Sunday, July 22, 2012

2012 New Intersectional Peony Foliage

After quite a long hot and dry spell with 90-100 degree days, it has been nice to get some rain from summer thunderstorms and a bit cooler temperatures. I'm sure my peonies have appreciated it as well. The foliage on my newly planted intersectional peonies seems to be progressing nicely. All four of them have nice green foliage now three weeks after planting them. The foliage is a mix between a tree peony's foliage and an herbaceous peony's foliage since intersectional peonies are a cross between these two types. Tree peonies have woody stems that generate new growth each year while herbaceous peonies have soft stems that grow anew and die back to the ground each year. It is recommended to cut back the intersectional peony foliage to the ground each year, but I have found in my southern climate that some of the woody stem can be left over the winter and will generate new growth and blooms the next year. See my post on 2011 Peony Experiments - Intersectional Blooms for more information and pictures.
Peony 'Canary Brilliant'
Peony 'Lemon Dream'
Peony 'Old Rose Dandy'
Peony 'Scarlet Heaven'

Friday, July 13, 2012

2012 Peony Reference Site - Web Project Paeonia

So you've always wondered if the peony variety you have is labeled correctly? Or maybe you want to know the hybridizer for your peony. Or perhaps you want to know the bloom season for a peony you saw and are interested in. Well, I'll tell you what. There's this site I really like. It is the best peony reference site out there. No, it's not the Wikipedia. (Although there is some interesting information there, it definitely leaves something to be desired.) The site is Carsten Burkhardt's Web Project Paeonia. I have used this web site for years for peony identification and information. It is really an awesome resource for the peony community. I hope you find it as useful as I have. So go look up your favorite blooms. Oh, and be careful. You can get lost in there!!! :)

Carsten Burkhardt's Web Project Paeonia

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

2012 Intersectional Peony New Growth

The new intersectional peonies I just planted a week and a half ago are growing nicely. One of them seems to be having a bit of trouble, but it is still growing. The pink growth on Peony 'Scarlet Heaven' has a bit of brown/black on the end of it. It also seems to be a bit slower growing and turning green than the other three. Here are a few pictures of some of the new growth on these intersectional peonies. I think they are happy in their partly sunny, moist spot near my deck. These peonies were originally purchased on Ebay, and they are definitely intersectional peonies. The new growth and the foliage on these is exactly the same as my other intersectional peonies, and quite different than the new growth on herbaceous peonies. Whether the cultivar names are accurate is yet to be determined, but I think they will probably be correct.

Peony 'Canary Brilliants'
Peony 'Lemon Dream'
7/1/2012
7/1/2012
7/7/2012
7/7/2012
7/11/2012
7/11/2012


Peony 'Old Rose Dandy'
Peony 'Scarlet Heaven'
7/1/2012
7/1/2012
7/7/2012
7/7/2012
7/11/2012
7/11/2012

Thursday, July 5, 2012

2012 Growing Weed Free Peonies

The weeds in my peonies have been greatly reduced this year, thanks to a new layer of mulch. However I have still gotten a few weeds. Most of them have either been at the edge of the peony bed or right next to the peony crown, where the layer of the mulch is the thinnest. It is not good to put a thick layer of mulch right on top of the peony crown (where the stems grow from the plant). In my climate I do not put any mulch right in the center of the peony plant. It is best to side dress the peonies with mulch to keep their small feeder roots cool and moist. A couple of weeds have surprised me this year, though, growing right from the crown hidden by the peony foliage, and were able to develop into quite large weeds. I was really surprised by this one in particular. This weed grew bigger and taller than my 5 year old peony in a couple months! Needless to say, it has now been extracted! :)

Peony 'Firelight' with Giant Weed

Sunday, July 1, 2012

2012 First Peony Planting

I got my order of Peonies on Ebay planted today. I figured since we got a small break in the 100°+ heat wave it would be a good time to get them in the ground. Since some of the peony seedlings in my seedling test bed almost looked like toast, I decided I should probably plant these new peonies, that are going to be stressed with no roots and no leaves in the middle of summer, in a different location. I planted them next to my deck instead which seems to have more moist soil and only about a half day of sun. So this will hopefully be a better location. As you can see I planted these intersectional peonies with their sun starved pink shoots showing just above the mulch. Hopefully they will survive our harsh summer and develop some substantial roots this fall.

Peony 'Canary Brilliants'


Peony 'Scarlet Heaven'

Friday, June 29, 2012

2012 Ebay Peony Order - American Greenhouses

I decided to buy some Peonies on Ebay last week, and they arrived yesterday. The label on the Priority Mail box they arrived in said they were from American Greenhouses, Hosta Gardens of Burr Ridge. It appears that this company imports many of their plants, and the plants I received appear to have been purchased for resale, not grown by the seller. The peonies were packed with peat moss inside brown paper bags. These peonies have not yet had food, water, or sunlight this year. It is almost July here, well into summer, so I will try to baby these plants in hopes they are able to establish some roots this year. The buds on the peonies had already sprouted, and they are all past ready to leaf out. So hopefully with some sun, soil, and water, they will survive.

Ebay Intersectional Peony Order


Intersectional Peony Bare Roots

This morning after I unpacked the roots, I put them each in a bowl of water to soak for a few hours. Hopefully this will restore a bit of moisture to the roots before I plant them out. I think since my Intersectional Peony Bed is not yet ready for plants, I will plant these in my seedling test bed until this fall. By then the Intersectional Peony Bed should be ready for planting, and I will move these peonies when the weather is cooler.

Peony Roots Soaking in Bowls of Water

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

2012 Peony Viruses

A couple of my peonies have been affected by viruses. The virus seems to affect the same peonies every year. I don't think there is anything you can really do to get rid of it. Viruses in humans are not curable by any medicine, the symptoms can be controlled or suppressed, but the immune system of the body is the only thing that can actually defeat the disease. So either the peony would have to fend it off on its own or find a way to live with it. It seems that most of the time peonies can live with a virus without the plant being too adversely impacted. Also I've noticed that several of the peonies I have planted in shade have a virus. So it seems like peonies that are stressed because they are not planted in ideal conditions are more susceptible to viruses. Those virus infected peonies that I have seem to bloom just fine and are able to increase as well. Most of the time, the foliage of the entire plant is not affected. Sometimes only a portion of the plant is diseased. I'd be curious to see if you divided the plant and threw away the infected portion if the plant would be virus free or if the virus would come back the next year. That may be an experiment for another day...

Peony 'Duchesse de Nemours' with Mosaic Virus


Peony 'Laura Dessert' with Mosaic Virus