Articles about Peony planting
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Thursday, February 7, 2013

2013 Planting APS Peony Seed Packets

Well I finally got my seeds planted yesterday from the 2012 APS Seed Sale. I know it is really late, but the ground never really freezes here anyway. So the soil is still very workable. Anyway I got all 5 varieties planted - P. ostii (10 seeds), P. rockii (5 seeds), P. rockii & P. suffruticosa mixture (5 seeds), P. suffruticosa - purple (4 seeds), and P. veitchii - pink, single (11 seeds). I soaked them overnight to try to help them germinate. I kept them in separate containers so I could keep track of the varieties. Then I planted them with peony variety name labels in my new seedling test bed, which has really nice soil. So if they will grow anywhere, that would be the place. I'll record their germination rates in the spring. Also after reading my previous post about purchasing the seeds at the 2012 APS Convention Peony Seed Sale, I realized there was one more variety, P. suffruticosa 'Kamada Nishiki' - lavender pink (5 seeds). I just found the packet of peony seeds hidden on my desk. So I'll soak those tonight and plant them tomorrow.

Soaking APS Peony Seeds

Monday, December 10, 2012

2012 Newly Planted Peony Sprouting in Fall

As you can see this peony is a little confused. Yes, we have been having a quite mild winter so far this year, and yes it was 70 degrees this weekend. Nice weather for me, but confusing weather for the new peonies I just planted this fall. They think it's spring! I wish. :) Unfortunately this is not good. The weather here is definitely going to get colder, and there's no way the buds on these two sprouts will ever open. That's not good for this peony root either. The plant is going to waste a lot of energy from it's storage roots to try to grow these sprouts, the colder weather here will kill the sprouts, and the roots will have to send up more sprouts in the spring. The waste of that much energy will probably set this plant back at least 1-2 years in it's development.
Fall Sprout on Newly Planted Peony 'Pink Parasol Surprise'

This has happened to me several times previously. The problem is caused because these roots are used to a much cooler climate (since this root was purchased from Song Sparrow - a Wisconsin climate - zone 5a vs zone 7b here). For this peony root to see these kinds of temperatures, it thinks it is spring. This is not always a problem for every root I purchase, but it has happened several times in the past. My hopes is that in the future there will be more commercial southern peony growers so that southern peony aficianados can orders their roots from growers with a climate similar to their own.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

2012 Peony Mulch with Paper Bag Weed Barrier

With a half day off from work yesterday, I was able to get in a little bit of work in my yard. It's always tough in the fall when the time changes. The days are already getting shorter and the hour you lose just makes it that much darker when you finally do get home. I've been needing to mulch around the new peonies in my Saunders peony bed where I added on to it this fall. There is quite a bit of open space around some of them, and a few fall weeds had already begun to sprout. A great chemical free way to prevent weeds is with a layer of mulch, but what to do when the weeds are already sprouting? A good way is to lay down a barrier underneath the mulch. I am definitely not in favor of the plastic weed barriers. They never biodegrade. The weeds grown through them eventually, anyway, and you are left with a really big mess! What I like to do, that I've done in the past, is lay down a layer of brown paper as a weed barrier underneath the mulch. It protects the bed from weeds for a few seasons, and by the time is it no good, it has already started to biodegrade - so no mess! Also you can just keep adding layers of paper and mulch if you like. Here's a step by step pictorial to get you started.

Materials Needed: Paper Bags, Scissors, and Mulch


Peony Bed Addition with Weeds Sprouting


Peony Bed with Paper Bag Weed Barrier


Peony Bed with Mulch Piled on Paper Weed Bag Barrier


Peony Bed with Fresh Mulch Over a Paper Bag Weed Barrier

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

2012 How to Plant an Herbaceous Peony


Dig Hole for Herbaceous Peony

Herbaceous Peonies should be planted similar to Intersectional Peonies, taking care to make sure the root is facing the proper direction. This is very important for intersectional peonies as well and even more so with tree peonies. The first step and perhaps the most important step in planting a peony is preparing the soil. I usually dig at least a 3 foot round hole for each root, spading the soil with my shovel to make sure the dirt is nice and loose. After the hole is dug and the soil has been loosened, I add some organic fertilizer and lime (dolomitic limestone) to the soil in the hole and mix it in. The fertilizer is used to add nutrients to the soil and the lime is used to adjust the PH of the soil. In my area, most soils are acidic, and peonies prefer a more neutral to very slightly acidic soil, around a PH of 6.0 to 7.0.

