2017 Peony Blooms Week 2 Early

It was another very colorful week this week for peonies. The early blooms are popping up, but the bushes are in need of some rain. We started the year short of rain in February, but we had a pretty good March. However April is shaping up to be much drier. I hope we get some rain soon! The peonies really need the moisture to keep up with their impressive stem and bud growth at this stage. If they get too dry, both stem and bud growth will be limited. Come on rain! I guess the good thing about not having much rain during this foliage growth period is a decided lack of botrytis blight - which is okay with me! :-)
Peony 'Raspberry Charm'

Peony 'Roy Pehrson's Best Yellow'

Peony 'Coral Fay'

Peony 'Skylark'

Peony 'Lavender'

Peony 'Grace Root'

2017 Questions - Peony 'Old Faithful' Slow to Increase

I received this question from Pauline in zone 5b:

"I have a quick question for you regarding Old Faithful, which you seem to grow. What is your increase of stems year over year?

"I planted Old Faithful in fall 2015, along with 14 other varieties of peonies. (Long story short: I've been apartment living in cities for many years and finally moved out to a house. I've always loved peonies and went a little crazy when I could finally grow them!) The first year Old Faithful had two stems and two flowers. This year there seems to be only three large "buds" emerging. I've looked all over and no one mentions that Old Faithful is slow to increase. It is mentioned regarding other cultivators (I.e. Henry Bockstoce). Old Faithful is in a raised bed of amended soil, spaced 3 feet from other peonies, and the other peonies have at least doubled stems year over year."

"I only ask as we are planning to move and I would like to divide and take the plants to our new home. I am hoping Old Faithful has enough eyes to divide. Thanks for your time on this!"


Peony 'Old Faithful' in 2017 with 2 Stems
I must say that I am quite disappointed with this peony plant right now, actually. The increase was great at first, but now it seems to be struggling. Also this plant is in one of my best beds in the yard. It has good access to sun, moisture, and is free from competition. I have grown this Peony 'Old Faithful' since 2008. The stem increase seemed to be good at first, 1 stem (2009), 3 stems (2010), 7 stems (2011), 9 stems (2012), and then it has been steadily declining ever since. I have tried giving it good compost and organic fertilizer since it has started declining, but it has not helped. The next year it went down to 7 stems (2013), 7 stems (2014), 5 stems (2015), and 3 stems (2016). This year it only has 2 stems (2017) on it. Sometimes it may pop up a late stem, but so far, there are only 2 stems on it this year. So I really can't say if your peony will be large enough to divide. If you want to keep it, you may need to just dig the whole thing up and take it with you. This plant has very thick, large stems and a great habit - which make it seem like it should be a great garden plant, but its recent steady decline has really disapointed me. :-(

2017 Intersectional Peony Hybridizing Failure

I don't think I need an expert opinion to see that this seedling looks like an herbaceous peony. That's too bad. It was so exciting when I first saw this baby pop up 2017 First Intersectional Hybrid Seedling Sprouts!, and was wondering what it might look like someday. I guess I can still wonder, but the results probably won't be what I was hoping for. Oh, well. It looks like it is time to get back to work. This year's hybridizing season is upon us. The peonies are starting to bloom, and its time to try to make some new crosses! If at first you don't succeed, try, try again! (until you do!). :-)
Intersectional Hybridizing Attempt Failed

2017 Garden Art Glass and Peony 'America'

Peony 'America' with Green Art Glass
I was surprised to see this Peony 'America' snuggled up to my green garden art glass and just beginning to open when I came home from work one day this week. The standout red flower and the shimmery green glass looked so good together, I couldn't help but snap a picture. The next day Peony 'America' was showing off its golden yellow center. This time the red leaved Japanese maple next to it begged to be included in the photo. :-) I love to have some "garden art" in the garden year round to give the garden color and interest. What kind of garden art do you have to create extra interest in your peony gardens?
Peony 'America' with Green Art Glass and Japanese Maple

2017 Peony Blooms Week 1 Very Early

Wow! I don't know if I've ever had such a colorful Week 1 Peony Bloom before! Many of the light colored, very early peony buds in shades of white, pale yellow, and pale pink were busted in another late cold snap we got. Despite my best efforts to save the buds earlier in the season, 2017 Protect Peonies from Super Cold Overnight Temps, the foliage was up much too high for me to attempt another intervention in late March. So the blooms in these pics made it through that last cold snap on their own. Most of these very early peony blooms, except for Peony 'Early Scout', came at the very end of the week, and were the first bloom to open on the plant. So more peony blooms to come! :-)
Peony 'Early Scout'


Peony 'Dark Chocolate'


Peony 'Coral Sunset'


Peony 'Coral Charm'


Peony 'Lustrous'


Tree Peony 'Shimadaijin 島大臣 (Island Minister)'

2017 Questions - Peonies for Hot Coastal Climates

I received this question from Charles in Zone 8b/9a:
"Your name was given me as a reliable source for peonies in the very deep South. My wife and I have always wanted to grow peonies but mistakenly thought that where we live in the sea islands of South Carolina would have too warm a winter to be successful. Recently, I have learned that there is at least one variety of double peony dark pink may do well here. That color, however, is not one that we particularly like.

