2015 Happy Mother's Day Itoh Peony Bouquet

Happy Mother's Day Itoh Peony Bouquet for My Sister In Law
This year I gave a peony bouquet to my sister in law for Mother's Day. She bought me flowers by surprise last year, and I wanted to return the favor this year. I also brought her a dark pink purple peony I grew from seed and helped her plant it in her back yard. The peony bouquet I brought her was entirely an Itoh peony bouquet. This was the first year I had enough blooms in my intersectional peony garden to cut an entire mixed color bouquet of just Itoh peonies. I think she really liked them. She said the biggest blooms were her favorites, blooms of Peony 'Bartzella', Peony 'Cora Louise', and Peony 'Garden Treasure'. There were also blooms from Peony 'Keiko' and Peony 'Sonoma Amethyst' in her bouquet.
Pink Purple Single Peony Plant as a Mother's Day Gift for My Sister In Law
Itoh peonies originated in Japan. So it is fitting that I gave this gift to my sister in law who is originally from Japan. I also took a photo of her pink purple single peony in front of one of my laceleaf Japanese maples after I dug it up for her. They look so nice together. The purple of the laceleaf Japanese maple really pulls out the purple in the peony blooms. She told my Mom that she had purchased a peony from Walmart, but it never grew, and I knew I had to bring her one to help ignite a new passion for peonies! I hope she enjoys all of the peonies. :-) Happy Mother's Day!

2015 Red Peony Painting Acrylics on Canvas

Red Peony Painting Acrylics on Canvas
Look what I made today! My friend Janice invited me and a few other women over for a potluck lunch and canvas painting today. I decided to paint a peony. Janice had the idea to find a photo of something you wanted to paint. So I found this botanical red peony print that I wanted to paint on the internet. It was so much fun. She showed me the peonies in her garden. I invited her to come see the peonies in mine next week (before the 2015 American Peony Society Convention in Kentucky of course). What a delightful afternoon. Here is the photo of the botanical print I chose to paint. I'm not sure of the original artist, only that it is French. I can make out the work "Pivoine" at the bottom of the print, but I can't definitively make out the rest of it. If anyone knows who this print is by or where it came from, I'd love to know. Please contact me!

French Botanical Pivoine (Peony) Print

2015 Lavender Ruffles Peony Seedling Becomes Double

Lavender Ruffles Peony Becomes Double
It looks the like my Favorite Peony Seedling a Semi-Double Pink Violet that I had from my peony seedling garden last year has become a double. It was a semi double lavender pink peony in my peony seedling bed that I nicknamed Lavender Ruffles last year. I Transplanted Lavender Ruffles Peony Seedling last fall to a less crowded peony seedling bed so I could keep a better eye on it. It is a seedling of Peony 'Lavender Princess'. This peony has bright green foliage and multiple buds per stem. However I'm not sure if the plant has enough energy to open more than one bloom this year. Perhaps next year I'll get multiple blooms. Oh how exciting to grow a brand new unique plant with unique genes! I can't wait to see how many petals this royal beauty has next year!

2015 Peonies in Their Party Hats

The peonies in my garden put their party hats on yesterday. They have yellow hats, blue hats, and hats wih polka dots. No, it's not the Peony Kentucky Derby. However the 2015 American Peony Society Convention is in Louisville, Kentucky this year - in just a few short days no less! We just did miss the actual Derby. Instead of horses, we'll be racing peonies.
Peonies in Their Party Hats
Peony 'Miss America'
Actually those hats are colorful bags protecting the crosses I am trying to make this year. They are sitting above the stems on Peony 'Miss America'. Seems like a good person to have for a mother right, Miss America? With a title like that her children should be beauties! I am trying to hybridize her with pollen from my tree peony garden. We'll see if it works or not. I am more determined this year. The last time I tried this I got nothing - no children (seeds) at all. This time instead of putting the pollen on just once and covering it up, I am putting it on there like every morning hoping to get the timing on the fertility just right this time. We'll see if it makes any difference or not. I am a little worried about the pollen, though. I didn't get it into the fridge right away. It took me a couple days. So I'm not sure if it is still any good or not. I hope so. It seems like it would be good for a couple days outside. So maybe there will be a few in there that are still alive! I hope so.

2015 Peony Blooms Week 3 - Early Mid

The number of blooms are definitely reduced this year, even in the early mid season week 3 group of blooms. Peony 'Garden Peace' was one of my Early Peonies Suffered Frozen Bud Blast. This peony did, however, manage to bloom with its surviving side buds. 1/3 of Peony 'Lovely Rose's buds were blasted in the cold, and 1/4 of Peony 'Great Lady's buds were blasted as well. Peony 'Cream Delight', Peony 'Ludovica', and Peony 'Soft Lemon Kisses' buds seemed to be unaffected by the late cold snap. I'm hoping the mid and late season peonies will be putting on a nice show this year since it feels like I missed out on a lot of early blooms!

