2017 Free Mulch for Peonies and Garden

Free Wood Chip Mulch for Peonies
I was kind of worried this might not come in. I've been calling my tree service guy for about 4 months now asking for free wood chips. I also called all around town to other tree services, but hadn't had any luck finding any wood chips. I was getting really desperate knowing the 2017 American Peony Society Convention being held in Raleigh, NC this year (and there might be a few visitors to my garden). I decided to try the tree service guy I know one more time a week ago. This time he finally said he'd be working in my area and could bring me some mulch! I was overjoyed. Now comes the hard part. Time to get to work shoveling, hauling, dumping, and raking! As you can see my Peony 'Keiko' (Adored) in the background is really happy about getting the new mulch too! :-) If you don't grow Peony 'Keiko' I highly recommend it. It is an outstanding and consistent plant, and is one of my Southern Peony Best Performers.

2017 Peony 'Julia Rose' Best Performer - Week 3

I just can not stop looking at (or taking pictures of) this Peony 'Julia Rose' plant this year. Every bloom on the plant is gorgeous. The colors of the petals are beautiful ombres of pink, orange, and coral. This intersectional Peony 'Julia Rose' was hybridized by Roger Anderson and does not yet seem to be registered. However this plant has been on the market for quite some time. This plant holds the flowers nicely above the foliage and the blooms are spaced evenly around the plant. The blooms open over a period of time, so you get to enjoy the blooms for a couple weeks. If you don't yet grow Intersectional Peony 'Julia Rose', it should definitely be on your list. You can find this peony for sale from several growers on my 2017 Intersectional Peony Catalog Price Comparison List. Good luck!
Intersectional Peony 'Julia Rose'
Southern Peony Best Performer

Intersectional Peony 'Julia Rose'
Southern Peony Best Performer

2017 Peony Blooms Week 3 Early Mid

It was a hard week for my peonies, another week of dry, sunny weather (which makes for great peony photos!). However I can tell the flowers and stems are a bit sad and wishing for rain. Also it seems the foliage and flowers are smaller than usual. I don't think we've made up for our lack of rain in February, and so the ground is still a bit drier than normal. We are definitely down from the average amount of rainfall so far this year. Despite the challenges, the peonies still managed to show up with some amazing blooms. Take a look... I hope your early peonies are growing and blooming for you too! :-)
Peony 'Salmon Dream'

Peony 'Do Tell'

Peony 'Etched Salmon'

Peony 'Green Lotus'

Peony 'Pink Spritzer'

Peony 'White Cap'

2017 Cutting Peony Stems for the APS Convention & Exhibition

Cut Peony Stems for APS Exhibition
I finally found a bit of time to cut a few stems for the American Peony Society 2017 Convention. I've been so busy that I've almost let this slip away from me. Most of my early peonies have already opened and are too far past the point needed to cut them for the flower show. So I guess I won't be showing any Saunders hybrids this year. However my mid season peonies are starting to bloom as well as my intersectionals. So there are still several choices left to cut. If you are new to showing flowers and feel a little intimidated about it, don't worry. I made all the mistakes two years ago. Remember the steam bath many of my peony stems needed for my 2015 APS Convention Exhibit Peony Preparation?
Cut Peony Stems with Soft Buds
This year I am cutting the blooms a little less "hard" than I did last year. I guess I was worried if there were any petals showing the flowers would go bad, but now I've learned that if you cut the buds too small and hard, they just do not open. Also single flowers will open faster than double flowers. So you want to make sure your huge double flowered buds are mature enough when you cut them. As you can see this years cuts are a bit larger and showing a bit more petal than the cuts I did 2 years ago, 2015 Cut First Stems for APS Peony Exhibition. We'll see how it works out. Hopefully I don't get any more mold, and the blooms open well without a steam bath!

