2013 How to Plant a Tree Peony

Tree Peony Stem and Roots	Tree Peony Stem Root Junction

Tree Peonies should be planted similar to Herbaceous Peonies, except much more care should be taken to make sure the stem and roots are facing the proper directions. This is important for herbaceous peonies as well, but more so with tree peonies.
Dig Hole for Tree Peony
The first step and perhaps the most important step in planting a peony is preparing the soil. I usually dig at least a 3 foot round hole for each root, spading the soil with my shovel to make sure the dirt is nice and loose. After the hole is dug and the soil has been loosened, I add some organic fertilizer and lime (dolomitic limestone) to the soil in the hole and mix it in. The fertilizer is used to add nutrients to the soil and the lime is used to adjust the PH of the soil. In my area, most soils are acidic, and peonies prefer a more neutral to very slightly acidic soil, around a PH of 6.0 to 7.0.

Put Tree Peony Root in Planting Hole
Next take a look at the tree peony's roots and make a small hole in the middle of your 3 foot round hole that will accommodate the size of the peony root. Tree peonies keep above ground woody stems, whereas herbaceous peonies do not. The tree peony will have a definite delineation between the roots and the woody stem. The woody stem may have pink buds on it, or it could have died back, in which case the new shoots and foliage would emerge near the bottom of the stems/top of the roots. So make sure to put the roots into the soil and put the woody stem(s) pointing up towards the sky. In my southern climate the point where the roots meets the stem can be planted even with the soil, so that the roots are below the soil and the stems/buds are above the soil. However if you have a grafted tree peony, it is advisable to plant the stem/root junction a few inches under the soil to, hopefully, allow the tree peony stem to form roots of its own and prevent the herbaceous peony root from creating its own foliage shoots.

Cover Tree Peony Roots with Soil
Once the tree peony root has been covered with soil, I cover the planting hole with a 1-2 inch layer of mulch. You don't want to put too much mulch on peonies in this climate. Otherwise the roots may not get enough chilling hours needed for blooming. They do however need enough mulch to retain moisture (It does get really hot here!) and prevent weed growth. After the peony has been mulched, I water the newly planted peony plant. You can water your root before or after you mulch it. I just like to water mine afterwards because it seems like the soils stays in place a little better with the mulch already on top.

Mulch Tree Peony

2013 First Bloom of the Year - Peony 'Early Scout'!

Well, the first peony of the year bloomed today, on tax day - April 15, 2013! It was Peony 'Early Scout', which is usually one of the first peonies to bloom here. I am so excited that the peony bloom season has finally started. As you can see from the yellow dust on the leaves of the peony, pollen season is also here! I hope the pollen is over soon. I don't think the pollen season and the peony bloom seasons usually coincide, but with the late winter that turned into summer this year, everything is coming out at once. I'm wondering how that will affect my peonies as well. The peony blooms usually last about 6-7 weeks here, but I'm betting we won't get that many weeks this year. The peony bloom season will likely be compressed a bit this year. That might make for some different hybridizing opportunities, however, since some different varieties will be in bloom together that usually aren't.

First to Bloom Peony 'Early Scout'

2013 Where are the Peony Blooms???

Where are the peony blooms this year? According to my records from last year my peonies started blooming on March 26, 2012. I think I must have gotten spoiled last year, because now I feel like my peonies are a couple of weeks late. So I decided to look back at all of my peony start Bloom Dates back to 2006, the first year my Early Scout peony bloomed. That year my peonies started blooming on April 7, 2006, which is 96 days into the year. So I decided to find out the average and mean start dates for my peony bloom season thus far. We had a really long winter this year. Weather-wise, winter really only ended 2 weeks ago - the temperatures for the high were in the 50s every day. Then we had one week of spring, with moderate temperatures. This past week has been summer, with the highs in the 80s! So the weather changed really fast this year. We had an extended winter that turned right into summer! Anyway the mean (average) peony bloom season start date for my area with the data I've collected so far is 91.85, and the mean is 94. So that means the average start date and the mean start date for my area this year is April 2, 2013 and April 5, 2013. So the peony blooms are about a week and half to 2 weeks late this year! This year will be the latest peony bloom start of any year since I've been keeping track. The latest date I've had before this year was April 11, 2009 (100 days). Today is April 14th, and they haven't bloomed yet. They should be blooming soon, though!