We live on one of the sea islands of South Carolina, the island just above Hilton Head. Most gardening sites place us in zone 8b but the more reliable and studied research show our area of southeastern South Carolina, together with the area around Charleston to be in zone 9a. I guess the reason for this is that we are surrounded by water and receive the benefits of the Gulf Stream. Our summers can be hellish with high temperatures and high humidity. There's a section of our yard that receives full sun from dawn to about 1:00 where we would like to plant them.

I am hoping that you can suggest a couple of "never fail" double peonies in light pink, yellow, white or lavender that should do well for us. I also would like to be advised as to what sites on the web are good for beginners learning to plant peonies. Our soil here is sandy and perfectly neutral so I expect to have to amend the soil to make it possible to grow the plants we want. If you could be so good as to suggest a couple as well as a good source for purchasing them, we'd be grateful. Thank you."
Peonies for Hot Coastal Climates
Just because you have palm trees doesn't mean you can't grow peonies! (Actually a few select few palm trees will grow here in our zone 7b growing zone.) However not all peonies may grow successfully if you have palm trees. For your type of growing environment, I would recommend Intersectional Peonies. These peonies are a cross between tree peonies and herbaceous peonies. So you get some of the best attributes from both of them. You will get the tenacity, heat tolerance, and color range of a tree peony, and you will get a good mix of the foliage and flower habits from an herbaceous peony. All of this plus a plant that becomes well established more quickly than either a tree peony or herbaceous peony (which can take several years here).


Southern Peony Best Performers
As for how to grow peonies where you live, I would check out this article about 2016 Questions - Growing Peonies in South Carolina. Also you can find some good information about peonies that do well in the South on my Southern Peony Best Performers page. There are already several Intersectional (Itoh) peony selections on this page, including Peony 'Bartzella' (a yellow), Peony 'Keiko' (a pink), Peony 'Morning Lilac' (a fuschia pink/purple), Peony 'Sonoma Amethyst' (a lavender), and Peony 'Takara' (a pink with red center). The best white Intersectional Peony I would recommend would be Peony 'Cora Louise', a huge white flower with a dark purple center.


Southern Peony's 2017 Intersectional Peony
Catalog Price Comparison List
As for where to buy these intersectional peonies, a good place to start would be my 2017 Intersectional Peony Catalog Price Comparison List. This is a price comparison list for all of the peony growers who belong to the American Peony Society. While I cannot guarantee their plants, I have ordered from most of these growers, and have been happy with what they've sent me. Another source for Peony 'Bartzella' is Plant Delights Nursery, a local nursery here in NC. I know the Bartzella plants they sell are huge potted peony plants. This would give you a head start in getting your peony established vs. buying a root which is what most growers sell and ship in the fall. Buying a peony from a source that is closer to your own growing zone will also help your peony get established more quickly. Another grower that sells all of their Intersectional Peonies as potted plants is Klehm's Song Sparrow. Since these intersectional peony plants are potted, these vendors can ship them year round, which means you could get your plants in the ground now! Good luck!

2017 Hollingsworth Peonies Order

I couldn't help but notice this really cool Saunders hybrid peony (that I don't have) for sale in the Hollingsworth Peonies catalog this year. It is Peony 'Sanctus', and it seems to have really huge stamens. I don't think I've seen a peony quite like it before. The bright yellow stamens seem to cover over half the length of the pristine white petals, and the stigmas lend a pop of bright red in the center. Gorgeous! I also decided to pick up Peony 'Faithful Dream', one of the peonies on the 2017 Herbaceous Hot 100 Peony Catalog Price Comparison List. I've been wanting this peony for a while, and Hollingsworth Peonies seems to be the only APS Commercial Member offering it this year. Peony 'Faithful Dream' was hybridized by Tim Stanek and comes from a cross of Peony 'Old Faithful' x Peony 'Salmon Dream'.
2017 Hollingsworth Peonies Order