Put Herbaceous Peony Root in Planting Hole

Next take a look at the peony root and make a smaller hole in the middle of your 3 foot round hole that will accommodate the size of the peony root. Herbaceous peonies stems die back to the ground each year. So there is not woody or semi-woody stem on the root. The herbaceous peony roots are usually a large storage root with perhaps smaller side roots and pink buds on the crown. The pink buds are where the new shoots and foliage will begin to emerge. Make sure to put the roots into the soil and try to put the buds pointing up towards the sky. In my southern climate the pink buds of the crown can be planted even with the soil, so that the roots are below the soil and the pink buds are slightly above, even, or just barely under the soil.

Cover Herbaceous Peony Root with Soil

Once the peony root has been planted, I cover the planting hole with a 1-2 inch layer of mulch, taking care to put only a small 1/2 inch layer of much over the crown itself. I may even leave it so the pink buds are barely visible or just below the mulch. You don't want to put too much mulch on herbaceous peonies in this climate. Otherwise the roots may not get enough chilling hours needed for blooming. They do however need enough mulch to retain moisture (It does get really hot here!) and prevent weed growth. After the peony has been mulched, I water the newly planted peony root. You can water your root before or after you mulch it. I just like to water mine afterwards because it seems like the soils stays in place a little better with the mulch already on top.

Mulch Herbaceous Peony

Thursday, October 25, 2012

2012 APS Convention Peony Auction Plants

I got a lot of fall planting done yesterday. I'm not finished yet, but I got a lot accomplished. One thing I finished planting were the peonies I won at the 2012 American Peony Society convention auction. This was the first time I bid on anything at the auction, and I was really happy with what I received. I won three peonies at the auction this year, and each of them was from a different donor. I won Peony 'Halcyon' from Adelman Peony Nursery, Peony 'Top Brass' from A-1 Nursery, and Peony 'White Cap' from Scott Parkerson. It was so nice of all of the companies and individuals to donate their time, peony roots, and shipping fees to raise money for the American Peony Society. It was also nice to be a part of the process and actually bid on the peonies. I got some nice varieties that I wanted for my garden and got to help the APS at the same time. If you're interested in donating peonies for next year's convention and/or are interested in attending next year's convention so you too can participate in the auction (and lots more), please contact the American Peony Society. I hope to see you there! :)

APS Convention Auction Plant, Peony 'Halcyon'

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

2012 Brother P-Touch Peony Outdoor Plant Labels

I am working on making some plant labels for my garden today. Brother is a great company for label makers. I used to use the Brother P-Touch label makers that were handheld. The first one I purchased required batteries. The second one I purchased you could plug in, which really saved a lot in batteries. Now I have the Brother P-Touch that you can connect to your computer. This allows you more flexibility in what you want to put on the labels, the fonts you can use, the layout, etc. I always use the 1" Extra Strength Adhesive Tape for outdoor applications. I have been using this for years now, and it does not peel off or fade. I would highly recommend it if you're looking for labels for your garden that will last and last!

Brother P-Touch Label Editor Software

Brother P-Touch PC-Connectable Label Maker

Thursday, October 11, 2012

2012 Questions - Itoh Peony Planting Depth

Itoh Peony 'Barztella'
I received this question from Karen in Zone 6:
"How deep do you plant your Itoh peonies?"

