Wednesday, March 19, 2014

2014 Peonies on Ice


Ice Coating on Tree Branches

When I awoke yesterday morning, everything was covered in a thin layer of ice. This has been a particularly long and cold winter for us this year. Tomorrow is the first day of spring, and winter just wanted to make sure we knew it wasn't over yet! We've already had a couple of 70 degree days (on the weekends usually - thank goodness), but they have been rare. This weekend we should have another 70 degree day, and I can't wait. Luckily yesterday was very cloudy all day so the sun shouldn't have caused any frost damage to the foliage.

Peony 'Li Yuan Chun' with a Coating of Ice

As you can see there are already a couple of swelling buds on this tree peony since the last time I photographed it in February - 2014 First Signs of (Tree Peony) Life). Even the peony sign has a layer of ice on it. I'm not sure how much longer it will be until this tree peony blooms, but I am ready for it. I can't wait to see its blooms for the first time. Come on spring!!!

Peony Sign 'Li Yuan Chun' with a Coating of Ice

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

2014 Peony Seedling Plastic Label Failure

When I went outside a couple weeks ago I noticed something strange with some of my peony seedling labels... They were all on the ground. Apparently these plastic labels are too lightweight and could not withstand the constant freezing and thawing of the ground here. I guess that's a valuable lesson learned. I won't know the parent name for of all of the Chinese peony seedlings that I so carefully labeled and had my Chinese husband translate for me. What a waste! Well I guess I'll stick to the tried and true steel and copper plant labels that I've been using since 2007. These have never been heaved from the ground like these plastic plant labels! Too bad I never got around to putting these on my peony seedling map... I guess if any of them turn out to be worthwhile seedlings, they'll get a new name anyway! It would have been nice to know their heritage, though, assuming they were labeled correctly in the first place.

Plastic Peony Seedling Labels


Copper and Steel Peony Seedling Labels

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

2014 Chinese Tree Peony Seeds Starting to Sprout

At the suggestion of one of my readers, I decided to check my Chinese tree peony seeds to see if they had started sprouting. Sure enough, they had! A couple of them are just starting to push through. So it's definitely a bit early to get a count for the germination rate. I'll have to wait a little longer to see how many actually sprout. The only ones that are starting to sprout so far are the Chinese Peony Seeds from Ebay that I planted on 3/15/2013. There are 6 different colors of the Chinese tree peony seeds that I bought on Ebay, which came labeled as P1-P6, and only 2 of them are sprouting now - P3 Blue & P4 Green. So there are 4 other types/colors of these tree peony seeds that have not yet sprouted. None of the Chinese tree peony seeds I purchased from Ali Express and planted on 4/1/2013 have started to sprout yet. So I will have to check on those Chinese tree peony seeds again later.

Chinese Tree Peony P3 Blue Seeds from Ebay Sprouting


Chinese Tree Peony P4 Green Seeds from Ebay Sprouting

Friday, February 28, 2014

2014 First Signs of (Tree Peony) Life


Tree Peony 'Li Yuan Chun'

Well even though it doesn't quite feel like spring yet, and it is still February, I am starting to see the first signs of life on some of my tree peonies (including some of the very cheap sticks / Tree Peonies I Planted from China!) I can't believe how much one of the more mature and Expensive Tree Peonies from a tree peony farm here in the US, Tree Peony Garden, has already started to grow. I'm guessing this one will have at least one blossom this year (or maybe more), and I can't wait to see its lovely pink flower. Also 3 of the Tree Peonies from China via Ali Express are already showing signs of life via tiny red buds originating at their base. I planted most of these as deep as possible hoping they would develop their own roots and prevent any possible grafted roots from sprouting. So we'll see when their leaves open whether these are tree peony sprouts or herbaceous peony sprouts.

Sprouting Tree Peony from China via Ali Express


Sprouting Tree Peony from China via Ali Express


Sprouting Tree Peony from China via Ali Express

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

2014 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 2014 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! (Also if you'd like your company to be listed here, please join the American Peony Society as a Commercial Member, since this is where I obtain my peony grower information.)

