2012 Fall Peony Sales

I got an email this weekend about a peony sale at one of my favorite peony vendors, Khlem's Song Sparrow. Not only is now a great time to plant peonies, but it is also a great time for peony sales. If you're not on the email list of your favorite peony vendors, you should go ahead and sign up so that you'll get all the latest information on their products and special sales. The current sale they're having is for Herbaceous Peonies - 3 for the price of 2! I already have 3 boxes of peonies waiting for me to plant, but I'm still tempted to order more (and I probably will) since this is such a great deal. The deal is good from now until November 15, 2012. So you've got some time to check it out, but shop early for the best selection! Also you can check the websites of other peony vendors this time of year. Sometimes they will post sales or specials to their web sites as well. You may be able to pick up a peony you've been wanting a bit cheaper or try out a different peony that wasn't on your list. Either way, happy peony shopping! :)
Khlem's Song Sparrow Fall 2012 Sale

2012 Ebay Peony Order - American Greenhouses

I decided to buy some Peonies on Ebay last week, and they arrived yesterday. The label on the Priority Mail box they arrived in said they were from American Greenhouses, Hosta Gardens of Burr Ridge. It appears that this company imports many of their plants, and the plants I received appear to have been purchased for resale, not grown by the seller. The peonies were packed with peat moss inside brown paper bags. These peonies have not yet had food, water, or sunlight this year. It is almost July here, well into summer, so I will try to baby these plants in hopes they are able to establish some roots this year. The buds on the peonies had already sprouted, and they are all past ready to leaf out. So hopefully with some sun, soil, and water, they will survive.
Ebay Intersectional Peony Order


Intersectional Peony Bare Roots

This morning after I unpacked the roots, I put them each in a bowl of water to soak for a few hours. Hopefully this will restore a bit of moisture to the roots before I plant them out. I think since my Intersectional Peony Bed is not yet ready for plants, I will plant these in my seedling test bed until this fall. By then the Intersectional Peony Bed should be ready for planting, and I will move these peonies when the weather is cooler.
Peony Roots Soaking in Bowls of Water

2012 Peonies on Ebay

I decided to buy some intersectional peonies on Ebay this week. I ended up paying about $40 each with shipping. So the prices were reasonable for intersectional peonies, since they are usually much more expensive than herbaceous peonies. I am curious to see them when they arrive. I've purchased peonies on Ebay before in the past, but never Itoh Intersectional Peonies. It will be quite obvious when the peony roots arrive if they are actually intersectional peonies or herbaceous peonies. I've actually had pretty good luck getting the correctly labeled peony varieties on Ebay (better than Wild's). :) I'm sure it depends on the vendor, though. So hopefully these will be the correct varieties. I'm wondering if they are tissue culture peonies or actual root divisions. Also I'm curious to see how they perform, grow, and bloom. The varieties I got were: Peony 'Canary Brilliants', Peony 'Lemon Dream', Peony 'Old Rose Dandy', and Peony 'Scarlet Heaven'. All but one of them were hybridized by Roger Anderson and registered in 1999. Peony 'Old Rose Dandy' was hybridized by Laning and registered in 1993. I'm really looking forward to receiving these intersectional peonies and hope to get them into my new intersectional peony garden bed soon!

2012 Intersectional Peony Order

Sometime last week I got the idea that I wanted to put in a new bed for intersectional peonies. I currently have my intersectional peonies planted in various sunny spots in the garden, and one bed that I think has too much shade (see my post on 2012 Peony Experiments - Sun vs. Shade ). So I decided I would move the plants that are in too shady of a location and create a new bed for them in a sunnier spot. And since I was creating a new intersectional peony bed, it seemed only logical that I needed to add a few more to my collection to help fill up this new bed. :) So it seemed to be good timing that I got an email from Song Sparrow advertising 15% Off All Container Plants! Their sale lasts until June 20, 2012. So I decided to get a couple of intersectional peonies from them, and a couple from Swenson Gardens as well. I've never placed an order with Swenson Gardens before. So I'm curious to see their shipment and plant quality. I'm also excited to get this new intersectional peony bed planted! :)

Peony 'Lafayette Escadrille'	Peony 'Little Darlin'

2012 Spring Peony Orders!

Wow! It's not even spring yet, and I'm getting my peony orders in early this year. I decided it would be a good idea since the past couple of years I've waited until the fall, and some of the peonies I had hoped to order were already sold out. Today I finished cutting back and removing all of the dead peony foliage from last year. So now I'm dreaming about all of the new varieties I want to order from the peony catalog I got in the mail and the online catalogs as well. :) Here are a few of the peonies that I'm ordering tonight. One of them is Peony 'Garden Treasure' which was hybridized by Hollingsworth. I've been wanting this one since 2007 when the price was $120. The price this year is almost half of that ($68), so I figure it is time to buy it. Patience definitely pays off. I'm also ordering some lavender/purple hued peonies and some brownish-red 'chocolate' colored peonies. I love all the different colors!