Itoh Peonies are intersectional peonies. Toichi Itoh is credited with being the first hybridizer to successfully cross a tree peony with an herbaceous peony, resulting in an intersectional peony. Since these peonies are a cross between tree peonies with woody stems and herbaceous peonies with herbaceous stems, the stems of intersectional peonies are semi-woody. These stems can be left on the plant and cut back to the lowest bud or be cut off completely. This picture is of intersectional Peony 'Bartzella' whose stems were cut back to above the lowest bud. I have drawn a line on the picture to show the proper planting depth for this type of peony. The stems (above the red line) face up towards the sun, and the roots (below the red line) should be planted below ground. So the proper planting depth for intersectional (Itoh) peonies is right at this joint between the stems and the root. If your intersectional peony does not have any above ground stems, then I would recommend planting the roots below the soil with the eyes or buds facing up towards the sun. The eyes or buds should be even with the soil level or just below the surface of the soil.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

2012 How to Plant an Intersectional Peony


Intersectional Peonies

Intersectional Peonies should be planted similar to Herbaceous Peonies, except a bit more care should be taken to make sure the root is facing the proper direction. This is important for herbaceous peonies as well, but more so with intersectional, and even more so with tree peonies.

Dig Hole for Intersectional Peony

The first step and perhaps the most important step in planting a peony is preparing the soil. I usually dig at least a 3 foot round hole for each root, spading the soil with my shovel to make sure the dirt is nice and loose. After the hole is dug and the soil has been loosened, I add some organic fertilizer and lime (dolomitic limestone) to the soil in the hole and mix it in. The fertilizer is used to add nutrients to the soil and the lime is used to adjust the PH of the soil. In my area, most soils are acidic, and peonies prefer a more neutral to very slightly acidic soil, around a PH of 6.0 to 7.0.

Put Intersectional Peony Root in Planting Hole

Next take a look at the peony root and make a small hole in the middle of your 3 foot round hole that will accommodate the size of the peony root. Intersectional peonies are hybrids of tree peonies and herbaceous peonies, and they exhibit some characteristics of both. The intersectional peony roots usually have a definite delineation between the roots and the stem. The stem usually has pink buds on it, from which the new shoots and foliage will begin to emerge. So make sure to put the roots into the soil and put the stems/buds pointing up towards the sky. In my southern climate the point where the roots meets the stem can be planted even with the soil, so that the roots are below the soil and the stems/buds are above the soil.

Cover Intersectional Peony Roots with Soil

Once the peony root has been planted, I cover the planting hole with a 1-2 inch layer of mulch. You don't want to put too much mulch on peonies in this climate. Otherwise the roots may not get enough chilling hours needed for blooming. They do however need enough mulch to retain moisture (It does get really hot here!) and prevent weed growth. After the peony has been mulched, I water the newly planted peony root. You can water your root before or after you mulch it. I just like to water mine afterwards because it seems like the soils stays in place a little better with the mulch already on top.

Mulch Intersectional Peony

Monday, September 24, 2012

2012 Peony Experiments - Intersectional Divisions

I divided a huge Peony 'Bartzella' this week with 24 stems. I ended up with 10 divisions. Four of the divisions have large root systems, and I know they will grow fine. However 6 of them had little to no root left on them. Since Peony 'Bartzella' DNA seems to be quite valuable these days, and I am not currently in the business of cloning :), I thought I'd plant them out to see if they'd survive, grow, and thrive. Some of them have only a stem and a bud on them. So those I planted a little deeper hoping for an adventitious root. I know some peonies are known to create adventitious buds. So I'll be curious to see if these are able to develop adventitious roots. :) I planted these out in my new peony seedling test bed which I guess is now just my peony test bed. I also had a little helper that sprinkled a bit of water on them. :)
Peony 'Bartzella' Division
with Small Roots
Peony 'Bartzella' Division
with Small Roots Planted
Peony 'Bartzella' Division
with Tiny Roots
Peony 'Bartzella' Division
with Tiny Roots Planted
Peony 'Bartzella' Division
with No Roots
Peony 'Bartzella' Division
with No Roots Planted


Peony Helper

Sunday, September 23, 2012

2012 Intersectional Peony Garden Planting

Wow! Planting the intersectional peonies in their new garden bed was a dream. The new soil was so soft and even the earth below was easy to work with considering how much rain we've had lately. At first I couldn't decide on the layout. I wanted the layout to be different than my other peony beds. I finally decided on concentric circles with Peony 'Bartzella' in the center.