Price Change from Last Year
Adelman - mostly same or higher
Bannister - lower
Birchwood - same
Blossom Hill - same
Brooks - mostly lower or same
Buck Canyon - same or lower
Cricket Hill - mostly same or lower
Fina - same
Hidden Springs - same
Hollingsworth - mostly higher or same
Peony's Envy - higher or same
Solaris Farms - same or lower
Song Sparrow - same or higher
Swenson - mostly lower or same

Intersectional PeonyPriceVendor
Al's Choice$75.00Brooks
Ballarena de Saval$70.00Adelman
Bartzella$45.00Solaris Farms
Bartzella$60.00Fina
Bartzella$60.00Swenson
Bartzella$75.00Brooks
Bartzella$75.00Buck Canyon
Bartzella$79.00Peony's Envy
Bartzella$79.99Hidden Springs
Bartzella$80.00Adelman
Bartzella$80.00Hollingsworth
Bartzella$85.00Birchwood
Bartzella$90.00Song Sparrow
Bartzella$99.00Cricket Hill
BartzellaC$150.00Blossom Hill
Berry Garcia$125.00Brooks
Border Charm$35.00Swenson
Border Charm$40.00Adelman
Border Charm$44.00Hollingsworth
Border Charm$45.00Birchwood
Border Charm$60.00Song Sparrow
Callie's Memory$75.00Solaris Farms
Callie's Memory$75.00Swenson
Callie's MemoryC$130.00Blossom Hill
Canary Brilliants$60.00Swenson
Canary Brilliants$70.00Adelman
Canary Brilliants$70.00Brooks
Canary Brilliants$79.00Peony's Envy
Canary Brilliants$90.00Solaris Farms
Chief Black Hawk$225.00Brooks
Chief Black Hawk$350.00Swenson
Copper Kettle$80.00Solaris Farms
Copper Kettle$150.00Swenson
Cora Louise$60.00Adelman
Cora Louise$60.00Birchwood
Cora Louise$60.00Brooks
Cora Louise$60.00Buck Canyon
Cora Louise$60.00Swenson
Cora Louise$74.95Hidden Springs
Cora Louise$79.00Peony's Envy
Cora Louise$99.00Cricket Hill
Court Jester$60.00Swenson
First Arrival$45.00Solaris Farms
First Arrival$60.00Adelman
First Arrival$60.00Brooks
First Arrival$60.00Swenson
First Arrival$75.00Buck Canyon
First Arrival$125.00Bannister
First ArrivalC$130.00Blossom Hill
Garden Treasure$40.00Solaris Farms
Garden Treasure$55.00Fina
Garden Treasure$60.00Swenson
Garden Treasure$65.00Buck Canyon
Garden Treasure$68.00Birchwood
Garden Treasure$69.99Hidden Springs
Garden Treasure$80.00Adelman
Garden Treasure$80.00Bannister
Garden Treasure$80.00Brooks
Garden Treasure$84.00Hollingsworth
Garden Treasure$89.00Peony's Envy
Garden Treasure$99.00Cricket Hill
Going Bananas$40.00Adelman
Going BananasC$130.00Blossom Hill
Hidden Treasure$35.00Solaris Farms
Hillary$50.00Adelman
Hillary$50.00Brooks
Hillary$50.00Swenson
Hillary$60.00Buck Canyon
Hillary$60.00Fina
Hillary$64.95Hidden Springs
Hillary$75.00Solaris Farms
HillaryC$130.00Blossom Hill
Japanese Itoh$35.00Swenson
Joanna Marlene$80.00Adelman
Joanna Marlene$100.00Swenson
Julia Rose$50.00Swenson
Julia Rose$75.00Adelman
Julia Rose$75.00Brooks
