Articles about Peony seed
Showing posts with label seed. Show all posts

Thursday, December 8, 2016

2016 Paeonia rockii Purple Tree Peony Seeds

Try, try again. Remember those Purple Peony Rockii Seeds from Ebay Canada last year? Well, after the P. Rockii Seeds Arrived via Air Mail from Canada they seemed a bit dry, and some of the bonus seeds were cracked upon arrival. None of the Purple Paeonia rockii tree peony seeds I ordered or any of the bonus seeds actually germinated this spring. I was quite disappointed. However, I decided to email the seller to see if she might be willing to replace the seeds since none of the actually sprouted. I explained to her that none of the seeds sprouted and nicely asked if she would send me another set of 10 seeds from this year's harvest. She agreed as long I remembered to email her again in the fall with a reminder. I emailed her two weeks ago with my address, and this week I received another set of Paeonia rockii Purple tree peony seeds in the mail. She didn't have to replace them, but she did. I am really happy and excited to see if this set of P. rockii tree peony seeds will actually sprout. It is little things like this that renew my faith in people. I am off to plant these seeds right away!

Replacement Paeonia rockii Purple Tree Peony Seeds

Monday, September 5, 2016

2016 Planting Red Tree Peony Seeds from Georgia

Well, we finally got a break in the dry weather. We've had two rain storms in the past week, and we were sorely in need. We actually did a get the outer edge of Hurricane Hermine that brought us some of this rain, and I am very thankful. So now things in my garden seem like they are happy again instead of pouting and wilted. Now that summer is starting to fade and we are starting to get some cooler temperatures, I took some time this Labor Day to plant out the Red Tree Peony Seeds from SP Reader in GA I received a couple weeks ago. If your garden has started to cool down and moisten up a bit, then now would be a good time to plant peony seeds in your area too. If you don't have any peony seeds, and you'd like to plant some, you should definitely check out the APS Seed Sale. It is only for APS Members, but if you are this interested in peonies and you're not an APS Member yet, you should definitely sign up!

Red Tree Peony Seeds and Sign

I planted these red tree peony seeds in my fledgling tree peony garden. There is still some space here to plant in some nice soil. So I decided to go ahead and plant out these seeds there. To plant the seeds I just got some garden gloves on to prevent dirt from getting under my finger nails. Since I didn't want to cultivate the entire area, I just made some seed holes for the peonies using my thumb. The soil wasn't too hard to work with, and I was able to make a nice divot in the ground for each seed. Then I placed one seed in each hole, covered them with soil, and tamped it down. I can't wait to see what these seedlings may bring. It will take years to know if any of these seedlings will be garden worthy plants, but hopefully it will be worth the wait!

Planting Holes for Red Tree Peony Seeds

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

2016 Red Tree Peony Seeds from SP Reader in GA


Southern Peony Reader Photo - Red Tree Peony

Remember the Red Tree Peony photo from a Southern Peony reader from Georgia, USA that I posted earlier this year on Facebook? Well somehow I got lucky enough for him to offer to send me some seeds from the plant. These "Red Tree Peony" seeds just arrived last week, and there are 56 seeds in the bag. I am really excited to see what these seeds have to offer. The bloom on the mother plant is just gorgeous. So I am thrilled to see what the babies may look like. I might wait another week or two before I plant these out in my peony seedling test bed since it has been so hot and dry here the past couple weeks. We just got another rain storm that just wet the pavement yesterday, but it didn't rain enough to measure. We are still waiting for a big rain storm! At this point a weakened hurricane that just sits on top of us for a little while wouldn't hurt. Even though that much rain would start to wash everything away (like mulch), it would be better to have plants that are well watered and missing some mulch than well-mulched plants that are dying of thirst!

Red Tree Peony Seeds from a SP Reader in Georgia, USA

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

2016 Planting First Intersectional Peony Seeds


First Intersectional Peony Seeds from
Peony 'Lemon Chiffon' and Peony 'Martha W.'