Intersectional Peony Bed Layout

I guess I will be enlarging this bed very soon. I pretty much filled it up. I dug up or divided 6 intersectional peonies that I already had elsewhere in my garden - shadier spots, which is why they needed a new home! I've had them for years with little to no bloom. I'm hoping with the move they will be happier and produce lots more blossoms! Those peonies were Peony 'Copper Kettle', Peony 'Cora Louise', Peony 'First Arrival', Peony 'Hillary', Peony 'Julia Rose', and Peony 'Morning Lilac'. I also added my four intersectional Ebay peonies Peony 'Canary Brilliants', Peony 'Lemon Dream', Peony 'Old Rose Dandy', and Peony 'Scarlet Heaven'. Then I planted two new intersectional peony roots that arrived last week Peony 'Garden Treasure' and Peony 'Sonoma Amethyst'. I can't wait to see how this intersectional peony garden develops over time!

Intersectional Peony Bed Planting

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

2012 Soil for New Peony Beds

Well I finally got the mountains of new dirt raked out into nicely shaped beds for my peonies. One peony bed will be for seedlings. The other peony bed will be for intersectional peonies. I'm kind of excited to see how these grow in the spring. With such nice soil to grow in these should do really well! The intersectional peony bed turned out to be 9ft X 12ft. The peony seedling test bed turned out to be 7ft X 8ft. They're not huge, but they're pretty good size. I'm sure I'll be able to squeeze lots of intersectional peonies and peony seedlings into them for now - and I'm sure the beds will grow in size later! ;) The next thing I need to do is figure out the layout. Then when my fall shipments arrive, I'll know where to plant them. :)

Intersectional Peony Bed Soil


Peony Test Seedling Bed Soil

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

2012 New Dirt for New Peony Beds

Woo hoo! I got my dirt for my new peony beds today! I am so excited. As you can see there are two mountains of dirt for me to work on. One mountain of dirt is for my new intersectional peony bed, and the other is for my new peony seedling test bed. Now that my Peony Bed Soil Solarization project is complete, I had my new dirt delivered this week. This new dirt is much better than the clay subsoil beneath it. So this should make for a nutrient rich mix of soil for my new peony beds. Now I just need to spread it out and mix it into the subsoil a bit. You can see my APS Gold Medal peony garden and Saunders' peony garden in the background of the intersectional peony bed picture. In the background of the peony seedling test bed picture, you can see the old peony seedling test bed. I am so excited about this new dirt. I have brought good soil in for my vegetable garden before, but never for my peonies. All of my current peonies are just planted right in whatever zone 7 dirt happens to be in my garden, and they grow and bloom just fine. So I can't wait to see the difference this good quality dirt is going to make!
New Dirt for Intersectional Peony Bed


