2014 Questions - Transplanting Peonies in the Spring

I received this question from Bahiyyah in zone 7:
"Hello, I love your blog, I have a question for you. I know transplanting in the spring is not best, but I had no choice. Now I have over 100 peonies to replant. Some are very young with only 3-5 eyes. I know to plant those whole. But what about the ones that have large root masses, but only 3 eyes showing. Is it problematic to replant those whole? I remember reading that once dug up peonies prefer to be split to grow properly. Should I trim some root off those. For a visual imagine 8 big juice carrot sized roots, with only three tiny eyes. Also, do you have any tips for soil amending when planting? I have access to leaf mulch, wood chips, well aged horse manure, worm compost and regular compost. Thank you for any and all advice you can offer"

Thank you for such a nice compliment! You are correct in stating that spring is not the ideal season to transplant peonies. Fall is the best season for moving and dividing peonies. However spring is much better than summer, especially if the peonies have not yet sprouted (which is what it sounds like you are describing when you mention that your peonies have eyes - instead of foliage growth). You may notice some reduction in blooms this year, but provided these peonies are replanted in a good location with plenty of sun and nice soil, they should recover nicely. If any of your peonies had enough stems last year to divide (at least 7-8 stems), then you can go ahead and divide those peonies. However if your peonies didn't have very many stems last year and only have 3 eyes with large roots, I would not divide those peonies. Also it isn't necessary to remove any of the storage roots before planting unless you feel need to remove them for some other reason (ex. unwieldy for planting, unmanageable for transporting, diseased, etc.)

As far as soil amendments, I would recommend the leaf mulch and compost and mixing it well into the soil. The horse manure could also be used, but it definitely shouldn't be applied directly to the roots or crown of the plant. The wood chips could be used as a mulch/top dressing only to prevent weed growth. However it is not recommended to mix these into the planting hole, as they can inhibit the peony root's access to nitrogen.

2014 First Peony Seedlings to Bloom This Spring!

Well, it almost happened last spring. I had my First Peony Seedling with a Developing Bud last spring, and sadly it never matured, First Peony Seedling Develops Immature Bud. However this year, I'm sure I will see some original blooms from my peony seedling bed. There are already 4 different plants with buds on them and the buds are growing larger by the day! Last year the peony plant with a bud on it was a seedling of 'Lady Alexandra Duff'. This year, there are two peony plants from 'Pink Princess' and two peony plants from 'Lady Alexandra Duff' with buds on them. So there are at least 4 plants with buds on them already. Some of the peony seedlings' foliage is still emerging so there may be more buds to come. I am so excited to see my first blooms from peonies I grew from seed from my own garden. I will definitely keep you posted on the progress and will be sure to post photos of the blooms as well!
2008 Peony Seedlings


Peony Seedling Buds

2014 Swenson Gardens 7 Intersectional Peonies for $35!

Wow! Swenson Gardens finally released their 2014 peony catalog online, and I've updated my post with the all of the prices for the 2014 Intersectional Peony Catalog Price Comparisons List. I must say they have really lowered their prices on the majority of their intersectional peonies. Since they usually offer one of the largest selections of intersectional peonies, this is really big news! Also they are offering 7 different intersectional peony varieties for $35.00 each! This is an almost unheard of price point for an intersectional peony, and they are offering lots to choose from at that price! It seems as if Swenson Gardens is trying to be the leader in intersectional peonies in price and selection. They also have 6 other intersectional peonies in the $40-$50 range. So if you are looking to expand your intersectional peony collection or maybe just start your collection, 2014 seems to be a great year to do so! The intersectional peony varieties that Swenson Gardens is offering for $35 are: 'Border Charm', 'Japanese Itoh', 'Old Rose Dandy', 'Pastel Splendor', 'Prairie Charm', 'Scarlet Heaven', and 'Shining Light'. One of these peonies, Peony 'Prairie Charm', is even an American Peony Society Award of Landscape Merit award winning peony!
Swenson Gardens Offers 7 Intersectional Peonies for $35!

