Tree Peony 'Chojuraku' 長寿楽 from Ebay two weeks ago. It came quickly through the mail, and I got it planted quickly too. I must say I am really impressed by the size and age of this grafted plant. It is huge. I definitely feel like I got my money's worth from this Ebay seller - garden*breeze. This is the second peony I have purchased from them, and I have been happy with both. However, this isn't the case with all Ebay sellers, so I am planning on creating and Ebay peony seller's review. Hopefully I will be able to get to it this year! Another reason I am excited about this peony besides its large size is its color - lavender, my favorite! This Tree Peony 'Chojuraku' 長寿楽 looks like it may be a double flowering P. rockii hybrid since it has dark purple flares, and I really have been wanting a peony like that. I tried buying some Purple Peony Rockii Seeds from Ebay Canada last year, but they haven't sprouted yet. I'm not giving up hope on those yet since many of my own 2015 seed have not sprouted yet. However, I'm sure this Tree Peony 'Chojuraku' 長寿楽 will provide me with blooms much sooner!

2016 Tree Peony 'Rou Fu Rong' (肉芙蓉) Still Alive

Since this peony was given to me as a gift at the last American Peony Society convention, I tried to take extra good care of it. However, in doing so, I may have inadvertently overwatered it last summer. According to this Caring for Tree Peonies article on the Kelways UK site, the biggest cause of failure for tree peonies is overwatering. Their site states in large, bold letters, "DO NOT OVERWATER NEWLY PLANTED PEONIES, THIS IS THE BIGGEST CAUSE OF FAILURE." Since the Kelways web site says they been growing peonies since 1851, I'm guessing they know what they're talking about.
Tree Peony 'Rou Fu Rong' 肉芙蓉 (Pink Hibiscus)
Our summers can get very hot and dry at times, and I wanted to make sure this tree peony had enough moisture. All three of the existing tree peony branches on it died, and I was worried that the plant may have died altogether. However, one small tree peony shoot has come up this spring from the base of the plant. I am so happy it is still alive. I had never been given a peony before, nor a tree peony. So this was a very nice surprise for me to receive this plant. I also received another peony as a gift at that convention, 2015 Hybridizing Peony Martha W., which arrived in the mail a couple of months after the convention. I am very excited and hopeful to see this tree peony, 'Rou Fu Rong' 肉芙蓉 (Pink Hibiscus) grow and prosper!
Tree Peony 'Rou Fu Rong' 肉芙蓉 (Pink Hibiscus) Sign

2016 It's Starting... Tree Peonies are Waking Up!

OMG! I am so excited. My tree peonies are starting to wake up! There are even a couple of coral peonies that have started to sneak a little stem out of the ground. Peony season is coming! After three 70° days in a row, how could they not wake up? I am so happy to see many of my tree peonies are coming back from last year - sorry to say I have killed a few (and there may more casualties this year). I only have a small number of tree peonies, even though they supposedly grow very well here. I am trying to grow my tree peony collection, and still trying to figure out how to grow them. They're a little different than the herbaceous peonies that I'm used to growing. However, I think I am *starting* to get the hang of it - by no means an expert, but I'm starting to get them to come back year to year. ;-) I can't wait to see what my tree peonies do this year. I think a few of them have tips that look like bud tips on them. So some of the tree peonies that I have not yet seen bloom, might give me a flower this spring - very exciting!!!

Tree Peony 'Li Yuan Chun' 李园春 Leafing Out	Tree Peony 'Li Yuan Chun' 李园春 Leafing Out

2016 Ice Storm Peonies Iced!

I guess I was wrong about the 2016 First Snow of the Year (and Maybe Only???). Winter Storm Jonas hit us with quite a bit. It looks like snow in the pictures, but there's not really much snow. It's more like 1-2 inches of ice with a little snow mixed in. I guess that's why there's a big tree snapped in half in my back yard and our power was out for almost a day! I'm so thankful it's back on, and we can get warm again.
Intersectional Peony 'Yellow Crown' on Ice
The peonies look like they're taking whatever Jonas is dishing out. You can't really read their plant name tags anymore, but I think the ice will melt, and they will be okay. Most of my peonies are still tucked safely underground. However, there are a few intersectional and tree peonies with above ground stems. I think they're going to make it, though. With the extra layer of ice, the peonies take on a shiny sheen, making them almost jewel like.
Tree Peony on Ice
Remember that New Peony Breaking Dormancy Too Early? With our sometimes warm weather last week, it decided to peek out through the extra layer of mulch I put on top of it. Now, however, the ice has seemed to put a stop to its growth. The foliage still has not unfurled yet. If the foliage opens or the stem grows taller, it probably won't make it. Since it is still short, there's a chance this one could survive. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. We'll see...
Intersectional Peony 'Prairie Charm' on Ice

2015 P. Rockii Seeds Arrived via Air Mail from Canada

The Purple Peony Rockii Seeds from Ebay Canada that I ordered three weeks ago arrived earlier this week. They arrived sooner than Ebay expected them to get here. Ebay's system said "Estimated delivery Tue, Jan 26 - Mon, Feb 01". I'm sure glad they were wrong. It's already a bit late here, since I planted my own peony seeds 4 months ago in September, 2015 Fall Peony Seed Planting and Donation. These peony seeds may not have enough time to germinate this year, but I hope they will or at least some of them will. People often say that it takes two years to germinate a peony seed. However, the majority of the seeds I plant will germinate the first year, especially if they are from my own garden (that way I know the seeds are fresh, and I can plant them right away).
So I got these P. rockii seeds planted right away. The seller was kind enough to send some extra of the Purple Paeonia Rockii seeds and 3 Pink Double Paeonia Rockii seeds as a gift. However, it seems the Pink Double Paeonia Rockii seeds were crushed in shipping or had been in the plastic too long, as the shell of the seeds had been broken and some of the shell pieces were stuck to the plastic bubble wrap. One of these seeds was missing its shell entirely, leaving the inner white part of the seed exposed. I planted all of them anyway. I will be especially curious to see if all 3 of these Pink Double Paeonia seeds germinate. We shall see what spring will bring! :-)

2015 Yellow Tree Peony from the UK Arrives

Yellow Tree Peony From UK Mailing Tube
The Yellow Tree Peony Seedling from UK on Ebay arrived this past week, and I got it planted right away, which was good since its packaging wasn't very secure. It arrived in a half tube with a small pint sized plastic plant pot taped to the bottom of the tube. When I cut the tape to separate the tube from the plastic pot, I discovered that the rootball of the tree peony was no longer inside the plastic pot. It had apparently been jostled during shipment and there was no plastic, tape, or rubber bands - nothing to keep the plant inside its pot. The rootball was dry and the foliage obviously no longer looked like the foliage in the auction picture. However I got it planted straight away the same day it arrived. Since it has been raining here for several weeks now, the soil is nice and moist. So hopefully this will give the plant an opportunity to get some much needed nutrients and adapt itself to our climate before our harsh summer weather hits.
Yellow Tree Peony from UK
On the bright side, it looks like its roots are quite a bit more established than the Purple Tree Peony Seedlings From Ebay UK that I got in 2013. Those purple tree peony seedlings appeared to be first year seedlings. This yellow tree peony looks to be at least a second year seedling, as its roots system is much more extensive. Hopefully this extended system of moisture and nutrient absorbers will give this tiny tree peony a much better chance of survival. The bent and broken foliage looks a little roughed up from shipment. However I'm guessing the foliage won't last much longer here anyway. So I'll probably remove that soon anyway and let this plant concentrate it efforts below the soil.
Yellow Tree Peony from UK Planted