Song Sparrow Fall Peony Sale - Buy 2 Get One Free
Sunday, October 20, 2013
2013 Song Sparrow Fall Peony Sale - Buy 2 Get One Free
They are at it again! I don't know of any other peony farm who reliably discounts their peonies in the fall (and who also sends large, correctly labeled plants) besides Klehm's Song Sparrow. Last year they ran a similar Fall Sale. I am on the email lists for several other major growers, and Song Sparrow definitely is the best at offering fall discounts. Their prices are not cheap, but they are not exorbitant either, and their current sale makes their offerings all the more attractive! I received the sale email on Friday, October 18th and the sale runs through November 3rd. They are currently offering Receive three Peonies
for the price of two. So if you haven't yet gotten your fall 2013 peony order in, head on over to see if the varieties you're interested are still in stock. With this sale, I'm sure the hottest and award winning varieties will be selling out quick! :-)
Song Sparrow Fall Peony Sale - Buy 2 Get One Free
Song Sparrow Fall Peony Sale - Buy 2 Get One Free
Friday, October 18, 2013
2013 APS Peony Donation to JC Raulston Arboretum
I finally had a chance to dig up peonies in my yard for donation this past weekend. This box of peonies went for a ride to my local arboretum. Through a joint project I've been working on with the American Peony Society and the JC Raulston Arboretum, I was able to gather over 40 peonies for donation to a local public garden. I personally donated 9 of the peony varieties myself. I guess you could say I had a slight incentive in being able to drop them off instead of having to pay the shipping costs to send them through the mail. The peony varieties I donated were: 'Angel Cheeks', 'Bowl of Cream', 'Chalice', 'Coral Charm', 'Do Tell', 'Festiva Maxima', 'Honor', 'Mother's Choice', and 'Seashell'.
Peony Donation for the JC Raulston Arboretum
There were several other donors to the project who I am very thankful for that helped make this project a great success: Adelman Peony Gardens, Hollingsworth Peonies, Rarity Gardens, Song Sparrow, and a local garden nursery, Homewood Nursery. I also wrote an APS Bulletin article about this project, which I will publish here when the bulletin comes out. I'll also be keeping a close eye on the peonies at the arboretum, and I'll definitely posts updates on their progress. I was so happy to work on this Public Gardens Peony Donation Project, and I can't wait to find the next public garden or arboretum in need of a large peony donation! If you have a suggestion, please leave a comment or contact me. :-)
Peony Donation for the JC Raulston Arboretum
There were several other donors to the project who I am very thankful for that helped make this project a great success: Adelman Peony Gardens, Hollingsworth Peonies, Rarity Gardens, Song Sparrow, and a local garden nursery, Homewood Nursery. I also wrote an APS Bulletin article about this project, which I will publish here when the bulletin comes out. I'll also be keeping a close eye on the peonies at the arboretum, and I'll definitely posts updates on their progress. I was so happy to work on this Public Gardens Peony Donation Project, and I can't wait to find the next public garden or arboretum in need of a large peony donation! If you have a suggestion, please leave a comment or contact me. :-)
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
2013 Planting Chinese Tree Peonies
Chinese Tree Peonies Soaking in Water
After soaking the Chinese Tree Peonies from Ali Express, some of them started to look promising. As you can see below on the tree peonies with long stems and short roots, after soaking them in water I started to notice some white or light colored nodules on the sides of the tree peony stems. These may turn into growth nodules, from which roots or stems may be generated in the spring. Also I figured out which tree peonies these are supposed to be. The one tree peony with a short stem and long roots is supposed to be the blue tree peony I ordered. The other 5 tree peonies with long stems and short roots were 2 yellow/orange tree peonies and the other 3 were the ones that were supposed to be the Ali Express Chinese Tree Peonies $5.52 for 3!. I had ordered 3 sets of 3 of these peonies. So I should have gotten 9 of those tree peonies, but they only sent 3. So I opened a dispute with Ali Express for that particular order.
