There once was a peony named 'Kansas' who lived in a garden in North Carolina, but there were actually two of them. One lived in full sun in the middle of the garden and was quite happy. The other one lived in part sun / part shade, and was always a grump. The 'Kansas' that lived in part shade was always jealous of the 'Kansas' that lived in full sun. That full sun 'Kansas' had everything it needed to grow and bloom beautifully - full sun, plenty of water, and no competition from tree and shrub roots. The part shade 'Kansas' wanted to grow and bloom as big and beautifully as the full sun 'Kansas', and it put forth a great attempt, even getting 7 blooms one year. Sadly the full sun 'Kansas' just could not sustain the growth or blooms. Each year the competition got more fierce, the sun's rays became dimmer, and there was less and less water available. One day the full sun 'Kansas' suggested the part shade 'Kansas' find a new home - one with more sun, more water, and no competition. The part shade 'Kansas' had never thought of this before, but liked the idea. It was sad to leave it's home after 10 years, but decided to go and live in the sun with some other peony friends at Grandma's house.
A Tale of Two 'Kansas'es (Peonies That Is)
| BLOOMS |
|---|
| Year | 'Kansas' #1 Blooms
Partial Sun | 'Kansas' #2 Blooms
Full Sun |
|---|
| 2009 | 0 | 1 |
| 2010 | 3 | 27 |
| 2011 | 3 | 35 |
| 2012 | 1 | 14 |
| 2013 | 7 | 28 |
| 2014 | 7 | 39 |
| 2015 | 0 | 7 |
| 2016 | 1 | 22 |
| 2017 | 2 | 18 |
| 2018 | 2 | 30 |
Needless to say I decided to dig up one of my 'Kansas' peonies and give it to my Grandma. My grandmother lives on a bit of farmland with plenty of sun. She loves the dark colored peonies, and since this one, Peony 'Kansas', is an APS Gold Medal Winner and a
Southern Peony Best Performer, I thought it would be nice to share it with her. As you can see from the charts here, the full sun 'Kansas' grew to full size rather quickly. (I'm sure I should divide it.) However the part sun 'Kansas' never got more than 4 stems and 7 bloom, and has since declined. The full sun 'Kansas' records are 16 stems and 39 blooms, quite a difference! So if you have any doubts about where to plant your peonies this fall, - FULL SUN!!! Pick a nice spot in the middle of your yard with no trees or shrubs nearby, and if you need more ideas on where to plant, check out our
Top 5 Spots to Plant a Peony. If you're interested in checking out some of our past experiments, you can check them out here,
Peony Experiments.
| STEMS |
|---|
| Year | 'Kansas' #1 Stems
Partial Sun | 'Kansas' #2 Stems
Full Sun |
|---|
| 2009 | 2 | 3 |
| 2010 | 4 | 13 |
| 2011 | 4 | 12 |
| 2012 | 3 | 13 |
| 2013 | 4 | 16 |
| 2014 | 4 | 15 |
| 2015 | 3 | 15 |
| 2016 | 2 | 14 |
| 2017 | 2 | 14 |
| 2018 | 2 | 14 |