Saunders Peony Garden - April 2013

2013 Intersectional/Itoh Peony Buds

OMG! This is going to be an exciting year in my garden for intersectional peony blooms. I am super excited! I tried to count all of the buds I could find on the intersectional plants that I have, and it looks like there will be more varieties of intersectional peonies blooming in one year in my garden than ever before. Even some of the new plants from the 2012 Peony Experiments - Intersectional Divisions have buds on them. I took some pictures today of as many different intersectional peony buds that I could find. It looks like I have blooms developing on at least 11 different varieties! There may be more to come. I have been eagerly reviewing the intersectional peonies almost daily for buds, and each day I find more and more. Here are the pictures of the ones I have so far. They are in various stages of development...

Peony 'Bartzella'	Peony 'First Arrival'
Peony 'Garden Treasure'	Peony 'Morning Lilac'
Peony 'Pastel Splendor'	Peony 'Scarlet Heaven'
Peony 'Sequestered Sunshine'	Peony 'Singing in the Rain'
Peony 'Sonoma Amethyst'	Peony 'White Emperor'
Peony 'Yellow Crown'

2013 P. Rockii Peony Plant Arrived

Well, the P. Rockii Species Peony from Edelweiss Perennials that I ordered last week arrived today. It looks like a nice size plant, although the leaves looked a little wilted, presumably from its trip through the mail system. So I decided to let it take a dip and rest in the shade this afternoon. The plant was well protected in its box except for its dirt, some of which was dispersed inside the package. The roots of the tree peony were showing since the top soil has been displaced. (This could have been prevented by putting the pot in a plastic bag and using a twist tie to close the plastic bag around the stem. I've gotten several other plants in the mail this way, and it seems to work very well.) So anyway I added a little potting soil and water to the top of 4" pot, that was supposed to be a quart - which I plan to contact the company about. So we will see what they say about that. Otherwise, the plant seems to be a good one with nice foliage. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, which is good since it's so hot all of a sudden. Hopefully it will cool us down a bit and keep the ground a little moist. Then I should be able to plant out this P. rockii on Saturday. :-)
P. Rockii Peony Plant

2013 P. Rockii Species Peonies at Edelweiss Perennials

Wow. Google is my friend. :-) I found a P. rockii peony using Google offered by Edelweiss Perennials. I've never heard of this nursery before, but I thought I'd take a chance. It seems like they a large variety of plants. They even have several other species peonies to choose from (Paeonia delavayi, Paeonia intermedia, Paeonia lutea var. ludlowii, Paeonia mairei, Paeonia mascula subsp. arietina, Paeonia mlokosewitschii, Paeonia obovata var. willmottiae, Paeonia peregrina, Paeonia potaninii, Paeonia rockii ssp. rockii, and Paeonia tenuifolia). Some of them I've not seen offered elsewhere (like Paeonia intermedia, P. mairei, P. potaninii, P. triternata), and their prices are very reasonable. If the P. rockii peony I purchase from them does well, I may order some additional species plants from them later this year or next year. I'm really excited to see the white and purple blooms of the Paeonia rockii!

P. rockii Peony at Edelweiss Perennials

2013 Intersectional Peony Catalog Price Comparison List

So. I really like intersectional peonies (also known as Itoh peonies). I've collected quite a few of them, but I definitely do not have them all (especially some of the more expensive varieties). So I've been keeping my eye on their prices, and they have been coming down in price as they become more common in the marketplace. I created a spreadsheet with all of the available varieties for 2013 from nurseries that specialize in peonies. I haven't ordered from all of these vendors, so I can't speak for their quality or reliability, but I thought this might be helpful information for other gardeners out there looking to collect intersectional peonies as well or maybe just add the first one to your garden. Also if you have your heart set on a particular variety, get your order in early, because some of these will sell out (and some of them already have)! Enjoy!

