2015 How to Cut Back an Intersectional Peony

There are two ways you can cut back an intersectional peony. You can cut the entire plant back to ground level or you can cut the plant back, leaving short stems with growth buds on them. In colder climates, it is preferred to cut the plant back to ground level. However here in the South, with our milder winters, these growth buds on the stems can often survive the winter just like the growth buds on tree peony stems.
Intersectional Peony in Autumn
View From Above
The first step is optional, but it helps me see what I'm doing. I just remove some of the lower foliage of the plant so that I can see what I'm working on. This is very easy to do. If you find where the leaf stem meets the main stem and just put a little bit of downward pressure on the leaf stem, the leaf segment will come off pretty easily. You'll want to have a trash bag handy for all of the foliage and stems you cut away. Peonies often carry botrytis blight. So it is best to trash the old foliage and not compost it to reduce future infections.
Intersectional Peony in Autumn
View From Underneath
To leave some short stems on the plant with growth nodules, you'll want to prune the stems back to the first or second growth nodule above the soil. Usually you will see a pink growth bud at the stem/leaf juncture. You'll want to prune the stem just above this point. If you don't see any pink growth buds on a stem, you can prune that stem all the way back to the ground, taking care to cut above the pink growth bud at the base of the stem, if present.
Cut Main Peony Stem Just Above Pink Growth Bud
After pruning the upper stem away, you'll be left with a short main stem and a foliage stem. Remove any remaining foliage on the pruned stem by applying a bit of downward pressure to the leaf stem. This will easily separate the foliage from the main stem. Make sure to remove and throw away all remaining foliage on each pruned stem.
Apply Downward Pressure to Peony Leaf Stem to Remove It

Intersectional Peony Being Pruned
Repeat this process on each of the stems until you have pruned all of them. After all of the stems have been cut back and all of the foliage has been removed, you'll be left with just a few short sticks sticking out of the ground where your intersectional peony once stood.
Intersectional Peony Stem Defoliated and Pruned
One advantage of this pruning method, leaving short stems, is that you'll know exactly where your instersectional peony is planted over fall, winter, and early spring. That way you won't accidentally step on it, dig into it, etc. However if you live in a colder climate where these growth buds likely won't survive anyway, or you prefer a cleaner look after pruning, intersectional peonies can be cut back all the way to the ground.
Intersectional Peony Defoliated and Pruned
If you want or need to prune your intersectional peony back to the ground, that's perfectly acceptable. Intersectional peonies are quite hardy once established, and they will definitely come back when pruned to the ground. You'll just want to make your cuts carefully to ensure the basal growth buds are not damaged.
Intersectional Peony Base
If you closely examine the base of your intersectional peony, you'll find where the stems meet the crown. If you have your peony planted even with the soil surface (hopefully you do - if you a Southern peony gardener!), you will likely see some pink growth buds near the base of most stems and on the crown.
Cut Peony Stem Back to Soil Level Just Above Pink Growth Bud
When you cut your intersectional peony stem back to ground level, you'll want to make sure to preserve these pink growth buds. So if there is a pink growth bud at the base of the stem, make your cut just above this growth bud. Also take care not to smash or cut any other growth buds on the base of your plant. Continue pruning each of the stems on the plant until you are left with just the crown and pink growth buds.
Intersectional Peony Pruned to Ground Level
Now you're all done cutting back your intersectional peony. Don't worry if you see the exposed pink growth buds. For Southern peony gardeners, this is a good thing! Don't bury them or cover them with soil or mulch! Those growth buds need to be exposed to as much cold as they can be over the winter to bloom properly in the spring. So leave them uncovered. You may want to put a plant marker near your peony if you don't already have one. That way you'll know exactly where it is, so you won't step on it or damage it over the winter.

