2016 Species in APS Handbook of the Peony 1st Edition

It was nice to take a little time for myself this past weekend and catch up on a little reading. I purchased the Manual of the American Peony Society First Edition (aka APS Handbook of the Peony 1st Edition) almost three years ago now (before my son Maddox!). Yikes! Yes, it got put to the side even though I was almost finished. However, a hot bath with some peony soaking salts from K. Hall Design Peony Products and a little free time netted me a few more pages. I was able to finish the section on species peonies. Apparently there was much confusion and many more categories of species peonies back when this book was written in 1928. The author links many of the species classes together noting there are little difference between x and y categories. It seems this topic has been subject to many revisions over the years with each plant discoverer and Paeonia genus researcher using their own methods of peony species classifications. It will be nice when one day all of them have been DNA mapped and we are able to classify them conclusively!
Manual of the American Peony Society
Plate XXXIX. Officinalis rubra plena

2016 New Intersectional Peony 'Sugar Plum Fairy'

When I got an email from Hollingsworth Peonies this past weekend about their new peony cultivars, I was definitely curious. What a nice surprise to find out about a newly registered and currently available intersectional cultivar. The flower's name is Peony 'Sugar Plum Fairy'. The short bush and pale pink flower of this peony seem aptly named after a petite, cotton candy colored ballerina, The Sugar Plum Fairy from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. Tchaikovsky being one of my favorite composers and me being a little ballerina for almost 10 years is reason enough to buy it now, and so I did. I'm guessing this little dancer is even pretty than her picture. I've also added this newly offered Peony 'Sugar Plum Fairy' to my 2016 Intersectional Peony Catalog Price Comparison List!

Hollingsworth Peonies'
Intersectional Peony 'Sugar Plum Fairy'

2016 Questions - Peony 'Bartzella' Seeds on Ebay

I received this question from Ted in zone 8:
"You may have seen the "Bartzella" seeds for sale on ebay? I wonder how they get Bartzella to produce seeds?"


Yellow "Intersectional" Paeonia Peony Seeds on Ebay
Actually I haven't seen those. I just looked them up. I believe those seeds are a hoax. My Peony 'Bartzella' has never set any seed, and I'm guessing yours hasn't either. The seller is likely playing into the fact that Itoh peonies are generally expensive (although their prices have come down quite a bit already). So they are trying to sell these "seeds" for less than the cost of an intersectional root, but highway robbery, nonetheless. I definitely would not purchase those seeds, as they are likely some seeds from an undesirable, common peony and will most likely not be yellow at all. Buyer Beware for sure!

2016 Ice Storm Peonies Iced!

I guess I was wrong about the 2016 First Snow of the Year (and Maybe Only???). Winter Storm Jonas hit us with quite a bit. It looks like snow in the pictures, but there's not really much snow. It's more like 1-2 inches of ice with a little snow mixed in. I guess that's why there's a big tree snapped in half in my back yard and our power was out for almost a day! I'm so thankful it's back on, and we can get warm again.
Intersectional Peony 'Yellow Crown' on Ice
The peonies look like they're taking whatever Jonas is dishing out. You can't really read their plant name tags anymore, but I think the ice will melt, and they will be okay. Most of my peonies are still tucked safely underground. However, there are a few intersectional and tree peonies with above ground stems. I think they're going to make it, though. With the extra layer of ice, the peonies take on a shiny sheen, making them almost jewel like.
Tree Peony on Ice
Remember that New Peony Breaking Dormancy Too Early? With our sometimes warm weather last week, it decided to peek out through the extra layer of mulch I put on top of it. Now, however, the ice has seemed to put a stop to its growth. The foliage still has not unfurled yet. If the foliage opens or the stem grows taller, it probably won't make it. Since it is still short, there's a chance this one could survive. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. We'll see...
Intersectional Peony 'Prairie Charm' on Ice

2016 K. Hall Design Peony Products

I first discovered these K. Hall Designs products almost two years ago now, on our first wedding anniversary. I was pregnant at the time and couldn't travel far. So we decided to check in to a local spa. When we went to relax in the pools at the spa, I couldn't help but notice these peony products. The candles, lotion, and bath salts really caught my eye with "PEONY" printed boldly on a minimalistic pale pink label. I loved the scent (of course!), especially since it was not overpowering or fake smelling. The fact that the lotions and bath salts had not been dyed pink with artificial colors was a big plus in my book! I really wanted the lotion (of which they had a sample you could test). However, it was sold out. So I purchased the bath salts instead, which I have thoroughly enjoyed. When you add these peony salts to your bath, the entire bathroom smells like a field of peonies! I have since gotten the lotion as well, and it is just right. It moisturizes your hands and smells sweet without being sticky, greasy, or too strong smelling. So if you are looking for some mostly natural (their web site says at least 95% natural) peony toiletries, definitely check these out...

K. Hall Designs Peony Lotion and Bath Salts

2016 Peony on My Wish List 'Silvia Saunders'

Peony 'Silvia Saunders'
4 Years Propagation Time Until Available in 2020
Photo Courtesy of Hidden Springs Flower Farm
When doing the research for my 2016 Intersectional Peony Catalog Price Comparison List, I came across this peony I just had to have, Peony 'Silvia Saunders'. If you know a little about me, then you'll know I am a huge A.P. Saunders fan. I've been collecting Saunders peonies for quite some time and created a separate garden space, which I call my Saunders Peony Garden in 2007. If you know a little about A. P. Saunders, you'll know that Silvia was his daughter and carried on her Father's work. So when I saw this beauty, I knew I just had to have it. Unfortunately the first time I saw it, it was already sold out. I contacted the grower, Harvey Buchite at Hidden Springs Flower Farm and asked if it would be available again next year. Unfortunately it won't be available again until 2020! It is still going on my Peony List anyway... What a gorgeous flower!
Silvia Saunders, Daughter of A. P. Saunders
Also when looking up this flower, I came across this video, Paeonia 'Silvia Saunders' that David Michener at Nichols Arboretum created, which really shows just how beautiful this plant is in person! David has been doing a lot of great work with historic peony varieties, going to great lengths to catalog and preserve them in the Matthaei Botanical Gardens of Nichols Arboretum at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. From reviewing the Nichols Arboretum Peony Database, they first acquired Peony 'Silvia Saunders' in 1921! So that points to this flower having great longevity. Check out David's video. Their mature specimen of Peony 'Silvia Saunders' is just gorgeous!
David Michener with Peony 'Silvia Saunders'
Video, Paeonia 'Silvia Saunders' from MatthaeiBotanicalGardens

2016 First Snow of the Year (and Maybe Only???)

Snowing Hard During the First Snow of the Year
I can't believe it! It snowed yesterday! The temperatures the day before were almost 60°, and then the next day it was snowing like a blizzard. It snowed fast and hard for about an hour, and it did start to accumulate. However, it was gone as fast as it came. This snow event was a metaphor for our entire winter so far. Hot one day, cold the next. No wonder everything is confused, like this New Peony Breaking Dormancy Too Early. Hopefully most of my peonies will stay dormant until the proper time (at least a couple months from now), will receive enough chilling hours for bud set (since this has been kind of a warm winter so far), and spring will bring lots of brilliantly colored peony blooms!
First Snow of the Year