I have been mulling over where and how to plant these seeds. I am sure I am putting way too much thought into this. I'm also sure that Mother Nature would likely take much better care of these tiny seeds than I could or would have the time to. So I definitely want to plant them outside somewhere, just where is the question. I have been considering planting them with mulch, without mulch, or maybe even in a peat pot planted in the ground to try to protect it from bugs and critters. I am leaning toward the latter, and even have a few peat pots sitting in my Amazon shopping cart waiting to be checked out.

First Intersectional Peony Seeds Planted in Peat Pots

I did end up ordering the peat pots from Amazon, deciding that I'd try a mix of Mother Nature with (hopefully) a little extra protection from the peat pots. There were 7 seeds total from my 2016 First Intersectional Peony Seeds! harvest this year. There were 2 seeds from Peony 'Lemon Chiffon' and 5 seeds from Peony 'Martha W.' So I got them all lined out and planted. I filled the peat pots with composted cow manure and a bit of soil. I dug a small trench and sunk all 7 peat pots into the ground. Then I pressed one seed into each pot with my finger, and I sprinkled a half a teaspoon of Eco Scraps Organic Fresh Start Plant Food over each peat pot. This fertilizer's N-P-K ratio is 2-14-0 and it designed for "optimum root growth". I'm hoping that this fertilizer will help these baby peony seedlings grow strong roots whenever they sprout!

Eco Scraps Fresh Start Organic Plant Food
and Peony Seeds in Peat Pots


After I sprinkled a little bit of the fertilizer over each peat pot, I firmed the soil up, around, and over the pots. Then I pushed a bit of mulch over the soil covered pots. Lastly I watered them in a bit to make sure they are moist. This particular spot near my house usually is pretty moist already. So hopefully I won't have water them very much. I may pull a bit of the mulch back in the spring just in case there is too much mulch cover. I can't wait to see how many of these will sprout in the spring! The outer casing of one of the Martha W. seeds had already cracked open. I'm not sure if that one will sprout. I put it at the top of the row so I can keep track of it and find out later whether it actually sprouts. We'll see!

Peat Pot with Peony Seed, Compost, Soil, and Plant Food

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

2016 First Intersectional Peony Seeds!


First Intersectional Peony Seeds from Peony 'Martha W.'

Well, the seed pods from my first intersectional peony crosses (herbaceous peony X tree peony) finally popped open, and I found (drum roll, please - dun tah duh duh) - 7 seeds! I know it's not a lot, but it's something! Now I'm just trying to figure out where to plant them. I want to make sure they all live, but I'm definitely not up for keeping them indoors with grow lights. So I'm going to have to figure out the safest, most fertile, and most likely to germinate place to grow them. I'm thinking it should be somewhere close to the house so that they will be more protected from wildlife and also have soil with more moisture since the ground near the house gets some extra water run off from rain storms.

Failed Intersectional Seed Pod on Peony 'Martha W.'

Not all of the seed pods that swelled actually produced seed. There were some that swelled, but when they popped open, it was obvious that there were no viable seeds inside. The seed pod developed, but the seeds did not. You can see inside the failed seeds pods miniature seed like vessels hanging from each side of the pod wall. However even though not all swollen pods produced seed, I was able to successfully produce seed on two different herbaceous peony mother plants - Peony 'Martha W.' and Peony 'Lemon Chiffon'. There were 5 seeds from Peony 'Martha W.' and 2 seeds from Peony 'Lemon Chiffon'.

Peony 'Lemon Chiffon' with Tree Peony Pollen Tag

I can't wait to see what kinds of plants these seeds grow into. It just seems wild thinking about the unique genetic code that lies within each of these tiny seeds. I am so excited to see them sprout! Also these seeds were hybridized with tree peony pollen that was given to me. This year at the 2016 American Peony Society Convention, I was able to collect some tree peony pollen of my own, most of it coming from the 2016 APS Peony Convention Tour of Solaris Farms. There were a rainbow of tree peonies blooming in those beautiful gardens. It will be very exciting to see what and how many intersectional peony seeds I will be able to generate next year from the tree peony pollen I collected this year.

First Intersectional Peony Seeds from Peony 'Lemon Chiffon'

Monday, June 27, 2016

2016 Intersectional Peony Hybridizing Seed Pods


Seed Pod on Peony 'Martha W.'