Julia Rose$75.00Solaris Farms
Julia RoseC$130.00Blossom Hill
Kaleidoscope$75.00Buck Canyon
Kaleidoscope$75.00Swenson
Kaleidoscope$90.00Brooks
Kaleidoscope$125.00Hidden Springs
Kopper Kettle$99.00Adelman
Lafayette Escadrille$60.00Song Sparrow
Lemon Dream$44.00Buck Canyon
Lemon Dream$45.00Adelman
Lemon Dream$45.00Solaris Farms
Lemon Dream$50.00Brooks
Lemon Dream$50.00Swenson
Lemon Dream$79.00Peony's Envy
Little Darlin$60.00Birchwood
Little Darlin$60.00Song Sparrow
Lollipop$75.00Solaris Farms
Love Affair$156.00Hollingsworth
Luxuriant$175.00Brooks
Maroon Dragon Claw$89.00Cricket Hill
Momo Taro (Peach Boy)$45.00Solaris Farms
Morning Lilac$64.00Buck Canyon
Morning Lilac$70.00Adelman
Morning Lilac$70.00Brooks
Morning Lilac$100.00Swenson
New Millennium$120.00Solaris Farms
New Millennium$250.00Swenson
Old Rose Dandy$35.00Swenson
Old Rose Dandy$44.95Hidden Springs
Old Rose Dandy$45.00Adelman
Old Rose Dandy$45.00Solaris Farms
Old Rose Dandy $89.00Cricket Hill
Pastel Splendor$35.00Solaris Farms
Pastel Splendor$35.00Swenson
Pastel Splendor$45.00Adelman
Pastel Splendor$47.95Hidden Springs
Pastel Splendor$70.00Song Sparrow
Pastel SplendorC$80.00Blossom Hill
Prairie Charm$35.00Swenson
Prairie Charm$50.00Birchwood
Prairie Charm$50.00Brooks
Prairie Charm$54.95Hidden Springs
Prairie Charm$60.00Bannister
Prairie Charm$60.00Hollingsworth
Prairie Charm$65.00Song Sparrow
Rosy Prospects$99.00Adelman
Rosy Prospects$99.00Brooks
Rosy Prospects$200.00Swenson
Royal Blush$150.00Swenson
Saffron Innocence$200.00Swenson
Scarlet Heaven$35.00Swenson
Scarlet Heaven$40.00Adelman
Scarlet Heaven$45.00Solaris Farms
Scarlet Heaven$79.00Peony's Envy
Scarlet HeavenC$80.00Blossom Hill
Scarlet Heaven$89.00Cricket Hill
Sequestered Sunshine$45.00Solaris Farms
Sequestered Sunshine$75.00Swenson
Shining Light$35.00Swenson
Singing in the Rain$125.00Brooks
Sonoma Amethyst$65.00Adelman
Sonoma Amethyst$65.00Buck Canyon
Sonoma Amethyst$75.00Solaris Farms
Sonoma Apricot$80.00Adelman
Sonoma Blessing$80.00Adelman
Sonoma Floozy$80.00Adelman
Sonoma Halo$350.00Adelman
Sonoma Rosy Future$125.00Adelman
Sonoma Rosy Future$150.00Solaris Farms
Sonoma Sun$80.00Adelman
Sonoma Velvet Ruby$80.00Adelman
Sonoma Welcome$75.00Adelman
Sonoma Yedo$200.00Solaris Farms
Unique$48.00Buck Canyon
Unique$50.00Swenson
Unique$60.00Adelman
Viking Full Moon$40.00Solaris Farms
Viking Full Moon$40.00Swenson
Viking Full Moon$44.95Hidden Springs
Viking Full Moon$45.00Adelman
Viking Full Moon$110.00Song Sparrow
Watermelon Wine$150.00Adelman
White Emperor$150.00Swenson
Yellow Crown$45.00Solaris Farms
Yellow Dream$100.00Brooks
Yellow Emperor$40.00Swenson
Yellow Emperor$55.00Solaris Farms
Yellow Heaven$90.00Brooks