2014 Intersectional Peony Varieties Offered
Peony Vendor	Intersectional Varieties
Swenson	31
Adelman	30
Solaris Farms	23
Brooks	19
Buck Canyon	10
Hidden Springs	9
Blossom Hill	8
Song Sparrow	7
Birchwood	6
Cricket Hill	6
Peony's Envy	6
Hollingsworth	5
Bannister	3
Fina	3

2014 American Peony Society Handbook on Ebay

I got an email this morning about an Ebay auction listing for the Manual of the American Peony Society from 1928. I purchased a copy of the Manual of the American Peony Society First Edition for myself last year, and I'm almost done reading it. There are a few boring parts - like several long lists of plant names. I must admit I skipped those parts. However there is quite a lot of interesting information on the history of peonies and the American Peony Society in the book. There are also several beautiful prints as well. The listing on Ebay has an opening bid of $15 with free shipping! This particular copy of the book was previously held in a library and appears to have some permanent ink on the spine that identified its location inside the library. Other than that it seems to be in good condition - better condition than my copy. I paid more than $30 for the copy I bought last year, and the binding is separately from the spine on my copy. So my copy is in quite sad shape. If you are looking to pick up a decent copy of the 1st Edition of the Manual of the American Peony Society, now may be an opportune time for you to place a bid on it. :-) Good luck!

First Edition Manual of the American Peony Society on Ebay

2014 Peonies on Ice

Ice Coating on Tree Branches
When I awoke yesterday morning, everything was covered in a thin layer of ice. This has been a particularly long and cold winter for us this year. Tomorrow is the first day of spring, and winter just wanted to make sure we knew it wasn't over yet! We've already had a couple of 70 degree days (on the weekends usually - thank goodness), but they have been rare. This weekend we should have another 70 degree day, and I can't wait. Luckily yesterday was very cloudy all day so the sun shouldn't have caused any frost damage to the foliage.

Peony 'Li Yuan Chun' with a Coating of Ice
As you can see there are already a couple of swelling buds on this tree peony since the last time I photographed it in February - 2014 First Signs of (Tree Peony) Life). Even the peony sign has a layer of ice on it. I'm not sure how much longer it will be until this tree peony blooms, but I am ready for it. I can't wait to see its blooms for the first time. Come on spring!!!
Peony Sign 'Li Yuan Chun' with a Coating of Ice

2014 Peony Seedling Plastic Label Failure

When I went outside a couple weeks ago I noticed something strange with some of my peony seedling labels... They were all on the ground. Apparently these plastic labels are too lightweight and could not withstand the constant freezing and thawing of the ground here. I guess that's a valuable lesson learned. I won't know the parent name for of all of the Chinese peony seedlings that I so carefully labeled and had my Chinese husband translate for me. What a waste! Well I guess I'll stick to the tried and true steel and copper plant labels that I've been using since 2007. These have never been heaved from the ground like these plastic plant labels! Too bad I never got around to putting these on my peony seedling map... I guess if any of them turn out to be worthwhile seedlings, they'll get a new name anyway! It would have been nice to know their heritage, though, assuming they were labeled correctly in the first place.
Plastic Peony Seedling Labels


Copper and Steel Peony Seedling Labels

2014 Chinese Tree Peony Seeds Starting to Sprout

At the suggestion of one of my readers, I decided to check my Chinese tree peony seeds to see if they had started sprouting. Sure enough, they had! A couple of them are just starting to push through. So it's definitely a bit early to get a count for the germination rate. I'll have to wait a little longer to see how many actually sprout. The only ones that are starting to sprout so far are the Chinese Peony Seeds from Ebay that I planted on 3/15/2013. There are 6 different colors of the Chinese tree peony seeds that I bought on Ebay, which came labeled as P1-P6, and only 2 of them are sprouting now - P3 Blue & P4 Green. So there are 4 other types/colors of these tree peony seeds that have not yet sprouted. None of the Chinese tree peony seeds I purchased from Ali Express and planted on 4/1/2013 have started to sprout yet. So I will have to check on those Chinese tree peony seeds again later.
Chinese Tree Peony P3 Blue Seeds from Ebay Sprouting


Chinese Tree Peony P4 Green Seeds from Ebay Sprouting