Peony 'Lovely Rose'	Peony 'Garden Peace'
Peony 'Cream Delight'	Peony 'Great Lady'
Peony 'Ludovica'	Peony 'Soft Lemon Kisses'

2015 Peony Donation for Carolina Plant Swap

Yesterday I was so excited to be able to bring three blooming peonies to the Carolina Plant Swap. These three peonies are all unique peonies I grew from seed. They are all single blooming peonies that bloom early. Two of these peonies, a light pink one and a dark pink one, came from seed from Peony 'Pink Princess'. The other dark pink peony came from seed from Peony 'Lady Alexandra Duff'. I hope these peonies will increase in bloom and size each year and the recipients of the peonies will enjoy them for years to come. Peonies do not generally like to be moved in spring. So these need to be planted right away. These peonies may sulk a bit this year. Don't worry. Don't fertilize them or overwater them. They just need some time to get established and settled into their new homes. Next year they should come back bigger and even better! :-) Enjoy!
Peony Donation for Carolina Plant Swap

2015 Early Peonies Suffered Frozen Bud Blast

Despite the gorgeous photos of my 2015 Peony Blooms Week 2 - Early, my early peonies suffered quite a bit of bud blast this year from our late winter weather and overnight freezing temperatures. During March we had 4 nights with freezing weather where the temperatures dipped into the 20s at night. The average night time temperatures for this area in March are in the 30s and 40s. The first three nights with 20° temperatures were on March 1st, 6th, and 7th. The peony buds probably would have been okay at this point, but on March 29th, we experienced a 22° low, after the lows had been in the 30s and 40s subsequently. There was even a low of 57° only three nights prior. All of this adds up to damaged buds on peonies that were preparing to bloom in early April. However the late freeze not only stopped the bud growth in its tracks, it even wasted a few stems on some early herbaceous peonies as well.

Peony 'Lemon Chiffon' Main Bud Blasted, Side Bud Grows	Peony 'Roy Pehrson's Best Yellow' Main Bud Blasted, Side Bud Grows
Peony 'Lemon Chiffon' Main Bud Blasted	Peony 'Roy Pehrson's Best Yellow' Main Bud Blasted

The photos of these two peonies, Peony 'Lemon Chiffon' and Peony 'Roy Pehrson's Best Yellow' both show an example of something I noticed on several early peonies this year that usually have multiple blooms per stem. The main (and most developed) bud suffered bud blast, while the later developing side buds were not affected and were able to continue developing. So the stage of bud development definitely has some bearing on whether the buds will survive such cold weather. The more developed the bud when the cold hits, the less chance it has of surviving. There are also lots of examples of peonies whose main buds were blasted, leaving no survivig buds on the stem. These are usually on peonies that only have one bloom per stem like Peony 'Nova' and Peony 'Honor'.

Peony 'Nova' Main Bud Blasted	Peony 'Honor' Main Bud Blasted

Peony 'Lustrous' Main Bud Blasted	Peony 'Early Scout' Main Bud Blasted

Peony 'Firelight' seemed to suffer the most from the late freeze in my garden this year. Although it did manage to get a few blooms open, the majority of the buds on this plant were blasted by the freezing cold weather. Its foliage growth was even stunted by the cold air. On a couple of stems on this plant, not just the buds were blasted, but the actual stem was wasted by the frigid temps. You can see a couple of these wasted stems in the photo hanging limply with their blasted buds upside down. This tough peony was not to be defeated though, as it sent up and extra latecomer - a replacement stem with a bud ready to bloom on it!


Peony 'Firelight' Buds Blasted, Foliage Stunted, and Stems Wasted


Peony 'Firelight' Sends Up a Replacement Stem

2015 Peony 'Coral Charm' Best Performer - Week 2

Peony 'Coral Charm' certainly is a charmer. It blooms early and has a very unique and lovely coral color. This particular peony was even divided for donation two years ago. The first spring after division it suffered a bit. This year it has come back even stronger and more beautiful. A large portion of this Peony 'Coral Charm' plant was given as part of my APS Peony Donation to JC Raulston Arboretum. So it has certainly grown well here, even after begin divided. Peony 'Coral Charm' is also an American Peony Society Gold Medal Winner from 1986. So if you are looking for a coral peony to add to your collection, peony 'Coral Charm' is definitely the coral peony you're looking for!
Peony 'Coral Charm'
Southern Peony Best Performer


Peony 'Coral Charm'
Southern Peony Best Performer

2015 Peony Blooms Week 2 - Early

A few more blooms managed to open this week. The photos look so gorgeous even though most of my early bloomers suffered bud blast, presumably from the late winter weather. However these beauties survived that bud-blasting cold or at least part of their buds survived. I am so happy to see such beautiful colors after a long and snowy winter here. Of the peonies in this group, Peony 'Rose Garland' and Peony 'Sweet May' had the most buds on them. Peony 'Flame' and Peony 'Salmon Dream' both had at least the same number of buds as they did last year. Peony 'Lavender' and Peony 'Horizon' had less buds than last year that matured.

