Thursday, April 11, 2013

2013 P. Rockii Peony Plant Arrived

Well, the P. Rockii Species Peony from Edelweiss Perennials that I ordered last week arrived today. It looks like a nice size plant, although the leaves looked a little wilted, presumably from its trip through the mail system. So I decided to let it take a dip and rest in the shade this afternoon. The plant was well protected in its box except for its dirt, some of which was dispersed inside the package. The roots of the tree peony were showing since the top soil has been displaced. (This could have been prevented by putting the pot in a plastic bag and using a twist tie to close the plastic bag around the stem. I've gotten several other plants in the mail this way, and it seems to work very well.) So anyway I added a little potting soil and water to the top of 4" pot, that was supposed to be a quart - which I plan to contact the company about. So we will see what they say about that. Otherwise, the plant seems to be a good one with nice foliage. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, which is good since it's so hot all of a sudden. Hopefully it will cool us down a bit and keep the ground a little moist. Then I should be able to plant out this P. rockii on Saturday. :-)

P. Rockii Peony Plant

Sunday, April 7, 2013

2013 P. Rockii Species Peonies at Edelweiss Perennials

Wow. Google is my friend. :-) I found a P. rockii peony using Google offered by Edelweiss Perennials. I've never heard of this nursery before, but I thought I'd take a chance. It seems like they a large variety of plants. They even have several other species peonies to choose from (Paeonia delavayi, Paeonia intermedia, Paeonia lutea var. ludlowii, Paeonia mairei, Paeonia mascula subsp. arietina, Paeonia mlokosewitschii, Paeonia obovata var. willmottiae, Paeonia peregrina, Paeonia potaninii, Paeonia rockii ssp. rockii, and Paeonia tenuifolia). Some of them I've not seen offered elsewhere (like Paeonia intermedia, P. mairei, P. potaninii, P. triternata), and their prices are very reasonable. If the P. rockii peony I purchase from them does well, I may order some additional species plants from them later this year or next year. I'm really excited to see the white and purple blooms of the Paeonia rockii!

P. rockii Peony at Edelweiss Perennials

Thursday, April 4, 2013

2013 Intersectional Peony Catalog Price Comparison List

So. I really like intersectional peonies (also known as Itoh peonies). I've collected quite a few of them, but I definitely do not have them all (especially some of the more expensive varieties). So I've been keeping my eye on their prices, and they have been coming down in price as they become more common in the marketplace. I created a spreadsheet with all of the available varieties for 2013 from nurseries that specialize in peonies. I haven't ordered from all of these vendors, so I can't speak for their quality or reliability, but I thought this might be helpful information for other gardeners out there looking to collect intersectional peonies as well or maybe just add the first one to your garden. Also if you have your heart set on a particular variety, get your order in early, because some of these will sell out (and some of them already have)! Enjoy!