Blue Chinese Tree Peony with Short Stem and Long Root
Chinese Tree Peony with Long Stem and Short Root
Chinese Tree Peony with Long Stem and Short Root
Planted Chinese Tree Peonies from Ali Express
Saturday, October 12, 2013
2013 Dormant or Dead? Chinese Tree Peonies
Well, I received some of the Chinese tree peonies I ordered this week. I'm not sure which plants they are or which vendor they came from. None of the plants are labeled, and they all came with their roots wrapped in plastic wrap. I actually placed 7 different orders with 7 different vendors. I figured this way I was hoping to find at least a good vendor or two. I received 2 boxes from China in the mail this week, and I did in fact receive tree peony roots. One box came with a 10 inch root in it, and most of the top stem had been trimmed away, leaving only about 1/2 inch of stem. The other box came with 5 tree peonies in it with longer 6-7 inch stems, but shorter roots that had been trimmed to 3-4 inches. I'm curious to see if any of these will grow. This was not a very expensive experiment, but definitely a curious one. I plant to soak these roots all day today, and probably plant them out tomorrow. I am really curious to see if the tree peonies with longer stems or the tree peonies with longer roots are able to survive. I will definitely keep you posted on whether any of these tree peonies actually sprout in the spring!
Chinese Tree Peonies with Long Stems and Short Roots
Chinese Tree Peony with Short Stem and Long Root
Chinese Tree Peonies with Long Stems and Short Roots
Chinese Tree Peony with Short Stem and Long Root
Monday, October 7, 2013
2013 Sharing Peony Roots at the Fall Plant Swap
I went to the fall Carolina Plant Swap this weekend. I brought 3 peony divisions with me this year to trade. These were nice, large divisions of a medium pink colored herbaceous peony with nice foliage. Hopefully they will each produce flowers next year in their new homes! I made these divisions from an herbaceous peony that was previously growing in my peony moon garden (which I recently cleared out to make room for my New Tree Peony Moon Garden). Since I love peonies so much, I can't help but want to try to encourage all gardeners to grow peonies. Once they find out how nice they are (and easy to grow), I'm sure they'll be hooked too! Let's hope I can donate even more to next year's plant swap! :-)
Thursday, September 26, 2013
2013 Ali Express Chinese Tree Peonies $5.52 for 3!
Is it too good to be true? The Chinese text says, 3 stems shipping included, 5 years old big young trees at a special price, on sale, crazy deal! Three 5 year old tree peony plants for $5.52, shipping included? For $16.56, I'm in for three sets of 3. It does sound too good to be true, but I decided to try it anyway. If I'm out $16, okay, then at least I've investigated it for the rest of you. Also when ordering with Ali Express, the money is not released to the seller until you've confirmed receipt of the item. So I'm sure to get something. We'll just have to see what the condition of goods will be when they arrive. I've ordered Ali Express Chinese Tree Peony Seeds before, and they all came nicely packed and labeled. However I've never seen peony plants offered on Ali Express before. So now I am excited about the prospect of growing several different varieties of tree peonies. I'm also skeptical whether they'll be labeled correctly, but for $1.84 each who can complain? Even if the survival rate is only 20%, maybe I'll at least get two nice ones for less than $20. I'll keep you posted on how this pans out... :)
Ali Express Chinese Tree Peonies, 3 for $5.52
Ali Express Chinese Tree Peonies, 3 for $5.52
Monday, September 23, 2013
2013 American Peony Society Fall Auction
Well, the 2013 American Peony Society Fall Auction is almost upon us. I am personally donating 2 peonies to the auction, Peony 'Coral Charm', and Peony 'Scarlet O'Hara', both of which grow very well here in this southern climate. The APS Fall Auction is only open to American Peony Society members. So if you're not yet a member, now might be the time to join the APS! The American Peony Society has two auctions per year, the spring auction at the APS convention and the fall online auction. So if you're a member, but don't have the opportunity to join the APS at the annual convention, you can still participate in one of their auctions via the fall online auction. The official preview starts September 30th, but most of the auction plants are already up now. So check out the 2013 American Peony Society Fall Auction early for a sneak preview!
2013 American Peony Society Fall Auction
2013 American Peony Society Fall Auction