2019 Questions - Gardens with Lots of White Peonies

I received this question from Linda in Zone 7b:

"I’m a watercolor artist living in Charlotte. My absolute favorite subject is peonies, especially white ones. I’m looking for an area near me that grows a lot (LOT) of peonies that might let me come to take photos to paint. Any leads you can provide will be greatly appreciated. I’ve attached photos of two of my paintings to give you an idea of my work.

"Thank you and have a great weekend."


White Single Peonies Art by Linda Fossum
I'm not sure of a local place where they will have lots of white peonies blooming. Duke Gardens in Durham may be a good option. They do actually have quite a lot of herbaceous peonies growing there. I'm not sure how many are white vs. pink or red, though. Also I know the JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh has a white garden with a very large white tree peony in it. There may be some white herbaceous peonies growing there too. The Biltmore House has lots of nice gardens, and I do remember seeing many peonies there, but I did not see them in bloom (just in bud). So I'm not sure what colors they have, and they may be a bit closer for you too. It might be a good idea to call ahead to the garden to ask about their peonies, potential bloom times, and whether artists are allowed. Now would be the time to go for tree peonies. Herbaceous peonies will be blooming in a couple weeks.

Good luck!


Double White Peony Art by Linda Fossum

2019 I Finally DID IT! My First Intersectional Peony Seedling-s!

I can't believe it. I think just when you finally give up on something, it actually happens. Self doubt creeps in, you start second guessing all of your steps, trying to figure out where you went wrong, and begin to wonder if you will ever reach your goal. You start to think it may never happen, and then it does. All of the hard work you've put in all along begins to pay off. Those thoughts of failure suddenly turn into realizations of success! As soon as that goal is reached, the next one starts to materialize. There is always something new to strive for...


Intersectional Peony Seedling
'Martha W.' X Nate Bremer's Rainbow

Peony Seedlings 2017 Sign
'Martha W.' X Nate Bremer's Rainbow
Somehow after years of trying, an intentional peony cross of mine finally succeeded. These two particular intersectional seedlings started out as just a happen chance idea in 2016. During the 2016 APS Peony Convention Tour of Solaris Farms, I was learning quite a lot from Don Smith, and he asked Nate if he would allow him to collect tree peony pollen from his farm, and Nate graciously invited us to collect as much pollen as we liked. Don shared a few of his envelopes with me, and I went to work, following his lead. My eyes and heart led me towards the lavender and purple colored tree peonies. Tree Peony 'Wisteria Reflections' was blooming at the time of our visit, and this was one I collected pollen from and saved it in a separate envelope. Since Don Smith didn't have many envelopes to spare, I collected lots more pollen from a wide range of tree peony colors and put it all in one envelope, which I later labeled "Nate Bremer's Rainbow". :-)


Intersectional Peony Seedling - 'Martha W.' X 'Wisteria Reflections'

Intersectional Peony Seedling
'Martha W.' X 'Wisteria Reflections'
Since my bloom season was over by the time I got home, I froze the pollen in my freezer for use the next year. That was almost 3 years ago now, and I am just now seeing the fruits of that pollen. Also it looks like I planted the seeds a bit late that year in late November, 2017 Intersectional Peony Hybridizing Efforts. So maybe if I'd planted them sooner they would have sprouted a year earlier, but who knows? I am just happy I actually got it right this time, unlike the first year I got a seedling to sprout. The only thing that sprouted that year was an accidental herbaceous peony, 2017 First Intersectional Hybrid Seedling Sprouts!. The foliage of that first sprout and these is very obviously different. That 2017 sprout had very rounded foliage with a few "pest" notches where something had eaten a few bites out of each leaf, whereas these 2019 sprouts clearly have deeper cut notched foliage that is reminiscent of tree peonies. The coloring is also different. The 2017 seedling had more red colored foliage upon sprouting with a thicker substance. These 2019 seedlings have a very intersectional grayish colored overcast to them. Very exciting! Also you never know what that first herbaceous sprout from 2017 might be good for, perhaps a good future parent. Sometimes things happen for a reason...

2019 Peony Experiments - Moving White Tree Peonies Successful

Well, I would say that my 2018 Peony Experiments - Move Mislabeled White Tree Peonies was quite successful. Perhaps it was because all of the tree peonies were very young, but all of them came through with flying colors. All of the buds that developed last fall did or will bloom this spring. I am excited to see how these tree peonies will grow in their new homes at the edge of the tree line instead of in the middle of the tree peony garden. Also I removed two very large tulip poplar tree from the tree peony garden area last fall, 2018 More Light for Tree Peonies, Sweet Gum Ball & Poplar Trees Gone! So these also are getting more light this spring than they have ever had before. So that could also be a contributing factor. Also all of these tree peonies I moved are P. Ostii seedlings. So perhaps these tree peonies are more tolerant to being moved.

P. Ostii Tree Peonies Moved Last Fall

Any way you slice it, I would say this experiment was definitely successful, and I would probably move tree peonies again in the future, especially young ones, as they seem to recover and adapt easily to their new surroundings. I can't wait to see how these young tree peonies grow and fill out (and hopefully) become covered in blooms! I think the moral of this story is that tree peonies can be moved and moved successfully. So if you are considering moving a tree peony, don't be afraid to do it (especially if the new home will have better growing conditions - like more sunlight!) Happy Growing!

P. Ostii Tree Peonies Moved Last Fall