2015 Fall Peony Sales - Free Shipping, B2G1F, 50% Off

It always happens. I get that last minute feeling... Time is running out. The peony vendors are closing up shop. Did I get all of the peonies I wanted for the year? If I wait much longer, I'm going to have to wait until next year until I can get any more. So I checked out all of the peony vendor's web sites on the American Peony Society's Buy Peonies page. Many of them have already closed up shop for the year (Fina, Hidden Springs, Peonies from the Field, Solaris, Swenson). However there are several that are still open, and of those that are, a few of them are running a last minute sale to help make your peony buying decision that much easier! So check out this list of peony sales because time IS running out!

Vendor	Promotion	Ends
Bannister Garden Center	Going Out of Business 1/2 Off Sale	11/15
Birchwood Farms	50% Shipping with $100 Order
Brooks Gardens	Order 2 or More, Get Free Shipping	11/8
Cricket Hill Garden	25th Anniversary Specials
Song Sparrow	Buy 2 Get 1 Free	11/5

2015 Fall Peony Sales

2015 Yellow Tree Peony Seedling from UK on Ebay

When I happened to see this Yellow Tree Peony from the UK on Ebay, I couldn't resist buying it. I put it on my watch list last week and decided to purchase it yesterday. I'm hoping it will have a better chance of surviving than the Purple Tree Peony Seedlings From Ebay UK I purchased in 2013. I purchased two of those hoping at least one would survive. However they arrived in the middle of our Southern summer, which did not give them an adequate chance of survival. They were unable to settle in and become established before experiencing our heat and sometimes dry conditions during summer. Sadly they did not survive. Unfortunately those purple tree peonies went dormant right away when they experienced our hot summer, and one of them got New Fall Growth on Purple English Tree Peony. This new growth was killed in the fall/winter, and unfortunately neither of these seedlings came back in the spring. I am hoping this yellow tree peony will have a better chance since it is arriving in the fall. Hopefully it will go dormant and stay dormant until spring. This yellow tree peony also looks a little larger than those purple tree peonies were, which seemed to be first year seedlings. This one looks like at least a second year seedling. Let's hope the size of the plant and the season help this one live!

2015 Beautiful Fall Peony Foliage Colors

Lime Green Fall Peony Foliage Brightens up the Autumn Garden
This year my garden is filled with the gorgeous colors of fall. Usually you have to drive to the mountains to see fall foliage colors like this. I guess Mother Nature provided just the right temperatures, moisture, and sunlight in our area this year. Not only have the trees been gorgeous, so have the peonies! The depth of color on display is amazing!

2010 Peony Fall Foliage 2011 Peony Fall Foliage Colors 2012 Colorful Fall Peony Foliage 2014 Enjoy Fall Peony Foliage Colors

If you are looking for peonies with reliable fall foliage color, Peony 'Paul M. Wild' and Peony 'Seashell' have both made my fall foliage list 3 times each. So both of these plants are great for wonderful fall color. Peony 'Paul M. Wild' usually has more red toned fall foliage and Peony 'Seashell' usually has more golden toned fall foliage. Fall also happens to be the best time of year to plant peonies. So add one of these fall beauties to your purchase list if they're not already on there!

Peony 'Paul M. Wild'	Peony 'Gilbert Barthelot'
Peony 'Garden Peace'	Peony 'Nick Shaylor'

2015 Peony Experiments - Planting Adventitious Roots

Adventitious Roots of Peony 'Grace Root'
This experiment practically created itself. While I was digging a piece of my Peony 'Grace Root' as a donation for the 2015 APS Fall Auction Dig & Ship Peony 'Grace Root', I accidentally severed a few pieces of the roots. Since Peony 'Grace Root' is supposed to have adventitious roots, meaning foliage can develop from blind root pieces, I decided to plant these severed roots to see if any of them would sprout next spring.
Peony 'Grace Root' Roots in the Planting Hole
So I dug a hole for them and planted them a few inches apart. I'm not sure if any of these root pieces are large enough, have enough stored energy, or have the correct piece of root needed to sprout. Actually I'm not sure what the requirements are to get them to sprout, or if there are any requirements. I guess we'll find out next spring.
Peony 'Grace Root' Roots Being Covered with Soil
I covered them with a few inches of soil, watered them in, and put a label in the soil. That way I can find where I planted them - whether they sprout next spring or not. I'm guessing some or all of them could take more than one year to sprout, but I'm not sure. I guess we'll find that out too! Let's hope some of these Peony 'Grace Root' roots sprout! :-)
Peony 'Grace Root' Roots Garden Label