2017 Good Peony Hybridizing Weather

Pollinated Peony Bloom Protected by Sheer Bag
I'm not sure how, but somehow this week I have managed to get up early enough every day for the last week to get my pollen out of the freezer, go outside with a trash can, scissors, pollen, and bags/tags to work on hybridizing Peony 'Martha W.' - all before getting the kids ready and out the door for school/preschool and then getting myself ready for work! :-D I think my first failure - 2017 Intersectional Peony Hybridizing Failure - has made me even more determined to succeed.
Frozen Pollen and Bags for Protection
The weather has mostly cooperated. It has been quite dry now for a couple of weeks. Doing this hybridzing work to remove the petals and stamens and then applying a pollen to the stigmas for all these days in a row, and has made me come to appreciate the dry weather we've been having. I wouldn't want all of this pollen to just get washed right off! However the non-hybridizing, peony grower side of me keeps wishing for the rain!
First Day Peony Crosses Protected By Paper Bags
Many of the peonies in my garden are still growing leaves and flower buds and need additional moisture to grow well. The pollen I've been using is frozen from pollen I collected last year at the convention during the 2016 APS Peony Convention Tour of Solaris Farms. Nate Bremer very generously told all of his visitors that they were welcome to collect as much pollen as the would like. So I'm hoping that some of this tree peony pollen that has been frozen for one year is still good! Only time will tell.
Second Day Peony Crosses Protected By Sheer Bags
I have been keeping the pollinated blooms protected with a paper bag the first day and then a breathable, transparent bag the second day. I'm hoping this helps the pollination rates. Last year I used only the paper bags, and left them on the plant for much too long. I believe this had a negative impact on the number of fertilized seeds that were able to develop. Let hope this idea - sparked by Nate's mention that he was using cotton muslin bags as an experiment - will work!

2017 Intersectional Peony Blooms Week 2 Early

I can't believe the intersectional peonies are already blooming! My early intersectional peonies all started blooming in shades of pinks, lavenders, and purples. However that color intersectional peonies are famous for - that rich, golden yellow has not yet appeared. I suppose the yellow intersectionals tend to bloom a bit later in the intersectional season. Peony 'First Arrival' was the first intersectional to bloom in my garden this year, a fitting name for this early intersectional. Peony 'Hillary' has been just gorgeous this year. This plant has really settled in and taken off. Peony 'Sonoma Amethyst' and Peony 'Morning Lilac' are both Southern Peony Best Performers, and they are both living up to their reputations this year as well. If you haven't started your intersectional peony collection yet, now's the time. I can't say enough good things about them! :-)
Intersectional Peony 'First Arrival'

Intersectional Peony 'Hillary'

Intersectional Peony 'Sonoma Amethyst'

Intersectional Peony 'Morning Lilac'

2017 New Peony Seedling 'Pink Zebra'

Peony 'Pink Zebra'
Wow! What a surprise to find this interesting animal in my peony bed this week. This peony had quite an interesting pattern on it with light and dark pink stripes that extend all the way down the petal. I don't think I've seen anything quite like it. It kind of reminds me of a pink zebra! So for now, I have nicknamed it Peony 'Pink Zebra'. I will definitely be moving this one to my peony seedling test bed to keep a closer eye on it next year. I am wondering if it will keep the stripes next year.
Pink Striped Petal Herbaceous Peony
I'm also wondering if it will be as floriferous as its mother, an unknown white peony that is the most floriferous peony I've ever grown! It was sold to me as Peony 'Seraphim', but obviously it is not. The APS Cultivar Registry for 'Seraphim' clearly states "Less tall than Chalice, with flowers not so huge. Abundant bloomer. White single. Earlier than Chalice." This peony is definitely an abundant bloomer and a white single form peony. However this plant blooms about 10 days later than 'Chalice'. Whoever it is, I hope its babies will inherit that floriferousness that fills that plant like their mother. I will be curious to see how many blooms appear on Peony 'Pink Zebra' in the next few springs!
Unknown White Floriferous Peony
Peony 'Pink Zebra''s Mother

2017 Peony 'Lustrous' Best Performer - Week 2

I have loved this peony, Peony 'Lustrous', for years now. It is just so hard to get a photo of the plant with several blooms on it all at once! The buds usually open over a period of time instead of all at one time. So you don't get a plant full of blooms effect with this peony variety. However the upside of that is that you get to enjoy them bloom by bloom over a period of time. As you can see two of the flowers have already opened and faded in this photo, several are open, and there are 6 big fat buds on it still waiting to open! Peony 'Lustrous' was hybridized by A. P. Saunders and registered in 1942. It is one of the standout peonies in my Saunders peony garden. It is beautiful for it rare, true red coloring, its early season, and its very full, semi-double flowers when most other herbaceous peonies opening at this time are single petaled blooms. If you haven't yet added Peony 'Lustrous' to your early blooming peony collection, now's the time, so you too can enjoy these luscious red peony blooms!
Peony 'Lustrous'
Southern Peony Best Performer