Peony 'Flame'	Peony 'Sweet May'
Peony 'Lavender'	Peony 'Horizon'
Peony 'Rose Garland'	Peony 'Salmon Dream'

2015 APS Auction Donation Designer Peony Tote

Well, I finally figured out what I wanted to donate for the 2015 American Peony Society Convention Auction. When I found it, I liked it so much I had to buy two - one for the auction and one for myself! I had never heard of this designer before. I just found it by doing a search for peony tote, since I had somewhat of an idea of what I was looking for. I just didn't know exactly what, but as soon as I saw the photo of this Michel Design Works Peony Designer Tote, I knew this was just what I was looking for! I haven't received it in the mail yet since I just ordered it this week. So I can't tell you much about how it feels or how it carries. However I'm sure it's an awesome bag, and if it is anything less than spectacular, I'll be sure to let you know. If you would like the chance to bid on this Designer Peony Tote and all of the other items (lots of peonies!) in the APS auction, be sure to join us at the 2015 American Peony Society Convention!
Michel Design Works Peony Designer Tote

2015 Cut First Stems for APS Peony Exhibition

Well, I did it. I read up on this article on the Canadian Peony web site by Don Hollingsworth about Cutting and Storing Peony Flowers for Later Use, and I cut my first peonies for exhibition. It actually hurt a little bit, knowing I'd be missing several peonies from my garden this year. However I suppose lots more people will get to see them this year instead of just me (if all goes well)! Plus I guess it is kind of like giving someone a bouquet of peonies from my garden as a gift, only I had to cut the plants back a little more than I normally would for a vase since you need to allow for these peony stems to be recut later. This allows you to cut off a couple inches of the stem at the bottom that has dried out during storage. Then hopefully the recut peonies will be able to take in some fresh water and open up the day before they are to be exhibited.
Peony Stems Cut for APS Peony Exhibition
As you can see I cut several different varieties of peonies. Since I'm not a professional grower/peony seller, I don't have fields full of rows of the same varieties of peonies. So I can't just cut 10 or 20 stems of one variety. That would probably kill my plant (if they even have that many stems)! So I just cut 1 or 2 stems from several different peony varieties. If a flower doesn't open well, then I will probably not be able to show that variety since I will only have 1 or 2 cut stems of each variety to choose from. Also as you can see from the photo, I cut the stems in varying stages of bud progress. Some of the buds are tightly closed, and others are partially open. This is due to the advice I found in the article that said single petaled peonies should be cut more closed and double petaled peonies should be cut a bit more open. Supposedly double petaled peonies open slower than single petaled peonies. So cutting them in different stages is in hopes that the double peonies will be able to fully open for showing, and that the single peonies don't age too much in storage or when they open. So cutting peonies for showing sounds like quite a game that definitely rewards experienced players. Since I don't have much (any) experience, I guess I'm hoping for a little luck! :-)

Cut Peony Stems
Waiting to be Wrapped, Bagged, and Refridgerated

2015 Free Peony Seeds from APS Seed Program

I got my free seeds from the American Peony Society Seed Distribution Progam this week! The APS has a benefit that allows seed donors to select a free packet of peony seeds for every 2 varieties of peony seeds you donate. I donated seeds last fall to the program, which allowed me to pick out Free Seeds for Peony Seed Donors when the seeds are distributed in the spring. Last year was the first year I donated seeds to the program. In previous years, I have purchased seeds from the program. So it was nice to get free peony seeds this year! I got every variety I requested, except one that was sold out. I ordered p. clusii, p. ludlowii, p. mascula subsp. bodurii, Zi Die Ying Fen- (Purple Butterfly in the Wind), and Jack Nordick’s Lactiflora Mixture. Apparently p. mascula subsp. bodurii was already sold out. So p. delavayi was substituted. I ordered these seeds only about a week after the peony seed list was posted to the web. So popular seeds sell out quickly. If you haven't gotten your order in yet, now's the time to do it before all of the best varieties are sold out!
Free Seeds from the APS Seed Distribution Program
I planted the seeds in my peony seedling bed a couple days after I received them. There was a space in the bed where several species peony varieties never sprouted for me. These were seeds I'd purchased from the APS Seed Program and planted in 2010. I think 5 years is long enough to wait to see if they will sprout. So some new species seeds have their spot now, and we'll see next spring if any of these seeds germinate!