2015 Transplant Promising Hot Pink Double Seedling

This year I had another peony of interest to me, a 2015 New Hot Pink Double in Peony Seedling Test Bed. Now that it's fall and a great time of year to plant (and transplant) peonies, it was time for me to dig it up and separate it from the other peony seedlings. I found the peony plant that I'd marked with a white twist tie earlier in the year, and dug it gently out from its neighbors.
Hot Pink Double Peony Seedling Marked with White Twist Tie
Luckily it was on the last row of peony seedlings at the end of its row. So it was a little easier to extract with neighbors on only two sides. This time when digging it out, I didn't accidentally snap any of its roots - like I did when I transplanted my first promising peony seedling last year, 2014 Transplant Lavender Ruffles Peony Seedling. So hopefully that will give it a little easier transition to its new home.

Foliage and Root System of Hot Pink Double Peony Seedling	Transplanted Hot Pink Double Peony Seedling

As you can see it had two good size stems this year and lots of baby storage roots starting to form. There were also buds forming for next year's growth. I moved this peony from my original peony seedling bed into my newer peony seedling test bed where I could monitor it more closely and give it a little bit more room to grow. I planted it near my 2015 Lavender Ruffles Peony Seedling, which I'd already cut back for the year since its foliage had already gone dormant. I also cut back the foliage of this peony after moving it to hopefully cut down on its transplant shock and prevent it from diverting energy into keeping alive foliage that would soon be cut off anyway.
Transplanted Hot Pink Double Peony Seedling
Next to Lavender Ruffles Peony Seedling in Seedling Test Bed

2015 APS Fall Auction Dig & Ship Peony 'Grace Root'

It was so easy for me to dig and ship the peony I donated to the 2015 American Peony Society Fall Auction - 'Grace Root'. All members of the APS can donate to the Fall Auction or even the Spring Convention Auction, if you so choose. However Peony 'Grace Root' made my job especially easy this year since it had grown a whole new plant right beside my original planting of this peony - all on its own! This very early blooming, super bright colored stunner is known to have adventitious roots. Apparently you don't even have to dig and separate these adventitious roots before they decide to create a whole new plant. :-) This baby plant had been growing beside its mother for at least 2-3 springs now. It had already bloomed two years in a row, and it was just the right size to be separated and start out on its own. It was even easy to mail, and it only cost me $8 and change to mail it! It makes me happy to think peonies from my garden will be grown in new places, new states!
Peony 'Grace Root' Child Plant

2015 Intersectional Peony 'Joanna Marlene' Arrived

I did get the Peony 'Joanna Marlene from eBay quite quickly. I ordered it on Sunday, October 11th, and it arrived on Thursday, October 15th. I got it planted last Saturday. It was actually a nice size root with several (at least 8 or more) eyes. The root actually looks like it may be an intersectional peony, unlike the Fake Itohs on Ebay - 4 (Not) Intersectional Peonies I purchased last year. I am excited to see how this peony grows in the spring. I will definitely let you all know how it turns out. I may even make a list of reliable and unreliable eBay peony sellers if I can collect enough data. That would definitely be a valuable resource for my fellow peony buyers out there. The more information we all have the better. Hopefully this seller will be on the good sellers list. :-)
Intersectional Peony 'Joanna Marlene' Arrived

2015 Rock Garden Peonies Do Not Grow Here

Peony Plant Tags Removed from Dead Rock Garden Peonies
Well, after many years of trying, and many dead rock garden peonies that have eventually disintegrated into nothingness, I have concluded that Rock Garden Peonies DO NOT Grow Here. Yes they came from a reputable seller, and yes, there were treated well here - to some of the best spots in my garden. Despite year after year of trying to hang on, they have all finally given up the ghost. Sometimes I got one flower out of them - like their last hurrah before they gave up. The list of the dead and dying goes on - Peony 'Earlybird', Peony 'Elfin Beauty', Peony 'Fairy Princess', Peony 'Lil' Sweetie', Peony 'Little Red Gem', Peony 'Squirt'...