Well I think my Peony 'Martha W.' plants had about 20 blooms on them this spring. However, between kids, work, and the weather, I was only able to pollinate about half of them - 11 blooms. I cut off all of the other blooms that I wasn't able to pollinate so that only the 11 I intentionally hybridized would attempt to set seed. There were 6 blooms pollinated on one plant and 5 blooms pollinated on the other. So of all the pollinated flowers, only half of those actually set seed. One reason for some of the failure may have been because I left the bags that cover the cross on for too long. I didn't think it would harm them, but apparently it does. When I found out, some of them had already been left on for 3-5 days. Apparently you're only supposed to leave the bag on for 1-2 days at the most. This could be why none of my previous crosses have worked.

Peony 'Martha W.' Being Pollinating (April 2016)


1 Seed Pod and 5 Failed Seed Pods on Peony 'Martha W.' (June 2016)

These Peony 'Martha W.' plants were crossed with tree peony pollen. So I can't wait to see what grows from these seeds. Even though I have my first ever intentionally hybridized seeds growing, I don't think I'll feel the entire experiment is a success until I see some of these seeds sprout. (And then I probably won't feel I've made a successful cross until I see them bloom!) So this process will take several years before the real results are known. However, I am excited that the process has begun, and the first step has succeeded!

Seed Pod and Failed Seed Pod on Peony 'Martha W.'

It is easy to see which seed pods are successful and which seed pods failed to produce seed. The seed pods that are actually growing seeds begin to swell and continue to swell as the months progress. However, the failed seed pods will start to shrink and turn brown as the months progress. You can see the very large, swollen, bright green seed pod in the same photo as a very small, dark brown, shriveled seed pod above. Now that I know some rare seeds are coming, I will have to think of a special place to plant these seeds. Of course I will document the germination rates for these seeds next spring. When the leaves start to sprout, then at least I'll know that these truly are intersectional seedlings and will know that the second step has succeeded. I can't wait to see what pops up!

Peony 'Martha W.' Being Pollinated (April 2016)


4 Seed Pods and 1 Failed Seed Pod on Peony 'Martha W.' (June 2016)

Sunday, January 24, 2016

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!

Friday, December 18, 2015

2015 P. Rockii Seeds Arrived via Air Mail from Canada


The Purple Peony Rockii Seeds from Ebay Canada that I ordered three weeks ago arrived earlier this week. They arrived sooner than Ebay expected them to get here. Ebay's system said "Estimated delivery Tue, Jan 26 - Mon, Feb 01". I'm sure glad they were wrong. It's already a bit late here, since I planted my own peony seeds 4 months ago in September, 2015 Fall Peony Seed Planting and Donation. These peony seeds may not have enough time to germinate this year, but I hope they will or at least some of them will. People often say that it takes two years to germinate a peony seed. However, the majority of the seeds I plant will germinate the first year, especially if they are from my own garden (that way I know the seeds are fresh, and I can plant them right away).

So I got these P. rockii seeds planted right away. The seller was kind enough to send some extra of the Purple Paeonia Rockii seeds and 3 Pink Double Paeonia Rockii seeds as a gift. However, it seems the Pink Double Paeonia Rockii seeds were crushed in shipping or had been in the plastic too long, as the shell of the seeds had been broken and some of the shell pieces were stuck to the plastic bubble wrap. One of these seeds was missing its shell entirely, leaving the inner white part of the seed exposed. I planted all of them anyway. I will be especially curious to see if all 3 of these Pink Double Paeonia seeds germinate. We shall see what spring will bring! :-)

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

2015 Purple Peony Rockii Seeds from Ebay Canada

I have been wanting to grow a flower like this for a long time. I love purple! A peony with purple petals and dark purple flares is right up my alley. So I'm hoping these Paeonia rockii babies will be just as gorgeous as their beautiful mother. Of course when I came across the listing for these seeds on Ebay, I just had to buy some. Also this seller is in Canada, not in China where these plants originate. So I may have a better chance of actually receiving the correct seeds that are from this year's crop as stated in the auction. Since it will take a few years to actually find out what these babies look like, a lot of patience is in order to see their beautiful blossoms. I will definitely document their germination rates in the spring! Let's hope they all grow! :-)