New Dirt for Peony Test Seedling Bed

Monday, August 6, 2012

2012 Carolina Country Old Peonies for New Gardens

I was delighted to see an article on peonies in latest issue of Carolina Country magazine. Carolina Country is a free magazine that's published by my electric cooperative and has several features every month. One of the feature sections is on gardening, and this month there is an article called 'Old Peonies for New Gardens' by L.A. Jackson. It goes over several tips for planting peonies in our area like planting peonies in September, growing them in 6 hours of sun, a planting hole at least 18" deep X 12" wide, and planting no more than 2 inches deep. I agree with most of what he says. However I never plant my peonies 2 inches deep. I plant them pretty much even with the surface, with their pink eyes just barely peeking out. He also mentions, "Setting peony divisions too deep is one of the main reasons these beauties fail to flower.", with which I wholeheartedly agree! That's probably the most important thing in the whole article! It is very important to plant peonies as close to the surface as possible. He also mentions some "time-tested" varieties for southern gardens: Peony 'Felix Crousse' (raspberry red double), Peony 'Festiva Maxima' (white double), Peony 'Flame' (red single), Peony 'Monsieur Jules Elie' (pink double), Peony 'Nymphe' (pink single), and Peony 'Sarah Bernhardt' (pink double). I grow all of these selections, and they have all bloomed for me here in my zone 7 southern garden. So these are all probably safe bets. :) Happy Gardening!

Thursday, August 2, 2012

2012 Peony Bed Soil Solarization

Wow! I just came back home to find the sun had done a great job not only solarizing my soil, but also my plastic sheeting! I put down a clear plastic sheet to solarize the soil for my Intersectional Peony Bed Preparation in the middle of June. The plastic sheet I used for the intersectional peony bed was not new. It was a few years old. It held up pretty well until last week when it started to get a few tears in it, but when I came back and took a look at it yesterday, it was half gone and in shreds! So I guess the bed is officially solarized! The ground looks pretty sterile, and it has been a little over 6 weeks now since I first put the plastic sheeting down. It usually takes about 4-6 weeks to complete the soil solarization. So I guess the plastic sheeting held up just long enough! Now the planting bed should be ready for the new, good soil to go on top and get mixed in - after I have fun picking up all of the plastic bits, of course! ;-)

Intersectional Peony Bed Soil Solarized


I also started another soil solarization project a couple weeks after the first one for a new peony seedling test bed. I used a newer plastic sheet, and this one seems to be holding up much better. As you can see the weeds and grass underneath the plastic are all dead and brown. So this bed should be ready soon too. Maybe I can get the dirt next week!

Peony Seedling Test Bed Soil Solarization

Sunday, July 1, 2012

2012 First Peony Planting

I got my order of Peonies on Ebay planted today. I figured since we got a small break in the 100°+ heat wave it would be a good time to get them in the ground. Since some of the peony seedlings in my seedling test bed almost looked like toast, I decided I should probably plant these new peonies, that are going to be stressed with no roots and no leaves in the middle of summer, in a different location. I planted them next to my deck instead which seems to have more moist soil and only about a half day of sun. So this will hopefully be a better location. As you can see I planted these intersectional peonies with their sun starved pink shoots showing just above the mulch. Hopefully they will survive our harsh summer and develop some substantial roots this fall.

Peony 'Canary Brilliants'


Peony 'Scarlet Heaven'

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

2012 Intersectional Peony Bed Preparation

Since I decided to create a new bed for my intersectional peonies, my mind has been busy thinking of all the things I need to do to complete the project. Last weekend I started the process by laying out a clear plastic tarp over the section of ground where I will plant the new peony bed. I placed bricks on the edges of the tarp to keep it in place. The sun will heat up the ground and the plastic will prevent the heat from escaping. So it will get really hot under there to kill the current grass, weeds, unsprouted seeds, even bugs and plant pathogens such as viruses and bacteria! This process is called soil solarization, and the best time to do this is in the summer. So now is a good time to start if you'd like to prepare some peony beds for fall planting! If you're leery of chemicals, this is a good organic way to prepare the soil since no chemicals are needed to kill weeds. After the soil has been sterilized, I am planning to get a truckload of pro-mix and garden soil delivered. I usually just plant my peonies in the ground as is with a bit of lime and organic fertilizer mixed in. However the soil in the site for my new intersectional peony bed is not very good since this is a section of my yard that used to be forest and was scraped clean with when my house was built. So there is little to no top soil in this area. The grass and weeds don't even really want to grow here. Since I want to make sure my intersectional peonies are successful, I am going to do a little more advance preparation this time.