Intersectional PeonyPriceVendor
Al's Choice$89.00Brooks
Ballarena de Saval$70.00Adelman
Bartzella$45.00Solaris Farms
Bartzella$60.00Fina
Bartzella$75.00Swenson
Bartzella$79.00Brooks
Bartzella$79.00Buck Canyon
Bartzella$79.00Peony's Envy
Bartzella$80.00Adelman
Bartzella$80.00Hollingsworth
Bartzella$85.00Birchwood
Bartzella$95.00Song Sparrow
Bartzella$99.00Cricket Hill
Border Charm$39.99Hidden Springs
Border Charm$40.00Adelman
Border Charm$40.00Swenson
Border Charm$45.00Birchwood
Border Charm$45.00Song Sparrow
Border Charm$59.00Peony's Envy
Callie's Memory$59.00Peony's Envy
Callie's Memory$75.00Brooks
Callie's Memory$95.00Solaris Farms
Callie's Memory$100.00Swenson
Canary Brilliants$59.00Peony's Envy
Canary Brilliants$70.00Adelman
Canary Brilliants$75.00Swenson
Canary Brilliants$90.00Solaris Farms
Chief Black Hawk$285.00Brooks
Copper Kettle$150.00Swenson
Cora Louise$60.00Adelman
Cora Louise$60.00Brooks
Cora Louise$60.00Hollingsworth
Cora Louise$75.00Song Sparrow
Cora Louise$80.00Song Sparrow
Cora Louise$99.00Cricket Hill
Court Jester$100.00Swenson
First Arrival$45.00Solaris Farms
First Arrival$60.00Adelman
First Arrival$75.00Buck Canyon
First Arrival$75.00Song Sparrow
First Arrival$75.00Swenson
First ArrivalC$130.00Blossom Hill
Garden Treasure$50.00Solaris Farms
Garden Treasure$55.00Fina
Garden Treasure$65.00Swenson
Garden Treasure$68.00Hollingsworth
Garden Treasure$69.99Hidden Springs
Garden Treasure$79.00Brooks
Garden Treasure$80.00Adelman
Garden Treasure$80.00Buck Canyon
Garden Treasure$85.00Song Sparrow
Garden Treasure$89.00Peony's Envy
Garden Treasure$90.00Bannister
Garden Treasure$99.00Cricket Hill
Going Bananas$40.00Adelman
Going BananasC$130.00Blossom Hill
Gordon E. Simonson$250.00Adelman
Hidden Treasure$35.00Solaris Farms
Hillary$48.00Hollingsworth
Hillary$50.00Adelman
Hillary$55.00Brooks
Hillary$59.00Peony's Envy
Hillary$60.00Buck Canyon
Hillary$60.00Fina
Hillary$75.00Solaris Farms
Hillary$75.00Swenson
Joanna Marlene$75.00Solaris Farms
Joanna Marlene$80.00Adelman
Joanna Marlene$100.00Swenson
Julia Rose$65.00Swenson
Julia Rose$75.00Adelman
Julia Rose$75.00Solaris Farms
Julia RoseC$130.00Blossom Hill
Kaleidoscope$75.00Swenson
Kaleidoscope$99.00Buck Canyon
Kopper Kettle$99.00Adelman
Lafayette Escadrille$48.00Hollingsworth
Lemon Dream$45.00Adelman
Lemon Dream$48.00Hollingsworth
Lemon Dream$50.00Solaris Farms
Lemon Dream$59.00Peony's Envy
Lemon Dream$75.00Swenson
Little Darlin$60.00Birchwood
Little Darlin$65.00Song Sparrow
Lollipop$90.00Solaris Farms
Love Affair$150.00Adelman
Love Affair$150.00Hollingsworth
Maroon Dragon Claw$89.00Cricket Hill
Morning Lilac$64.00Buck Canyon
Morning Lilac$70.00Adelman
New Millennium$200.00Adelman
New Millennium$250.00Swenson
Norwegian Blush$95.00Song Sparrow
Old Rose Dandy$45.00Adelman
Old Rose Dandy$45.00Solaris Farms
Old Rose Dandy$45.00Swenson
Old Rose Dandy $59.00Peony's Envy
Pastel Splendor$35.00Solaris Farms
Pastel Splendor$40.00Swenson
Pastel Splendor$45.00Adelman
Pastel Splendor$65.00Song Sparrow
Pastel Splendor$79.00Peony's Envy
Pastel SplendorC$80.00Blossom Hill
Prairie Charm$40.00Adelman
Prairie Charm$50.00Birchwood
Prairie Charm$50.00Hollingsworth
Prairie Charm$50.00Swenson
Prairie Charm$54.95Hidden Springs
Prairie Charm$59.00Peony's Envy
Prairie Charm$60.00Song Sparrow
Prairie Charm$75.00Bannister
Prairie Sunshine$80.00Hollingsworth
Rosy Prospects$200.00Swenson
Royal Blush$150.00Swenson
Saffron Innocence$200.00Swenson
Scarlet Heaven$40.00Adelman
Scarlet Heaven$40.00Swenson
Scarlet Heaven$55.00Solaris Farms
Scarlet Heaven$59.00Peony's Envy
Scarlet HeavenC$80.00Blossom Hill
Scarlet Heaven$99.00Cricket Hill
Sequestered Sunshine$50.00Solaris Farms
Smith Family Yellow$99.00Adelman
Sonoma Amethyst$65.00Adelman
Sonoma Apricot$55.00Solaris Farms
Sonoma Sun$80.00Adelman
Sonoma Velvet Ruby$80.00Adelman
Sonoma Welcome$55.00Adelman
Sunshine SensationC$130.00Blossom Hill
Unique$48.00Buck Canyon
Unique$60.00Adelman
Unique$75.00Swenson
Viking Full Moon$40.00Solaris Farms
Viking Full Moon$45.00Adelman
Viking Full Moon$50.00Swenson
Viking Full Moon$95.00Song Sparrow
Watermelon Wine$150.00Adelman
Yankee Doodle Dandy$59.00Peony's Envy
Yellow Crown$55.00Solaris Farms
Yellow Emperor$50.00Swenson
Yellow Emperor$55.00Solaris Farms

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

2013 Tree Peony P. Rockii Seeds on Ebay

I've been wanting a P. rockii tree peony for quite some time, but I have yet to acquire one. So I decided to buy some of the P. rockii tree peony seeds that I found for sale on Ebay. They were kind of expensive ($7.50), but not as expensive as the plant itself (which is usually $50+). So I decided to give them a try. Plus the $7.50 price did include the shipping. So I guess it's not too bad. I've purchased some P. rockii and P. rockii hybrid seeds from the APS Peony Seed Sale before, but they have yet to germinate. I'm hoping these will do something since they're advertised as USA grown and fresh. We shall see...


Sunday, March 31, 2013

2013 Soaking Peony Seeds

I knew these little bowls would come in handy when I bought them at Ross a while ago. I haven't used them until now, but I think I've found a pretty good use for them. Now I wish I had bought more! I have 15 different varieties of Chinese Tree Peony Seeds that I need to soak, and I want to keep them separate while I'm soaking the seeds so that I can keep track of the peony variety. These mini bowls are the perfect size, and the colors are so bright, they just cheer me up. (Which is good since with the cold late winter / early spring we've been having, none of my peonies have bloomed yet!) I usually soak my peony seeds overnight to let them soften up a little and absorb some of the water. I ordered 100 of these Chinese tree peony seeds, about 7 of each of the 15 different varieties. They ended up sending me about 8 seeds of each of the varieties. That was nice of them to send a few extra seeds. Hopefully that will increase the chance of getting some of the seeds to successfully germinate! After these peony seeds soak for a day, then I will plant them out into my seedling test bed and let Mother Nature take over!

Soaking Peony Seeds