2015 Peony Experiments - Herbaceous Divisions Grow

Peony Experiments - Herbaceous Divisions Grow
Remember those outcast herbaceous peony root stumps I had left over last fall after dividing my peonies? Each of these pieces had an eye on it, so I decided to plant them as Peony Experiments - Herbaceous Divisions. It seems like they are growing (well, most of them)! Both of the Peony 'Scarlet O'Hara' stumps are growing. The unknown white double peony stump is growing. It is labeled in the photo as Peony 'Top Brass' since that's what it was sold to me as (unfortunately that cultivar name was incorrect). The only one that didn't grow was the white and yellow anemone peony, which is labeled as Peony 'Rushlight' in the photo. This peony too was labeled incorrectly. Originally I divided these peonies to give them away at the plant swap. Now that these divisions have grown, I can give away or donate even more peonies in the future. I guess the moral of this story is, no matter how small a peony division you end up with after dividing your peonies, plant even the smallest pieces if they have eyes on them. They may just grow for you and make a new plant!

Peony 'Scarlet O'Hara' Root Stumps Grow


White Double Peony Root Stump Grows


White and Yellow Anemone Peony Root Stump Does Not Grow

2015 Peony Blooms Week 1 - Very Early

The very early peony season this year had only a few contributors. We had a very late cold winter, and it apparently harmed many of the early blooming peonies. Peony 'Early Scout', usually one of the first peonies to bloom in my garden, didn't even make an appearance this year. The buds developed about half way, and then stopped, never to open. The only two tree peonies that had buds this year both bloomed. (My tree peony garden is very immature, and most of the plants are still very small.) So apparently the Tree Peonies in Ice with the foliage and buds exposed to freezing cold didn't bother them at all, but hurt the early herbaceous peonies quite a bit. Tree Peony 'Kamata-fuji' was a New Peony Color Light Violet 76B in my garden, and Tree Peony 'White Phoenix' was the First Peony Bloom of the Year! Near the end of the week Peony 'Roy Pehrson's Best Yellow' opened, which is always a delight. Peony 'Coral Fay' also joined the party, and no, that photo is not upside down. This bloom was nodding quite a bit, so much so that it looks upside down! :-)

Tree Peony 'White Phoenix'	Tree Peony 'Kamata-fuji'
Peony 'Roy Pehrson's Best Yellow'	Peony 'Coral Fay'

2015 New Peony Color Light Violet 76B 'Kamata-fuji'

Tree Peony 'Kamata-fuji'
The second peony of the year bloomed in my garden today, and it was another tree peony, Peony 'Kamata-fuji'. As soon as I first saw the petals emerging from the swollen bud, I was in love with its color! And what a beautiful color it is - the most wonderful color of lavender - unlike any other peony in my garden so far. According to the RHS (Royal Hortircultural Society) Colour Chart it is a Light Violet 76B. Lavender is my favorite color, and I am so happy to have a tree peony blooming in this color. It is also exciting to be able to add another color category to my Peony Colors page where I track all of the bloom colors of the peonies I grow according to the RHS Mini Colour Chart.
Comparing Tree Peony 'Kamata-fuji' to the RHS Mini Colour Chart

2015 First Peony Bloom of the Year 'White Phoenix'

First Peony Bloom of the Year
Tree Peony 'White Phoenix'

First Peony Bloom of the Year
Tree Peony 'White Phoenix' Bloom
The first peony to bloom this year in my garden was actually a tree peony! Peony 'White Phoenix' or 'Feng Dan Bai' is actually a Chinese tree peony, and this is the first time I have ever had it bloom for me. So that is a nice surprise to see the blossom for the first time ever in my garden and for it to be the first peony to bloom in my garden in 2015.


Tree Peony 'White Phoenix'
Underneath a Dogwood Tree
I grow my Peony 'White Phoenix' underneath a dogwood tree in my back yard. Both the tree peony and the dogwood tree happened to bloom at the same time this year. I hope that will happen again in future years since both of the white blossoms look very nice together. Peony 'White Phoenix' is supposed to take full sun to part shade. I was worried that the dogwood tree might provide too much shade for this tree peony, but it seems happy so far, and it has even sprouted a new tree peony shoot from the base this year. So next year it will hopefully have even more branches on which to bloom! :)


Tree Peony 'White Phoenix'
Side View

Tree Peony 'White Phoenix'
Side View of Bloom