Peony 'Lustrous'
Southern Peony Best Performer

2017 Peony Blooms Week 2 Early

It was another very colorful week this week for peonies. The early blooms are popping up, but the bushes are in need of some rain. We started the year short of rain in February, but we had a pretty good March. However April is shaping up to be much drier. I hope we get some rain soon! The peonies really need the moisture to keep up with their impressive stem and bud growth at this stage. If they get too dry, both stem and bud growth will be limited. Come on rain! I guess the good thing about not having much rain during this foliage growth period is a decided lack of botrytis blight - which is okay with me! :-)
Peony 'Raspberry Charm'

Peony 'Roy Pehrson's Best Yellow'

Peony 'Coral Fay'

Peony 'Skylark'

Peony 'Lavender'

Peony 'Grace Root'

2017 Questions - Peony 'Old Faithful' Slow to Increase

I received this question from Pauline in zone 5b:

"I have a quick question for you regarding Old Faithful, which you seem to grow. What is your increase of stems year over year?

"I planted Old Faithful in fall 2015, along with 14 other varieties of peonies. (Long story short: I've been apartment living in cities for many years and finally moved out to a house. I've always loved peonies and went a little crazy when I could finally grow them!) The first year Old Faithful had two stems and two flowers. This year there seems to be only three large "buds" emerging. I've looked all over and no one mentions that Old Faithful is slow to increase. It is mentioned regarding other cultivators (I.e. Henry Bockstoce). Old Faithful is in a raised bed of amended soil, spaced 3 feet from other peonies, and the other peonies have at least doubled stems year over year."

"I only ask as we are planning to move and I would like to divide and take the plants to our new home. I am hoping Old Faithful has enough eyes to divide. Thanks for your time on this!"


Peony 'Old Faithful' in 2017 with 2 Stems
I must say that I am quite disappointed with this peony plant right now, actually. The increase was great at first, but now it seems to be struggling. Also this plant is in one of my best beds in the yard. It has good access to sun, moisture, and is free from competition. I have grown this Peony 'Old Faithful' since 2008. The stem increase seemed to be good at first, 1 stem (2009), 3 stems (2010), 7 stems (2011), 9 stems (2012), and then it has been steadily declining ever since. I have tried giving it good compost and organic fertilizer since it has started declining, but it has not helped. The next year it went down to 7 stems (2013), 7 stems (2014), 5 stems (2015), and 3 stems (2016). This year it only has 2 stems (2017) on it. Sometimes it may pop up a late stem, but so far, there are only 2 stems on it this year. So I really can't say if your peony will be large enough to divide. If you want to keep it, you may need to just dig the whole thing up and take it with you. This plant has very thick, large stems and a great habit - which make it seem like it should be a great garden plant, but its recent steady decline has really disapointed me. :-(

2017 Intersectional Peony Hybridizing Failure

I don't think I need an expert opinion to see that this seedling looks like an herbaceous peony. That's too bad. It was so exciting when I first saw this baby pop up 2017 First Intersectional Hybrid Seedling Sprouts!, and was wondering what it might look like someday. I guess I can still wonder, but the results probably won't be what I was hoping for. Oh, well. It looks like it is time to get back to work. This year's hybridizing season is upon us. The peonies are starting to bloom, and its time to try to make some new crosses! If at first you don't succeed, try, try again! (until you do!). :-)
Intersectional Hybridizing Attempt Failed

2017 Garden Art Glass and Peony 'America'

Peony 'America' with Green Art Glass
I was surprised to see this Peony 'America' snuggled up to my green garden art glass and just beginning to open when I came home from work one day this week. The standout red flower and the shimmery green glass looked so good together, I couldn't help but snap a picture. The next day Peony 'America' was showing off its golden yellow center. This time the red leaved Japanese maple next to it begged to be included in the photo. :-) I love to have some "garden art" in the garden year round to give the garden color and interest. What kind of garden art do you have to create extra interest in your peony gardens?
Peony 'America' with Green Art Glass and Japanese Maple