Intersectional Peony	Price	Vendor
Al's Choice	$89.00	Brooks
Ballarena de Saval	$70.00	Adelman
Bartzella	$45.00	Solaris Farms
Bartzella	$60.00	Fina
Bartzella	$75.00	Swenson
Bartzella	$79.00	Brooks
Bartzella	$79.00	Buck Canyon
Bartzella	$79.00	Peony's Envy
Bartzella	$80.00	Adelman
Bartzella	$80.00	Hollingsworth
Bartzella	$85.00	Birchwood
Bartzella	$95.00	Song Sparrow
Bartzella	$99.00	Cricket Hill
Border Charm	$39.99	Hidden Springs
Border Charm	$40.00	Adelman
Border Charm	$40.00	Swenson
Border Charm	$45.00	Birchwood
Border Charm	$45.00	Song Sparrow
Border Charm	$59.00	Peony's Envy
Callie's Memory	$59.00	Peony's Envy
Callie's Memory	$75.00	Brooks
Callie's Memory	$95.00	Solaris Farms
Callie's Memory	$100.00	Swenson
Canary Brilliants	$59.00	Peony's Envy
Canary Brilliants	$70.00	Adelman
Canary Brilliants	$75.00	Swenson
Canary Brilliants	$90.00	Solaris Farms
Chief Black Hawk	$285.00	Brooks
Copper Kettle	$150.00	Swenson
Cora Louise	$60.00	Adelman
Cora Louise	$60.00	Brooks
Cora Louise	$60.00	Hollingsworth
Cora Louise	$75.00	Song Sparrow
Cora Louise	$80.00	Song Sparrow
Cora Louise	$99.00	Cricket Hill
Court Jester	$100.00	Swenson
First Arrival	$45.00	Solaris Farms
First Arrival	$60.00	Adelman
First Arrival	$75.00	Buck Canyon
First Arrival	$75.00	Song Sparrow
First Arrival	$75.00	Swenson
First Arrival	C$130.00	Blossom Hill
Garden Treasure	$50.00	Solaris Farms
Garden Treasure	$55.00	Fina
Garden Treasure	$65.00	Swenson
Garden Treasure	$68.00	Hollingsworth
Garden Treasure	$69.99	Hidden Springs
Garden Treasure	$79.00	Brooks
Garden Treasure	$80.00	Adelman
Garden Treasure	$80.00	Buck Canyon
Garden Treasure	$85.00	Song Sparrow
Garden Treasure	$89.00	Peony's Envy
Garden Treasure	$90.00	Bannister
Garden Treasure	$99.00	Cricket Hill
Going Bananas	$40.00	Adelman
Going Bananas	C$130.00	Blossom Hill
Gordon E. Simonson	$250.00	Adelman
Hidden Treasure	$35.00	Solaris Farms
Hillary	$48.00	Hollingsworth
Hillary	$50.00	Adelman
Hillary	$55.00	Brooks
Hillary	$59.00	Peony's Envy
Hillary	$60.00	Buck Canyon
Hillary	$60.00	Fina
Hillary	$75.00	Solaris Farms
Hillary	$75.00	Swenson
Joanna Marlene	$75.00	Solaris Farms
Joanna Marlene	$80.00	Adelman
Joanna Marlene	$100.00	Swenson
Julia Rose	$65.00	Swenson
Julia Rose	$75.00	Adelman
Julia Rose	$75.00	Solaris Farms