Purple Paeonia Rockii with Dark Purple Flares
Photo Courtesy of The Seed Harvest

Sunday, September 20, 2015

2015 Peony obovata Seed Pod with Explosive Red Color


Paeonia obovata var. willmottiae Colorful Seed Pod

Wow! WoW! WOW! This isn't the first year that Paeonia obovata var. willmottiae has bloomed for me, and I hope it's not the last! If you don't currently grow any species peonies, this is my argument for you to start! :-) Of all of the species peonies I've tried to grow, this is the one I've had the most success with. It did take some time for it to get established, but it was well worth the wait! Paeonia obovata var. willmottiae first bloomed for me in 2014 First Bloom on Peony P. obovata var. willmottiae. The white flowers are quite nice and will brighten up a shady spot that most peonies won't grow in. If you are looking for peonies with fall color, the red color of this species peony seed pod is just amazing!

Paeonia obovata var. willmottiae Colorful Seed Pod

Friday, September 18, 2015

2015 Fall Peony Seed Planting and Donation

Well, it wasn't a bumper crop of seeds this year, but I did get some varieties of seed that I haven't gotten seed from before. So I'm really excited to see those grow. A couple of the plants that produced seed only produced one seed - like Peony 'Cream Delight' and Peony 'Rose Garland', and also this very red semi-double peony that I got from Klehm's Song Sparrow, which was supposed to be Peony 'Paree Fru Fru' (a light pink bomb), but was not... Anyway, I'm excited to see what kind of children these plants will produce.

2015 Peony Seed Planting Labels

Since seed production was kind of low this year, I planted most of my own seeds. There were only two varieties that produced more than 10 seeds this year - Peony 'Pink Spritzer' which had 40 seeds and Peony 'Raspberry Firefly' which had 37 seeds. I planted 10 of the Peony 'Pink Spritzer' seeds and 7 of the Peony 'Raspberry Firefly' seeds. The rest of the seeds from these two varieties, I will donate to the American Peony Society Seed Distribution Program. From checking their seed list, they don't currently have any seeds of Peony 'Raspberry Firefly'. So that's exciting to be able to share seeds that no one currently has access to purchase.

Saturday, September 12, 2015

2015 Intersectional Peony Seeds 'Lafayette Escadrille'


Seed and Seed Pod of Peony 'Lafayette Escadrille'

Of all the seeds I collected this year, I think the ones I am most excited about are from Peony 'Lafayette Escadrille'. Yes, that's right 'Lafayette Escadrille', an intersectional peony. I have only ever gotten one seed from an intersectional peony before, and that was from Peony 'White Emperor' in 2014. That one seed did not sprout. This time instead of just one seed, I got 9 seeds. However I am not sure if they are viable, but I am going to plant them anyway and hope for the best. Intersectional peonies do not usually set seed and are mostly infertile. So I'd love to be able to get one of their seeds to actually grow and get an intersectional seedling. I'll let you know if anything comes up!

Seed Pod and Seed of Peony 'Lafayette Escadrille'

Thursday, September 3, 2015

2015 Collect Late Peony Seeds

This week I made the last search through my garden for peony seeds. There were lots more seeds ready now at the beginning of September than there were about a month ago at the end of July. One month makes a big difference in peony seed production. In fact some of the seeds I went to harvest had already fallen to the ground. Luckily it was easy to identify which peony they came from since my peonies are not planted too close together and not all of them produced seed. So don't wait too long to collect your peony seeds in your garden so they don't get lost.

Seed Pod and Seeds of Peony 'Raspberry Firefly'

This year wasn't a stellar year for seed production. Some of usually most reliable and productive seed producing peonies failed to make any seeds this year. However I did get some seeds from peony varieties that I have never gotten seed from before. Some of those varieties that produced seed for the first time for me were: Peony 'Bowl of Beauty', Peony 'Green Halo', Peony 'Green Lotus', Peony 'Lafayette Escadrille', Peony 'Pink Spritzer', Peony 'Raspberry Firefly', Peony 'Rose Garland', and Peony 'Strawberry Wine'. I am really excited to have some different genetics in the peony seedlings I'm growing. I can't wait to see what these peonies grow up to be 5 years from now!