Peony 'Lil' Sweetie' 2009 Bloom	Peony 'Earlybird' 2011 Bloom

Oh, that photo of all those miniature peonies in that cool looking rock garden is just so appealing. However I feel resigned to say that I won't be spending (read: wasting) any more of my hard earned dollars on peonies that do not grow here. However hard to admit, I will be leaving those cute little, diminutive rock garden peonies to all those Northern peony gardeners. The page for their Rock Garden Peonies even says "Recommended to be hardy in USDA Zones 3-7." I am in Zone 7b, and they are not even close to hardy here. They should change it to USDA Zones 3-6 - at least take out Zone 7.

2015 Hybridizing Peony Martha W.

I am very excited about this peony. Supposedly it is not the most beautiful of peonies, but one of the best Mothers. So I am hoping this peony will make lots of beautiful children for me. I planted it in a very good growing spot right next to my house. I received this Peony 'Martha W.' as a gift from a friend of mine. I think this is probably the second peony I have ever gotten that I haven't purchased. However I have become more aware that lots of peony lovers will actually trade peony varieties with their peony friends. It must be nice to have a local peony community. I suppose at least we're both on the East Coast. :-) Peony 'Martha W.' is supposed to be a good plant for breeding intersectional peonies - hybrid peonies that are a cross between herbaceous and tree peonies. I can't wait to try to cross this peony with the tree peonies I do have. I think I may be getting some first time blooms on some of my tree peonies next spring. New pollen to hybridize with!

2015 Move Single White Peonies to Front of House

Mass Planting of Peony 'Krinkled White'
in Don C. Smith's Garden
I was really inspired by the mass of single, white Peony 'Krinkled White' blooms at Don Smith's house on the 2015 American Peony Society Convention garden tour. (I think we all were!) So as part of my 2015 Southern Peony Big Dig, I have planted 5 single white peonies in front of my house. This was not a single day in the making. I have been working on this project for months. I should have taken some before pictures, but I had these massive - almost as tall as me - bushes eating up my front walkway. They were growing over the sidewalk every year, and had to be given a buzz cut to keep them in check. My stepfather came over one day in July and cut them all down - all 5 of those monsters. As you can see they were so big, they were blocking the sun for my three Dwarf Alberta Spruce trees. I probably should have cut those bushes down a couple years ago. I'm hoping the dwarf spruces will recover well, and perhaps some of the other new landscaping will help fill in the gaps!
Front of House - Monster Bushes Cut Down,
New Landscaping, New Mulch, Holes Dug for Peonies
I spent a couple more days digging out the stumps and roots of those bushes. I decided I wanted a silver and white theme, and I added a dash of lavender too. So in August I planted some Powis Castle artemisias, Buzz Ivory butterfly bushes, and Russian sage. I also planted some Joan Senior and Sunday Gloves daylilies. In September I got a dump truck of mulch delivered and added a nice layer of new mulch. Things were improving, but there was still one thing missing - my hedge of single white peonies! So now in October, I have planted 5 single, white peonies - divisions of the most floriferous, single, white peony I have ever grown, 2013 Peony Single White Best Performer - Week 3. It was a plant that was sold to me as Peony 'Seraphim', but obviously mislabeled. I think it must be Peony 'Krinkled White', the same peony Don has planted in his garden. I thought before that it wasn't 'Krinkled White' since Gilbert Wild had it listed as mid-late season bloomer. However several other sources state that Peony 'Krinkled White' is an early season bloomer. Now I just can't wait until spring to see these peonies bloom. I'm sure it will take a couple more years before my peonies become a mass of color like Don's, but I will enjoy them all along as they grow. :-)
Single White Peonies Waiting to be Planted