Julia Rose	C$130.00	Blossom Hill
Kaleidoscope	$75.00	Swenson
Kaleidoscope	$99.00	Buck Canyon
Kopper Kettle	$99.00	Adelman
Lafayette Escadrille	$48.00	Hollingsworth
Lemon Dream	$45.00	Adelman
Lemon Dream	$48.00	Hollingsworth
Lemon Dream	$50.00	Solaris Farms
Lemon Dream	$59.00	Peony's Envy
Lemon Dream	$75.00	Swenson
Little Darlin	$60.00	Birchwood
Little Darlin	$65.00	Song Sparrow
Lollipop	$90.00	Solaris Farms
Love Affair	$150.00	Adelman
Love Affair	$150.00	Hollingsworth
Maroon Dragon Claw	$89.00	Cricket Hill
Morning Lilac	$64.00	Buck Canyon
Morning Lilac	$70.00	Adelman
New Millennium	$200.00	Adelman
New Millennium	$250.00	Swenson
Norwegian Blush	$95.00	Song Sparrow
Old Rose Dandy	$45.00	Adelman
Old Rose Dandy	$45.00	Solaris Farms
Old Rose Dandy	$45.00	Swenson
Old Rose Dandy	$59.00	Peony's Envy
Pastel Splendor	$35.00	Solaris Farms
Pastel Splendor	$40.00	Swenson
Pastel Splendor	$45.00	Adelman
Pastel Splendor	$65.00	Song Sparrow
Pastel Splendor	$79.00	Peony's Envy
Pastel Splendor	C$80.00	Blossom Hill
Prairie Charm	$40.00	Adelman
Prairie Charm	$50.00	Birchwood
Prairie Charm	$50.00	Hollingsworth
Prairie Charm	$50.00	Swenson
Prairie Charm	$54.95	Hidden Springs
Prairie Charm	$59.00	Peony's Envy
Prairie Charm	$60.00	Song Sparrow
Prairie Charm	$75.00	Bannister
Prairie Sunshine	$80.00	Hollingsworth
Rosy Prospects	$200.00	Swenson
Royal Blush	$150.00	Swenson
Saffron Innocence	$200.00	Swenson
Scarlet Heaven	$40.00	Adelman
Scarlet Heaven	$40.00	Swenson
Scarlet Heaven	$55.00	Solaris Farms
Scarlet Heaven	$59.00	Peony's Envy
Scarlet Heaven	C$80.00	Blossom Hill
Scarlet Heaven	$99.00	Cricket Hill
Sequestered Sunshine	$50.00	Solaris Farms
Smith Family Yellow	$99.00	Adelman
Sonoma Amethyst	$65.00	Adelman
Sonoma Apricot	$55.00	Solaris Farms
Sonoma Sun	$80.00	Adelman
Sonoma Velvet Ruby	$80.00	Adelman
Sonoma Welcome	$55.00	Adelman
Sunshine Sensation	C$130.00	Blossom Hill
Unique	$48.00	Buck Canyon
Unique	$60.00	Adelman
Unique	$75.00	Swenson
Viking Full Moon	$40.00	Solaris Farms
Viking Full Moon	$45.00	Adelman
Viking Full Moon	$50.00	Swenson
Viking Full Moon	$95.00	Song Sparrow
Watermelon Wine	$150.00	Adelman
Yankee Doodle Dandy	$59.00	Peony's Envy
Yellow Crown	$55.00	Solaris Farms
Yellow Emperor	$50.00	Swenson
Yellow Emperor	$55.00	Solaris Farms