2017 Peony Blooms Week 1 Very Early

Wow! I don't know if I've ever had such a colorful Week 1 Peony Bloom before! Many of the light colored, very early peony buds in shades of white, pale yellow, and pale pink were busted in another late cold snap we got. Despite my best efforts to save the buds earlier in the season, 2017 Protect Peonies from Super Cold Overnight Temps, the foliage was up much too high for me to attempt another intervention in late March. So the blooms in these pics made it through that last cold snap on their own. Most of these very early peony blooms, except for Peony 'Early Scout', came at the very end of the week, and were the first bloom to open on the plant. So more peony blooms to come! :-)
Peony 'Early Scout'


Peony 'Dark Chocolate'


Peony 'Coral Sunset'


Peony 'Coral Charm'


Peony 'Lustrous'


Tree Peony 'Shimadaijin 島大臣 (Island Minister)'

2017 Questions - Peonies for Hot Coastal Climates

I received this question from Charles in Zone 8b/9a:
"Your name was given me as a reliable source for peonies in the very deep South. My wife and I have always wanted to grow peonies but mistakenly thought that where we live in the sea islands of South Carolina would have too warm a winter to be successful. Recently, I have learned that there is at least one variety of double peony dark pink may do well here. That color, however, is not one that we particularly like.

We live on one of the sea islands of South Carolina, the island just above Hilton Head. Most gardening sites place us in zone 8b but the more reliable and studied research show our area of southeastern South Carolina, together with the area around Charleston to be in zone 9a. I guess the reason for this is that we are surrounded by water and receive the benefits of the Gulf Stream. Our summers can be hellish with high temperatures and high humidity. There's a section of our yard that receives full sun from dawn to about 1:00 where we would like to plant them.

I am hoping that you can suggest a couple of "never fail" double peonies in light pink, yellow, white or lavender that should do well for us. I also would like to be advised as to what sites on the web are good for beginners learning to plant peonies. Our soil here is sandy and perfectly neutral so I expect to have to amend the soil to make it possible to grow the plants we want. If you could be so good as to suggest a couple as well as a good source for purchasing them, we'd be grateful. Thank you."
Peonies for Hot Coastal Climates
Just because you have palm trees doesn't mean you can't grow peonies! (Actually a few select few palm trees will grow here in our zone 7b growing zone.) However not all peonies may grow successfully if you have palm trees. For your type of growing environment, I would recommend Intersectional Peonies. These peonies are a cross between tree peonies and herbaceous peonies. So you get some of the best attributes from both of them. You will get the tenacity, heat tolerance, and color range of a tree peony, and you will get a good mix of the foliage and flower habits from an herbaceous peony. All of this plus a plant that becomes well established more quickly than either a tree peony or herbaceous peony (which can take several years here).


Southern Peony Best Performers
As for how to grow peonies where you live, I would check out this article about 2016 Questions - Growing Peonies in South Carolina. Also you can find some good information about peonies that do well in the South on my Southern Peony Best Performers page. There are already several Intersectional (Itoh) peony selections on this page, including Peony 'Bartzella' (a yellow), Peony 'Keiko' (a pink), Peony 'Morning Lilac' (a fuschia pink/purple), Peony 'Sonoma Amethyst' (a lavender), and Peony 'Takara' (a pink with red center). The best white Intersectional Peony I would recommend would be Peony 'Cora Louise', a huge white flower with a dark purple center.


Southern Peony's 2017 Intersectional Peony
Catalog Price Comparison List
As for where to buy these intersectional peonies, a good place to start would be my 2017 Intersectional Peony Catalog Price Comparison List. This is a price comparison list for all of the peony growers who belong to the American Peony Society. While I cannot guarantee their plants, I have ordered from most of these growers, and have been happy with what they've sent me. Another source for Peony 'Bartzella' is Plant Delights Nursery, a local nursery here in NC. I know the Bartzella plants they sell are huge potted peony plants. This would give you a head start in getting your peony established vs. buying a root which is what most growers sell and ship in the fall. Buying a peony from a source that is closer to your own growing zone will also help your peony get established more quickly. Another grower that sells all of their Intersectional Peonies as potted plants is Klehm's Song Sparrow. Since these intersectional peony plants are potted, these vendors can ship them year round, which means you could get your plants in the ground now! Good luck!