2014 Peony Blooms - Late Mid - Week 5

The weather was quite harsh for peonies this week. We had our first 90 degree day since September. So the peony blooms really started to suffer. It had been a couple weeks since it had last rained, and before that it had been raining about every week. So we really needed the rain. We finally got 2.5 inches on Thursday night. However the rain came all at once pouring down and pushing the heavy double peony blooms to the ground. The storm also came with lots of wind to blow around those heavy, rain-laden peony blooms, further damaging their appearance. So it was challenging to get some good peony photos this week. However I did manage to get a few before the rain and a couple that opened after the rain was finished. Peony 'Topeka Garnet' first bloomed for me this year, and it was also selected as the APS Gold Medal winner in 2012.

Peony 'Topeka Garnet'	Peony 'Kansas'
Peony 'Pink Derby'	Peony 'Raspberry Sundae'
Peony 'Myra MacRae'	Peony 'Old Faithful'

2014 Chinese Tree Peonies from Ali Express

Chinese Tree Peonies 1 & 2 from Ali Express - April 2014

Chinese Tree Peonies 3 & 4 from Ali Express - April 2014
Chinese Tree Peonies 5 & 6 from Ali Express - April 2014

The photos above are of the Ali Express Chinese Tree Peonies $5.52 for 3! as they were just beginning to leaf out in April. The photos below are of the same Chinese tree peonies about a month later. As you can see from the photos, all 6 of the tree peonies that arrived did leaf out, which is great 100% viability. However if you look closely at the photos a month later, you will see that, sadly, one of the peonies (tree peony #4) did not make it. Not long after leafing out, the foliage of tree peony #4 just seemed to wither and shrink, and sadly it has not re-sprouted. Some other good news about these tree peonies is that each of the foliage and stem coloring appears to be different. So it seems they all may be different varieties (as requested). I'm excited to see how fast these tree peonies grow, how long it takes to get the first bloom, and what the blooms will look like on these peonies. Even though these peonies did not turn out to be $5.52 for 3 (they were actually $5.52 each), that is still an awesome deal, considering all of them were viable. Anyway it seems Ali Express may be the place to buy tree peonies (if you can find the right vendor - I did end up getting only peony seeds from some vendors that advertised an actual tree peony). LOL
Chinese Tree Peonies 1, 2, & 3 from Ali Express - May 2014


Chinese Tree Peonies 4, 5, & 6 from Ali Express - May 2014

2014 Favorite Peony Seedling - Semi-Double Pink Violet

Oh! I love it! My favorite peony seedling to bloom this year. It is a child of Peony 'Lavender Princess', and it was planted it 2008, and it first bloomed this year. The bloom is 6 inches in size, and the color of its blooms is RHS 75C Pink Violet. I will definitely have to keep watch over this one to see if it has potential. I haven't seen one on the market quite like this, and I love its multitude of lavender petals. We'll see how well it increases and how disease resistant it is. I'm also curious to see if the bloom form changes next year on a more mature plant. This year there are over 35 petals with a very tight center of yellow stamens. If it is fertile and produces seed well, then it may be a good breeding plant as well.
Favorite Peony Seedling Bloom
Pink Violet Semi-Double Peony


2008 Seedling of Peony 'Lavender Princess'


Peony Seedling Bed

2014 Peony Bouquets Yellow Itoh & Pink Herbaceous

It is past Mother's Day, but these are the first two bouquets I've cut for myself this year. I did give my mother a bouquet of mixed pink herbaceous peonies for Mother's Day. When I brought them to the restaurant with me, everyone I passed that was waiting for their tables commented on how lovely and beautiful they were. I'm sure my Mom was the envy of several other mothers that day. I realized that my peony season is almost half over, and I hadn't even brought a bouquet inside for myself. Since it hasn't rained in quite some time, and there was a storm coming, I decided to cut a few before the rain ruined them anyway.
Yellow Intersectional Peony Bouquet
I decided to cut one yellow bouquet and one pink bouquet. The yellow bouquet is a mixed intersectional (or Itoh) peony bouquet comprised of Peony 'Bartzella', Peony 'Garden Treasure', and Peony 'Yellow Crown'. The mixed pink herbaceous peony bouquet is made up of Peony 'Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt', Peony 'Pink Derby', Peony 'Queen of the Dawn', and two other unknown pink double peonies. If you've still got some peonies blooming outside, now might be the time to cut a few while they are still in season. Bring them in and enjoy their beauty and fragrance!
Mixed Pink Herbaceous Peony Bouquet

2014 Intersectional Peony Blooms - Mid - Week 4

There was lots more color this week in the intersectional peony garden compared to last week's 2014 Intersectional Peony Blooms - Early Mid - Week 3 which was mostly pinks and purples. This week there were reds, yellows, whites, and pinks. Peony 'Keiko' and Peony 'Yellow Emperor' were both new to my garden last fall, and both of them bloomed for the first time for me this year. Peony 'Scarlet Heaven' and Peony 'White Emperor' both bloomed last year for the first time and both returned even stronger with more blooms this year. It was nice to have two 'Emperor's in the garden this year!

Intersectional Peony 'Scarlet Heaven'	Intersectional Peony 'Yellow Emperor'
Intersectional Peony 'Keiko' 愛幕 (Adored) Pink Double Dandy	Intersectional Peony 'White Emperor'

Intersectional peonies are great growers and seem to increase much faster than the traditional herbaceous peonies most commonly grown here in the US. So if you're looking for a peony that won't disappoint, then you should definitely give one of the intersectional peonies available a try. If you're not sure where to start, you can check out the handy price list I compiled this year, 2014 Intersectional Peony Catalog Price Comparison List. Happy Gardening!

2014 Peony 'Morning Lilac' Best Performer - Week 4

Just the purple color would be enough, but that's not all. Peony 'Morning Lilac' was loaded with blooms this year that just kept coming. The flowers are huge, up to 7" in size. The foliage is strong and green, and makes a nice bush on which the up facing flowers sit atop. Peony 'Morning Lilac' is an intersectional peony (a cross between a tree peony and an herbaceous peony) with the best characteristics from both worlds - a strong grower and a wider range of flower color. The blooms are beautiful to look at with dark purple flares emanating from a golden ring of stamens at the center. For unbeatable purple color, reliable blooms, and a strong growing peony that you'll soon be able to divide and share, Peony 'Morning Lilac' is a great choice for Southern gardens.
Peony 'Morning Lilac'
Southern Peony Best Performer


Peony 'Morning Lilac'
Southern Peony Best Performer

2014 Peony Blooms - Mid - Week 4

Lots of double and bomb type peonies started opening this week. If you take a look at last week's 2014 Peony Blooms - Early Mid - Week 3 peony pictures, you'll notice lots of variation in color, but the majority of the flowers were the single type peonies. Now this week we've got big fluffy doubles like Peony 'Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt', some anemone type flowers like Peony 'Top Hat' and Peony 'Gay Paree', and bomb type peonies like Peony 'Ann Berry Cousins' and Peony 'Etched Salmon'. There are also some single peonies still opening like Peony 'America'. Enjoy!

Peony 'Top Hat'	Peony 'America'
Peony 'Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt'	Peony 'Ann Berry Cousins'
Peony 'Etched Salmon'	Peony 'Gay Paree'