2013 Tree Peony P. Rockii Seeds on Ebay

I've been wanting a P. rockii tree peony for quite some time, but I have yet to acquire one. So I decided to buy some of the P. rockii tree peony seeds that I found for sale on Ebay. They were kind of expensive ($7.50), but not as expensive as the plant itself (which is usually $50+). So I decided to give them a try. Plus the $7.50 price did include the shipping. So I guess it's not too bad. I've purchased some P. rockii and P. rockii hybrid seeds from the APS Peony Seed Sale before, but they have yet to germinate. I'm hoping these will do something since they're advertised as USA grown and fresh. We shall see...

2013 Soaking Peony Seeds

I knew these little bowls would come in handy when I bought them at Ross a while ago. I haven't used them until now, but I think I've found a pretty good use for them. Now I wish I had bought more! I have 15 different varieties of Chinese Tree Peony Seeds that I need to soak, and I want to keep them separate while I'm soaking the seeds so that I can keep track of the peony variety. These mini bowls are the perfect size, and the colors are so bright, they just cheer me up. (Which is good since with the cold late winter / early spring we've been having, none of my peonies have bloomed yet!) I usually soak my peony seeds overnight to let them soften up a little and absorb some of the water. I ordered 100 of these Chinese tree peony seeds, about 7 of each of the 15 different varieties. They ended up sending me about 8 seeds of each of the varieties. That was nice of them to send a few extra seeds. Hopefully that will increase the chance of getting some of the seeds to successfully germinate! After these peony seeds soak for a day, then I will plant them out into my seedling test bed and let Mother Nature take over!
Soaking Peony Seeds

2013 American Peony Society Medal on Etsy

I finally got a protective case a couple of weeks ago for the American Peony Society Silver Medal I found on Etsy. Wow, what a great find! It looks really nice in its case. I'm planning to bring it to the 2013 American Peony Society convention with me this year. So if you'd like to see it, and also be in the company of lots of other peony enthusiasts, please come join us at the 2013 American Peony Society Convention at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA in this year. This particular APS Medal was issued to Marvin Karrels in 1975. This medal is older than me! :-) It would be nice to earn one of these one day. It might be kind of funny to be a Mr. Peony, though. I wonder if they've ever issued a Mrs. Peony! LOL!

American Peony Society Silver Medal Front
Medal Reads:
AMERICAN PEONY SOCIETY INC. JULY 2, 1904


American Peony Society Silver Medal Back
Medal Inscription Reads:
MARVIN KARRELS
Master Showman
Enthusiastic
Connoisseur
Gentleman Deluxe
MR. PEONY

2013 Peony Experiments - Intersectional Divisions

I am happy to report that 5 of the 6 Peony 'Bartzella' root divisions that I planted last fall, in the 2012 Peony Experiments - Intersectional Divisions, have come up! Even one of the divisions with no roots sprouted. I didn't apply any rooting hormone or fertilizer, and I gave them very little supplemental water. Mother Nature did her thing! Some of the peony divisions even have multiple stems sprouting from the base! The only one that didn't sprout at all was the division that had no roots and the stem was old wood. The other division that had no roots came up, and that one had new wood. So it seems that the intersectional peony divisions can generate roots when there aren't any, if the division is a new stem. So get out there and start dividing your peonies! Fill up your yard, and then fill up your friends and neighbors yards too! :-) Share the love!

Peony 'Bartzella' Division with Small Roots Sprouting
Peony 'Bartzella' Division with Tiny Roots Sprouting
Peony 'Bartzella' Division with No Roots Sprouting (New Wood)	Peony 'Bartzella' Division with No Roots Not Sprouting (Old Wood)

2013 Ali Express Chinese Tree Peony Seeds

I got the Tree Peony Seeds from China a couple weeks ago that I ordered from Ali Express, but I finally got them all translated and labels made for them today. It certainly helps to have a Chinese husband who can read the characters and translate them for me, since they didn't come with any English names. I ended up getting 7 seeds of each of 15 different varieties. Here are the names in English of the Chinese tree peonies that I received: Black Bouquet, Black Sea Scattered Gold, Blue Field Jade, Champion Dark Jade, Colorful Bell, Dark Black Purple, Entangled Golden Jade, Green Fragrant Ball, Fledgling, Golden Attic, Red Clouds in Hundred Garden, Red Guardian, Smoky Dragon's Purple Jewelry Plate, Splendid Dark Gold, and Wei Purple. Now I just need to soak them and get them planted! I'm guessing that most of these will not germinate this year since it is already spring here now. So I guess I'll be waiting until next spring to see if any of them sprout. My husband said that Wei Purple is supposed to be named for a famous family in China, and he said he couldn't wait to see what that one looked like. I can't wait either since purple is my favorite color! :)