2015 Southern Peony Big Dig - Part Shade to Full Sun

This fall my Southern Peonies are moving - well, not all of them, but quite a few of them. Many of these beauties are or were planted near the perimeter of my yard, which is lined with forest on three sides. There is also a giant oak tree in my back yard, that has grown from a cute, shorter than me, don't cut that hardwood tree down INTO a taller than my 2 story house, eating all of my sun, three trunked monster in just 13 years.
Happy Peonies (Foreground, Left)
Unhappy Peonies (Background, Right)

I have already moved lots of peonies this past weekend, and I plan to move many more in the coming weeks. I moved Peonies 'Command Performance', 'Dinner Plate', 'Lorelei', 'Pink Parfait', and 'Vivid Rose' from the perimeter of the woods to the center of my original peony garden - first planted in 2003 - a much sunnier locale. I have also moved two Peony 'Muskoka's? to right beside of my deck. These red and yellow anemone style peonies are obviously misnamed, but they are gorgeous and very floriferous. I think they might be Peony 'Nippon Beauty'. They were growing under hot pink crepe myrtle bushes that have now matured into trees. They went from 25+ blooms each to now only a couple blooms each. I'm sure they will be much happier near my deck. So basically the moral of this story is - plant your peonies in the middle of your yard, the sunniest spot, with the best moisture, not the edge (unless the edge has no trees!) :-) Happy Peony Planting!
Peony 'Vivid Rose' Getting Moved

2015 Peony Experiment - Planting 2 Year Old Root

Label of Peony Root Box with Postmark 10/22/2013
So this wasn't really an intentional experiment, more like an accidental experiment... I apparently purchased this peony root, Peony 'Silver Dawn Mix', with the best of intentions in the APS Convention Auction. However little did I know that by the time the root arrived I would be experiencing morning sickness that not only caused me to cancel my Fall Harvest party that year, but also kept these peonies in their box in my garage waiting to be planted for two years! This box has been sitting there and sitting there and sitting there, and after a while I kept debating in my head whether to trash the box or open it. It has been sitting there so long I kind of forgot how long it had been there. I was thinking it had only been one year, but then I looked at the date on the box 10/22/2013 - almost two years to the day! Well, I decided to open it and see what was in there.

Peony Root Box from 2 Years Ago	Opening Peony Root Box from 2 Years Ago

Wow, I must tell you that Oregon Perennial did a spectacular job of packing this peony. I expected it to be either covered in mold or completely disintegrated, or both! However it was neither! The box contained a beautiful peony root inside a plastic bag filled with peat moss. It almost seemed as if it was shipped this year! It has started to grow a few small, white feeder roots and the buds were perfectly visible, not even sprouted one bit. It seems to have survived in a happy semi-dormant state in this box in my garage for two years so far.
2 Year Old Peony 'Silver Dawn Mix' Root
in a Bag of Peat Moss Inside of the Box


2 Year Old Peony 'Silver Dawn Mix' Root
So I planted it, and hence this experiment. I am a little afraid it might wake up in our warm, sunny fall and start to grow, only to be killed by the first frost. However I am crossing my fingers and hoping for the best that it survives (and hopefully stays dormant until spring)! I'll let you know how this "experiment" turns out... ;-)
Planting 2 Year Old Peony 'Silver Dawn Mix' Root

2015 APS Fall Auction Peony Winnings

Even though I've been an APS Member for years, I have never actually bid in the APS Fall Auction. I have donated peonies to the APS Fall Auction to be auctioned off to benefit the APS, like this year's donation to the 2015 American Peony Society Fall Auction - Grace Root. So this year I decided to bid on a few peonies too! Especially since they had the 2015 American Peony Society Gold Medal Winner - 'Mahoghany' in the auction, which is also the Peony of the Year for 2016. I was especially happy to see this one in the auction since I didn't find any commercial growers that were offering it for sale this year. (I'm sure there will be many of them offering it next year, though!) I put in bids on four peonies in the auction, and I won two - Peony 'Mahogany' and Peony 'Roselette'. Not too bad for my first attempt. :-)