Intersectional Peony Bed Soil Solarization

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

2011 Peony Kincaid Garden Markers and Labels

I planted my peonies a week ago, although I realized I had run out of plant markers for them. For the last few years I have been using Kincaid Gardens 100% Stainless Steel Plant Markers, and they have been awesome. They don't rust, are very sturdy, and definitely last longer than any other plant markers I've tried. So last week I put temporary labels on the new peony plantings, and today I'm replacing them with the Kincaid Gardens plant markers that I just received in the mail this week. They are definitely more expensive than other plant markers, but they also last! Here's a link to their site if you're interested... Kincaid Gardens I also use Brother P-Touch Extra Strength Adhesive Tape for printing the peony labels, which also last for years. I haven't had any of those fade or peel yet, and I've been using those for a few years now as well. Happy planting!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

2011 Fall Is For Peony Planting!

So I got a copy of the Fall 2011 Creative Ideas magazine in the mail from Lowe's home improvement store. There was a page about fall being the optimum time to plant, and peonies were listed as one of their suggested plants (which I think is awesome). However they described peonies as "old-fashioned flowers". I can't decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing as far as publicity for the flower is concerned. There are many varieties of modern peonies and loads more colors to choose from than what people think of as the traditional "old-fashioned" peony varieties i.e. pink, red, and white double style herbaceous peonies. I guess "old-fashioned" could also mean that they can stand the test of time, but I'm not sure that's the idea most people would get from that adjective. The magazine also suggests that peonies be planted in "rich soil with the crowns 2 inches below the soil." However if you plant your peony like that here in NC (which interestingly enough is where Lowe's home improvement is based) you may not get any blooms. I plant all of my peonies with the crowns right at soil level. When I first tried to grow my own peonies, I followed the directions on the box that my peony came in. (I know, I know, the box was a bad sign, but I didn't know that back then.) The box said to plant the root 3-4 inches below the soil. That poor peony. There was never even a chance it would create a bud. It was fighting just to get leaves up to the light! It grew several years and the number of stems slowly increased, but never a bud! Anyway, I guess it's good that peonies are being advertised as one of "the" plants to plant in the fall. I guess I should get busy...

Saturday, October 9, 2010

2010 APS Peony Seed Planting

I actually got all of my seeds planted that I purchased at the American Peony Society Convention this June. Usually the seeds I plant are from peony cultivars. I don't usually buy seeds, but this year I purchased several varieties of species peony seeds. I made plant labels for each seed type. I decided to plant them in a grid instead of rows, which is how I usually plant my seeds. I ordered them alphabetically in the grid in case the plant label is lost (hopefully not). These are the varieties that I planted: P. brownii, P. caucasica, P. mascula, P. mlokosewitschii, P. ostii, P. peregrine, P. rockii, P. tenuifolia, and P. veitchii. I don't currently have any of these except P. tenuifolia, which hasn't bloomed for me yet. So I am curious to see how these different species peonies will grow here in my southern climate.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

2010 Fall Peony Planting

Today was a beautiful fall day. It went from burning hot summer to nice fall weather in one week. It will probably be winter next week! So it goes. I was actually able to plant my peonies today in the nice fall weather. I like to use Espoma Organic fertilizer and lime in my planting holes. The soil here is generally a bit acidic. So I add the lime to try to balance the PH of the soil. I am excited about the peonies I planted today. I'm not sure if any of them will bloom next spring, but the varieties are all ones I've had my eye on for quite some time. I didn't get any award winners this year, but I did get some nice varieties that have unique characteristics. Peony 'Rose Heart' is supposed to have a darker pink center. I am curious to see how that one will bloom here. Peony 'Goldilocks' is supposed to be a yellow herbaceous and Peony 'Etched Salmon' is supposed to be a salmon, which are not very common colors. I also planted Peony 'Pink Derby', which was awesome as a cut flower when on display at the APS convention this year, and Peony 'Athena', which is a replacement because the first one I had died out. I am hoping Peony 'Athena' will survive and thrive this time. Only time will tell...