Chinese Tree Peony Seeds from Ali Express

2013 Spring Peony Catalogs

I was sad to receive an email this year saying that Klehm's Song Sparrow will no longer be publishing a print catalog. The internet, that I love and with which I publish this blog, has created a different & cheaper way of communicating with customers. It is with great sorrow that I let go of these printed catalogs that I could read at my leisure, without having to pay an electricity bill to view them! I hope all of the other peony catalogs do not go this way. The only catalogs I've received this year were from Adelman Peony Gardens, Gilbert H. Wild, and Homestead Farms. Also I just received my American Peony Society bulletin last week, and in it there was a letter stating that Hollingsworth Peonies was sold and they will no longer be mailing a print catalog either. It seems they will only be publishing their catalog online now too. How sad. I hope the nursery continues to offer great peonies as it has in the past. I have gotten some great peonies and some great advice from Hollingsworth Peonies.

2013 Peony Experiments - Peony Seeds in Bags

After ordering some Peony Seeds from Hirt's Gardens, I decided to grow the seeds in plastic bags based on some interesting instructions the seeds came with. I've never grown any peony seeds in bags before. So I decided to give it a try to see what would happen, whether they would sprout, and what the germination rates would be following this method. It has been three weeks now, and as you can see, there are no peony seeds sprouting in any of my plastic bags. In fact the only thing sprouting in my plastic bags is mold. As you can see in the second picture below, the two P. ludlowii seeds are both covered in mold. The rest of the bags appear to be mold free, but they are also root free as well. I am still going to plant these seeds in the ground, and hopefully some of them will still sprout anyway. For me this method did not work. I'd be curious to know if anyone else has been successful with this method, and if they have any tips. Sometime I think keeping things simple is the best way, let Mother Nature work her magic...
Peony Seeds in Bags with Moist Vermiculite


Mold Growing on Peony Seeds in Bag

2013 Half Price Peony at Local Nursery

Wow! Did I get lucky! I went to get my oil changed this week, and I always take my car to a place that's near one of my favorite local nurseries. I usually walk over there to check to see what they have on sale while my car is being worked on. Well yesterday when I went there I found a Peony 'Coral Sunset' that had an orange sale sticker on it, and all of their sale items were 50% off. The original price was $24.99. So that made it only $12.50! Yes, I already have Peony 'Coral Sunset', but who could resist another one for 50% off? So of course I bought it, and I got it planted today. So keep your eyes open when shopping at your local nurseries. They may have some peonies from last year's stock on sale! Since this Peony 'Coral Sunset' was growing in a pot, I actually planted it more shallow in the ground than it was growing in the pot, as evidenced by the whitish color at the base of the stems. This portion of the stem was previously under the soil when it was growing in the pot, but due to our climate here, I knocked off a bit of the soil from the top of the peony root, and planted the roots close to the surface. This way the peony roots will get the chilling hours required to generate bloom here.
Half Price Potted Peony 'Coral Sunset'


Planted Peony 'Coral Sunset'

2013 Springtime Peonies are Coming!

Wow, I go away for 10 days, and when I come back, the peonies are sprouting! I guess spring must be coming soon now. The peonies think it is already time. I took these pictures today. The coral peonies always seem to be the first ones to sprout foliage, even though they are not the first ones to bloom. Some of the coral peony shoots are already 6 inches high! Bloom season will be here before you know it. It will be another busy season keeping track of the Bloom Dates, determining Bloom Color, collecting more data, and most of all enjoying the sights and smells of all the beautiful peonies. I'm hoping to see some new varieties bloom for the first time this year as well. It is always exciting to meet a new flower in your own garden! I hope all of you have an awesome bloom season this year too, and perhaps are lucky enough to meet some new peonies in your garden too! :-)
Peony 'Coral Charm' Shoots

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!!!