2015 APS Auction Win - Peony 'Mahogany'
I have never grown Peony 'Mahogany' before, and I am looking forward to seeing how this APS Gold Medal Winner performs here. I especially like this peony because of the lighter colored flares in the center of the petals. I have grown Peony 'Roselette' here before. It took several years to start to become established. Once it was starting to grow well, I mistakenly killed it with herbicide overspray. This was the year when my Saunders peony garden did not have enough mulch, and the weeds were literally taking over that bed. Now the bed has a nice layer of mulch on it, and the peonies are doing well there. So hopefully this Peony 'Roselette' will find a nice home here!

2015 Intersectional Peony 'Joanna Marlene' on Ebay

I just couldn't not buy it! Isn't this flower just gorgeous? I know, I know. I just had a bad experience buying peonies - those Fake Itohs on Ebay - 4 (Not) Intersectional Peonies, but this one was just calling my name. Plus after checking my 2015 Intersectional Peony Catalog Price Comparison List it is $15 cheaper than any other seller is offering to sell this peony for this year. Plus I had $22.01 in Ebay Bucks that were just burning a hole in my pocket. So after everything was said and done, I got this intersectional peony shipped to my door for about $47, and it's already on the way!

Intersectional Peony 'Joanna Marlene' on Ebay
Also I did check out the seller, 'Garden Breeze Hostas' on Garden Watchdog. They only have 10 ratings, but they're all positive. One of the ratings is even for a Peony 'Bartzella'! Their ratings are all old, I guess because it looks like they no longer sell on their own website. However they do still sell on Ebay, apparently. Both the garden*breeze seller on Ebay and the 'Garden Breeze Hostas' on Garden Watchdog say they are in Mount Tabor, New Jersey. So it looks to be the same seller. Hopefully this time, I'll get what I pay for (especially since this one's more expensive)!

2015 Southern Peony Giveaway - Itoh Peony 'Bartzella'

Southern Peony Giveaway - Peony 'Bartzella'
This month, October 2015, Southern Peony is giving away a peony to one of its email subscribers to celebrate 100,000 pageviews. So if you enjoy reading about peonies, please join us! We are giving away an intersectional Itoh peony, Peony 'Bartzella'. Peony 'Bartzella' is an American Peony Society award winning peony. It has won both their Gold Medal in 2006 and their Award of Landscape Merit in 2009. Peony 'Bartzella' is also a Southern Peony Best Performer. So you know it will grow well in your garden! Intersectional peonies are a cross between a tree peony and an herbaceous peony. If you don't yet have an intersectional peony in your garden, once you get one, it won't be your last. They are easy to get addicted to! Peony 'Bartzella' is one of the most outstanding examples of an intersectional peony. Yellow is a rare color in herbaceous peonies. So this superb hybrid makes an easy to grow yellow addition to your peony garden. :)

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2015 American Peony Society Fall Auction - 'Grace Root'

This year I am making another donation to the American Peony Society for their 2015 APS Online Fall Auction. Two years ago, I donated two peony plants to benefit the 2013 American Peony Society Fall Auction. Even though I am not a commercial grower, I will still try to donate something to the auction this year. So this year I am donating Peony 'Grace Root'. This peony is a terrific grower here in my Southern garden. So if you are looking for a plant that will do well in a more Southern region of the country, this is one peony I would definitely recommend. Plus it blooms very early and is an A. P. Saunders hybrid. So if you'd like the chance to bid on this gorgeous peony, the bidding is going on this weekend, October 10-11th. The APS Fall Auction is for APS Members only. So if you're not yet an APS Member, now's a great time to join! :-)
Southern Peony 2015 APS Fall Auction Donation
Peony 'Grace Root'