Fallen Seeds of Peony 'Raspberry Firefly'

Monday, July 27, 2015

2015 Collect Early Peony Seeds


Collect Early Peony Seeds

I can't believe it's already that time of year! Several of my peony's seed pods have ripened and popped open. There are many more varieties that are still ripening and haven't opened yet. However now's the time to collect the seeds that are ready so you don't lose them. They could easily be lost by getting eaten, or just falling to the ground and getting swept away by wind or rain. All you really need to collect seeds are a few bags for the seeds and a marker to write the peony variety name on each bag.

Seed Pod of Peony 'Strawberry Wine'

Also now is a great time to start collecting seeds for the American Peony Society Seed Distribution Program. If you don't plan to grow all or any of your seeds, you can donate them to the American Peony Society. Also as a bonus, donors get free seeds for every two varieties of peony seed they donate. So now is the time to start collecting as many different varieties as possible for donation. People who don't have any peony seed to donate, but would like to try growing peonies from seed, can also purchase seed from this program. :)

Seed Pod of Peony 'Roy Pehrson's Best Yellow'

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

2015 New Hot Pink Double in Peony Seedling Test Bed

There did turn out to be one interesting peony blooming in my peony seedling bed this year. It was a bomb looking double hot pink peony. My recent experience tells me that the bloom form of a peony seedling may change as the plants matures. So next year the bloom form could be totally double. I have flagged this plant to be moved to my other less crowded peony seedling bed for closer inspection and monitoring. I plan to move this peony in the fall after the foliage has gone dormant so as not to disturb the plant too much.

Hot Pink Bomb Double Peony Seedling


Hot Pink Bomb Double Peony Seedling in Peony Seedling Bed

Some other things I noticed about this peony that interest me are the presence of size buds. There were three buds on one stem, one main bud and two side buds. These side buds opened in succession after the main bud, which extended the plant's bloom period. Also this peony appears to be a late bloomer. Take a look at the photo above, and you can see all the buds opened nicely without any late season sun and heat damage. This is a great feature for late season peonies that are going to be grown in the South since some late season bloomers here sustain damage to the blooms that prevent them from opening fully.

Hot Pink Bomb Double Peony Seedling Still Blooming
After All Other Peony Seedlings Done Blooming


Hot Pink Bomb Double Peony Seedling
Side Buds Still Blooming Late in the Season

The only drawback to this peony I see so far is that the stem was bent in half, and although all of the buds still opened, they were upside down. I'm not sure if the lack of stem strength is due to all of the competition with the other seedlings in my peony seedling bed (my peony seedling bed is quite crowded) or perhaps because it is at the back of the bed near the woods, and it is reaching for the sun. Either way by moving this peony and observing it separately, I will be able to discern its true habit. Hopefully it will stand up when it is on its own. :-)

Sunday, May 10, 2015

2015 Happy Mother's Day Itoh Peony Bouquet


Happy Mother's Day Itoh Peony Bouquet for My Sister In Law

This year I gave a peony bouquet to my sister in law for Mother's Day. She bought me flowers by surprise last year, and I wanted to return the favor this year. I also brought her a dark pink purple peony I grew from seed and helped her plant it in her back yard. The peony bouquet I brought her was entirely an Itoh peony bouquet. This was the first year I had enough blooms in my intersectional peony garden to cut an entire mixed color bouquet of just Itoh peonies. I think she really liked them. She said the biggest blooms were her favorites, blooms of Peony 'Bartzella', Peony 'Cora Louise', and Peony 'Garden Treasure'. There were also blooms from Peony 'Keiko' and Peony 'Sonoma Amethyst' in her bouquet.

Pink Purple Single Peony Plant as a Mother's Day Gift for My Sister In Law

Itoh peonies originated in Japan. So it is fitting that I gave this gift to my sister in law who is originally from Japan. I also took a photo of her pink purple single peony in front of one of my laceleaf Japanese maples after I dug it up for her. They look so nice together. The purple of the laceleaf Japanese maple really pulls out the purple in the peony blooms. She told my Mom that she had purchased a peony from Walmart, but it never grew, and I knew I had to bring her one to help ignite a new passion for peonies! I hope she enjoys all of the peonies. :-) Happy Mother's Day!

