2013 Questions - Where to Buy Peony Seeds

I received this question from Courtney in Zone 7:
"My father is interested in purchasing some peony seeds. He has always been into flowers and gardening and its evident by his yard. His favorite are peonies and he has just become interested in trying to grow them from seeds. I found your site online today after he requested that I try to find some catalogues or places where he could buy seeds. I’m not sure if you sell them or could help me in finding a place that sells them. I would appreciate your advice!"

The places that come to my mind for buying peony seeds are either on Ebay or the APS Seed Distribution Program. Doing a quick search on Ebay, there are lots of peony seeds you can buy from China. Also there are some peony seeds offered from Hirt's Gardens (based out of Ohio) on Ebay. Thanks to your inquiry, I decided to purchase a few of these seeds myself.

Peony Seeds for Sale on Ebay

You may want to check out my previous posts on the 2010 APS Peony Seed Program and 2012 APS Convention Peony Seed Sale . Also you DO need to be an APS member to participate in the APS Seed Distribution Program. The costs of the APS seeds are typically very affordable (usually $2-$3 per pack + shipping). If your father is not already a member of the American Peony Society, an APS Membership would make a great gift! I do not sell any peony seeds myself, and although I cannot personally vouch for the outcomes from any of the seeds you might buy, the costs of your endeavor should be low and the rewards great, provided you have the time. Peony seeds typically take 3-5+ years to develop into a flowering plant. I'd love to see any pictures from the fruits of your labors. Good luck! :-)

2013 Peonies with Flares

A feature that I have found quite interesting for some time is flares, small sunbursts of color that start at the center of the bloom on the peony petals and flare out. The flares can be small or large, wide or thin, long or short, and of varying colors. I used to not really like the flares, being a purist in terms of color, but in the past couple of years, I have really begun to appreciate and love the variation in color. The presence of flares is really most noticeable in single and semi double type peonies. If you like to grow peonies, here is another feature in peonies for you to collect! Some of my favorite peonies displaying colorful flares are Peony 'Bartzella' (midseason), Peony 'Firelight' (early), Peony 'Golden Frolic' (early-mid), and Peony 'Morning Lilac' (early-mid). Enjoy!

Peony 'Bartzella'	Peony 'Firelight'
Peony 'Golden Frolic'	Peony 'Morning Lilac'

2013 Southern Peony Milestones

Wow! Southern Peony has passed two great milestones in one month! We had over one thousand views for the first time in one month this month, and we had over 10,000 views total since Southern Peony's inception. Thank you to all of our devoted readers out there. I've really enjoyed documenting my journey with peonies, and I hope all of you have too. I am so happy to share the love of this wonderful plant all over the world. If you're interested to see a breakdown of Southern Peony's world wide web site traffic, I've included a chart of the Top 10 Countries by Pageviews and the current list of the 10 Most Popular Topics of All Time. For the most up to date list of the 10 Most Popular Peony Topics This Month and the 10 Most Popular Peony Topics of All Time, check out our Popular Topics page. Drop me a line and let me know what's on your mind or let me know if you have any feedback or requests for our site. Also if you have any Peony Questions you've been really wanting to ask, send them in.

Top 10 Countries by Pageviews

1	United States	6232
2	Russia	1031
3	Canada	656
4	Poland	375
5	United Kingdom	276
6	Latvia	219
7	Ukraine	165
8	Germany	153
9	Japan	138
10	Sweden	94

Top 10 Most Popular Topics of All Time (as of 1/31/13)

1	2009 Fall Peony Foliage
2	2012 Peony 'Angel Cheeks' Best Performer - Week 6
3	2012 Peony Blooms Mid Season - Week 4
4	2012 Peony 'Bartzella' Best Performer - Week 5
5	2012 Peony Blooms Very Early to Early Mid - Weeks 1-3
6	2010 Peony Blooms - Weeks 1-3
7	2012 APS Peony Court of Honor Winners
9	2012 Peony Blooms Very Late - Week 7
8	2010 APS Grand Champion Peony - Flying Pink Saucer
10	2011 Intersectional Peony Blooms

2013 American Peony Society Convention at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania

I know it's still cold outside. It's even cold here. We had quite a bit of ice last night (but it's all melted now). So it's definitely not time for spring, but it is a good time to start making plans to join us at the 2013 American Peony Society Show & Convention. I just made my travel arrangements today, and I am really excited. This year's convention is being held at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania (which is pretty close to Philadelphia - so you might be able to score a decent priced non-stop airline ticket like I did!). Not only is the convention being held "Longwood Gardens - the world's premier horticultural showcase", but there's also an optional tour on Sunday of Winterthur - "the premier museum of American decorative arts" along with a "60-acre naturalistic garden." I've been wanting to go there for a few years now. I love magnolia trees too, and I've heard they have a nice collection of these as well. Although I'm sure I'll miss the magnolia bloom season, I'm hoping to see the peony bloom season this year! :)

2013 American Peony Society Silver Medal

American Peony Society Gold Medal Black & White Image

OMG! I am so excited! Again! Yesterday when I was searching Google for an American Peony Society logo that I wanted to use in my APS Board Member post, I came across a picture of a silver colored American Peony Society medal. It was for sale on Etsy for $8! Of course I bought it right away! The description says it was issued to Marvin Karrels, who according to the APS website for APS Best in Show won the Best in Show - Grand Champion 9 different years - 1946, 1951, 1956, 1966, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1976, & 1983! Wow! I found a black & white image of the APS gold medal, and this silver colored medal appears to be an exact copy of the black & white image of the APS Gold Medal from 'The Manual of the American Peony Society'. I'm not sure if you remember seeing my post on the 2012 APS Peony Convention Banquet & Auction, but one of the speakers passed around an actual gold medal from the APS, and it was gold colored. I can't wait to receive this silver colored APS medal in the mail! Too cool! :)
American Peony Society Silver Colored Medal


American Peony Society 1943 Gold Medal

2013 New American Peony Society Board Member

The American Peony Society

Wow! I am so excited, and I guess it's official now so I can share. Last week I was asked to join the board of the American Peony Society! This is actually the 2nd volunteer board that I will serve on. The first board I served on was a local society board. This will be the first national society board that I will serve. So I am certainly excited! I definitely learned a lot in my first board position, and I hope to learn even more serving on the APS Board. I want to contribute any knowledge I have, learn from others' past experiences, and do all I can to help further the cause of peonies and spread the love of growing them in the home landscape. They are just such an awesome plant, and I'm sure they will get better and better with our combined knowledge and breeding efforts. So stay tuned - the best is yet to come! :)

2013 Peony Spreadsheet Data Entry

I spent some time last night and today working on my peony data spreadsheet. I put in all of the data from last peony season - last year (2012). I also spent some time catching up from 2011. I had recorded all of the bloom and stem count data manually on paper, but had not yet transferred it into my computer. Once I have all of the data in my spreadsheet, I can also calculate the bloom offset. One day I would like to convert the spreadsheet into a database so that I can use it to analyze the growth of the different peony species in my climate. I would also like to be able to automatically pull that data from the database and manipulate however needed to put into various pages on this web site. We did get a new iPad for Christmas this year. If I really get myself in gear, maybe I can use that to input data into the spreadsheet/database while I'm out in the garden. That would be nice! However it might be a little hard convincing my fiancée to let me take it out there. Maybe I'll have to get my own - for garden use only! :-) Peony Data Spreadsheet