2015 Southern Peony Reaches 100,000 Pageviews!

Wow! I can't believe it. Southern Peony reaches 100,00 pageviews! It seems like only yesterday I was posting about our first 20,000 pageviews in Southern Peony Milestones & Popular Topics. The Southern Peony site is successful because of all of you, and I am very grateful for each one of my readers - that's YOU! So to celebrate this milestone, Southern Peony is hosting a giveaway! The only thing you need to do to sign up for the giveaway is join us! If you enjoy reading about peonies, and would like to receive Southern Peony delivered right to your email address, please sign up "Subscribe via email" box on the left side of the page. All members of our email subscriber list as of October 31, 2015 are eligible for the giveaway. More details about the giveaway to come in the next post!
Southern Peony Celebrates 100,000 Pageviews

2015 Peonies for Fall Carolina Plant Swap

Peonies for the Fall Carolina Plant Swap
I was busy in the garden this past Saturday digging up plants for the Carolina Fall Plant Swap. I managed to dig up 5 peonies for the swap. I hope these babies will grow in thrive in their new owners' gardens. Fall is the perfect time to plant peonies. So if you're thinking about adding these gorgeous spring beauties to your garden for a spring show, fall is the time to get them settled into your garden. I cut the foliage off of the three largest plants that bloomed this year, and kept the foliage on the two smaller ones. The gardeners at the swap actually picked up the smaller plants with the foliage first, perhaps mistakenly thinking that these were the largest or most established peonies. When it comes to peonies, the root size is actually what matters most. To get a peony that will have the best chance of establishing itself in your garden, you'll want to select a peony with lots of eyes on it, and a good root system.

2015 Peony obovata Seed Pod with Explosive Red Color

Paeonia obovata var. willmottiae Colorful Seed Pod
Wow! WoW! WOW! This isn't the first year that Paeonia obovata var. willmottiae has bloomed for me, and I hope it's not the last! If you don't currently grow any species peonies, this is my argument for you to start! :-) Of all of the species peonies I've tried to grow, this is the one I've had the most success with. It did take some time for it to get established, but it was well worth the wait! Paeonia obovata var. willmottiae first bloomed for me in 2014 First Bloom on Peony P. obovata var. willmottiae. The white flowers are quite nice and will brighten up a shady spot that most peonies won't grow in. If you are looking for peonies with fall color, the red color of this species peony seed pod is just amazing!
Paeonia obovata var. willmottiae Colorful Seed Pod

2015 Fall Peony Seed Planting and Donation

Well, it wasn't a bumper crop of seeds this year, but I did get some varieties of seed that I haven't gotten seed from before. So I'm really excited to see those grow. A couple of the plants that produced seed only produced one seed - like Peony 'Cream Delight' and Peony 'Rose Garland', and also this very red semi-double peony that I got from Klehm's Song Sparrow, which was supposed to be Peony 'Paree Fru Fru' (a light pink bomb), but was not... Anyway, I'm excited to see what kind of children these plants will produce.

2015 Peony Seed Planting Labels
Since seed production was kind of low this year, I planted most of my own seeds. There were only two varieties that produced more than 10 seeds this year - Peony 'Pink Spritzer' which had 40 seeds and Peony 'Raspberry Firefly' which had 37 seeds. I planted 10 of the Peony 'Pink Spritzer' seeds and 7 of the Peony 'Raspberry Firefly' seeds. The rest of the seeds from these two varieties, I will donate to the American Peony Society Seed Distribution Program. From checking their seed list, they don't currently have any seeds of Peony 'Raspberry Firefly'. So that's exciting to be able to share seeds that no one currently has access to purchase.