2011 Fall Peony Orders

Last minute! I guess you get whatever's left when you order last minute. There were several varieties I wanted to order, but have now sold out. I think there was only one variety sold out of those I was interested in when I looked last month. So I thought it would be okay to wait another month. I guess everyone else did too! So these are my final selections for my fall peony order this year. I really like the color and center on Peony 'Ann Berry Cousins'. Peony 'Carina' and Peony 'Nova' are both selections from hybridizer A.P. Saunders and will go in my Saunders peony garden. Peony 'Border Charm' and Peony 'Cream Delight' are both somewhat yellow in color which is a rare color for peonies. Peony 'Buckeye Belle' is an American Peony Society Gold Medal Winner. So all of these flowers should make excellent additions to my collection...

2010 Live Plants - Peonies!

Wow! Guess what I got in the mail today. Live Plants! The order from one of the vendors came really fast. I guess I'll be planting peonies this weekend. I'm so excited. I can't believe how quickly the first order arrived. I just placed the order 2 weeks ago! I was able to get some fresh top soil put out to expand the peony seedling bed today. So I'll be planting seeds from the APS convention soon. Now I need to finish creating the garden labels for the plants. I just printed the labels for the peony variety names. Next I'll need to print labels for the seedlings. It is still raining here. Hopefully it will let up soon in time to plant peonies and peony seeds this weekend.

2010 Fall Peony Orders

It's that time again, and I've waited a bit late this year. I'm sure I've missed some choice selections from some vendors. So I'm putting in my fall peony orders today. Here's a sampling of some of the varieties I'm ordering this year. I'm replacing Peony 'Athena' since the first one I had died out after a couple years. I'm going to pay a little closer attention to this one to see how well it grows in our climate. Peony 'Goldilocks' and Peony 'Etched Salmon' are both new to me and have both been on my 'Want' list for a while now. Peony 'Pink Derby' is also new to me. This one, though, I saw for the first time this year at the 2010 American Peony Society Convention in Janesville, Wisconsin. It was entered in several of the competitions, and it was just such an eye catching variety. I just had to have it! I'm also ordering a couple peonies for my Saunders' peony garden. I have a collection of peonies from Professor A. P. Saunders. I guess I'm partial to his hybrids.

2009 Fall Peony Orders

Well, it's that time of year again, fall planting! I can hardly wait for the orders to arrive all year. You have to get your orders in early in the year if you want to get certain varieties. The best ones sell out quick. This fall planting season is especially unique because a peony I have been wanting for 3 years (or more) has finally arrived, Peony Lavender, from hybridizer Saunders. I would love to expand the work done in the field of lavender colored peonies. All shades of purple are my favorite color. I have been trying to get Don Hollingsworth to sell me a Peony Lavender root for some time, and this year he decided to put it in his catalog. So I didn't waste any time putting my order in. I also ordered it from Hidden Springs Flower Farm last year, but they decided they couldn't ship any. So I requested they send it this year, but they didn't and just sent a refund. That was very disappointing, but now I finally have one from Don.

The fall orders have been arriving these past few weeks. I waited until I had them all so that I could take some pictures and compare the packing materials, the size and condition of the roots, and my overall opinion of the vendors. So this is what I came up with:

Gilbert H. Wild

• Packing Material: sawdust and clear plastic bag
• Size of Roots: small to medium
• Condition of Roots: wet and firm

Hidden Springs Flower Farm

• Packing Material: peat moss and plastic garbage bag
• Size of Roots: medium
• Condition of Roots: moist and firm

Hollingsworth Peony Nursery

• Packing Material: peat moss, biodegradable peanuts, and green translucent bag
• Size of Roots: large
• Condition of Roots: dry and firm

Song Sparrow

• Packing Material: cedar shavings and clear plastic bag
• Size of Roots: large
• Condition of Roots: moist and firm