Saturday, May 2, 2015

2015 Peony Donation for Carolina Plant Swap

Yesterday I was so excited to be able to bring three blooming peonies to the Carolina Plant Swap. These three peonies are all unique peonies I grew from seed. They are all single blooming peonies that bloom early. Two of these peonies, a light pink one and a dark pink one, came from seed from Peony 'Pink Princess'. The other dark pink peony came from seed from Peony 'Lady Alexandra Duff'. I hope these peonies will increase in bloom and size each year and the recipients of the peonies will enjoy them for years to come. Peonies do not generally like to be moved in spring. So these need to be planted right away. These peonies may sulk a bit this year. Don't worry. Don't fertilize them or overwater them. They just need some time to get established and settled into their new homes. Next year they should come back bigger and even better! :-) Enjoy!

Peony Donation for Carolina Plant Swap

Friday, April 24, 2015

2015 Free Peony Seeds from APS Seed Program

I got my free seeds from the American Peony Society Seed Distribution Progam this week! The APS has a benefit that allows seed donors to select a free packet of peony seeds for every 2 varieties of peony seeds you donate. I donated seeds last fall to the program, which allowed me to pick out Free Seeds for Peony Seed Donors when the seeds are distributed in the spring. Last year was the first year I donated seeds to the program. In previous years, I have purchased seeds from the program. So it was nice to get free peony seeds this year! I got every variety I requested, except one that was sold out. I ordered p. clusii, p. ludlowii, p. mascula subsp. bodurii, Zi Die Ying Fen- (Purple Butterfly in the Wind), and Jack Nordick’s Lactiflora Mixture. Apparently p. mascula subsp. bodurii was already sold out. So p. delavayi was substituted. I ordered these seeds only about a week after the peony seed list was posted to the web. So popular seeds sell out quickly. If you haven't gotten your order in yet, now's the time to do it before all of the best varieties are sold out!

Free Seeds from the APS Seed Distribution Program

I planted the seeds in my peony seedling bed a couple days after I received them. There was a space in the bed where several species peony varieties never sprouted for me. These were seeds I'd purchased from the APS Seed Program and planted in 2010. I think 5 years is long enough to wait to see if they will sprout. So some new species seeds have their spot now, and we'll see next spring if any of these seeds germinate!

Friday, September 19, 2014

2014 Peony obovata willmottiae Red & Blue Seed Pods

Wow! I said it once about this peony when it bloomed, First Bloom on Peony P. obovata var. willmottiae, and I'll say it again! If you want a peony that's going to brighten up your shade garden in spring and in fall, then Peony P. obovata var. willmottiae is definitely the peony for you! The white blooms with a burgundy and gold center really brighten up the shade garden in the spring, but the eye-popping fuchsia, red, and blue seed pods are like watching a brightly colored fireworks display in early fall! So if you were thinking you needed another reason to grow this shade loving beauty, then you've definitely got one!

Peony obovata var. willmottiae Seed Pod

Friday, September 12, 2014

2014 Peony Seeds for APS Seed Distribution Program


Peony Seeds for Donation

I finally got my peony seeds packaged up that I am donating to the American Peony Society Seed Distribution Program. I am donating peony seed from 5 different peony varieties (Peony 'Golden Frolic', Peony 'Miss America', Peony 'Pink Luau', Peony 'Pink Princess', and Peony 'Roy Pehrson's Best Yellow') of my 2014 Collected Peony Seeds. The rest of the varieties I have already planted to see what nature has created. Since I donated 5 varieties of seed, that means I can select 2 packets of peony seeds from other growers for FREE! That's cool! For every two varieties of peony seed you donate, you can select one packet of free seeds. If you'd like more information on how you can get your own free seeds, check out the American Peony Society Seed Distribution Program. All of the donated seeds go to Scott, the newly elected APS President, who runs the APS Seed Distribution Program. I can't wait to see what varieties of seed will be available from this year's harvest!

Peony Seeds Packed for Shipment