2015 Intersectional Peony Seeds 'Lafayette Escadrille'

Seed and Seed Pod of Peony 'Lafayette Escadrille'
Of all the seeds I collected this year, I think the ones I am most excited about are from Peony 'Lafayette Escadrille'. Yes, that's right 'Lafayette Escadrille', an intersectional peony. I have only ever gotten one seed from an intersectional peony before, and that was from Peony 'White Emperor' in 2014. That one seed did not sprout. This time instead of just one seed, I got 9 seeds. However I am not sure if they are viable, but I am going to plant them anyway and hope for the best. Intersectional peonies do not usually set seed and are mostly infertile. So I'd love to be able to get one of their seeds to actually grow and get an intersectional seedling. I'll let you know if anything comes up!

Seed Pod and Seed of Peony 'Lafayette Escadrille'

2015 Peony 'Miss America' Hybridizing Unsuccessful

Remember that peony garden party with all of the Peonies in Their Party Hats? I think those peonies had too much fun at their party (or maybe not enough???) Well, anyway, it looks like I have another year of hybridizing attempts with no success. The two crosses I tried to make with Peony 'Miss America' did not produce any seed. However none of the flowers on this usually abundant seed producer produced any seed. I only tried to cross two of the flowers, and I left all of the other flowers to Mother Nature to hybridize. However none of the many flowers on this bush produced any seed. So I guess it wasn't just me. I guess next year I need to try many more crosses with many more flowers and many different mother plants. It seems that hybridizing requires more than just picking two suitable parents, but perhaps a little luck and cooperation from Mother Nature as well. It also seems like a bit of a numbers game. The more crosses you try, the more chances for success.

Unsuccessful Cross on Peony 'Miss America'	Unsuccessful Cross on Peony 'Miss America'

2015 Collect Late Peony Seeds

This week I made the last search through my garden for peony seeds. There were lots more seeds ready now at the beginning of September than there were about a month ago at the end of July. One month makes a big difference in peony seed production. In fact some of the seeds I went to harvest had already fallen to the ground. Luckily it was easy to identify which peony they came from since my peonies are not planted too close together and not all of them produced seed. So don't wait too long to collect your peony seeds in your garden so they don't get lost.
Seed Pod and Seeds of Peony 'Raspberry Firefly'
This year wasn't a stellar year for seed production. Some of usually most reliable and productive seed producing peonies failed to make any seeds this year. However I did get some seeds from peony varieties that I have never gotten seed from before. Some of those varieties that produced seed for the first time for me were: Peony 'Bowl of Beauty', Peony 'Green Halo', Peony 'Green Lotus', Peony 'Lafayette Escadrille', Peony 'Pink Spritzer', Peony 'Raspberry Firefly', Peony 'Rose Garland', and Peony 'Strawberry Wine'. I am really excited to have some different genetics in the peony seedlings I'm growing. I can't wait to see what these peonies grow up to be 5 years from now!
Fallen Seeds of Peony 'Raspberry Firefly'

2015 Vintage American Peony Society Annual Show Pin

American Peony Society 20th Annual Show Pin from 1923
I am really excited about another vintage find on Ebay this past week! I purchased an American Peony Society 20th Annual Show Pin from 1923. I had seen this pin listed for sale several months ago, but they wanted more than $40 for it. They recently dropped the price down to $25. I decided I could afford that. ;-) So now I have another American Peony Society collectible to add to my collection of Vintage American Peony Society Award Ribbons and American Peony Society Silver Medal. Just think, in another 8 years, this pin will be an antique! :-)

2015 Southern Peony New How To Section

I've added a new "How To" for peonies section to the Southern Peony web site. You can find this new section using this link, Southern Peony How To, and also by clicking on "How To" on the navigation bar at the top of any page. This page should be helpful for people with questions on how to do all kinds of gardening to dos for peonies. This page includes gardening activities like cutting back a peony, deadheading peonies, dividing peonies, fertilizing peonies, planting peony seeds, and planting the three different types of peony plants as well. There are more How Tos coming in the future so keep an eye on this page for updates. Also if you have an idea or suggestion for another How To that I haven't yet covered, please Contact Me. :-)
Southern Peony How To Page