Sunday, April 1, 2018

2018 Southern Peony Intersectional Peony 'Hillary' Winner Selected


Intersectional Peony 'Hillary'

Well, many of you made guesses as to what intersectional peony the lucky winner would be receiving (to celebrate our latest milestone - 2018 Southern Peony Hits 250,000 Pageviews!!), and many of you guessed right! It is Intersectional Peony 'Hillary', a gorgeous double flowering peony with many shades of pink, hybridized by Roger Anderson and registered in 1999. If you don't grow this peony, I highly recommend it. The flowers on this peony are huge, with so many petals, and of a color that is not too common in intersectionals. The winner of the lovely peony has already been emailed. The winner has 3 days to respond, and if no response, another name will be selected. Congrats!!!

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

2018 The Wasp and The Ladybug (on the Peony)


The Wasp and The Ladybug

Today was the first 70 degree day we've had since February (when we oddly had an entire week of 70s). With all of this warm weather the peonies continued to grow, and all of the bugs decided to come out today as well. There were so many wasps on and flying around my peonies today, searching for and finding plenty of sweet nectar to eat off of my peony buds. They were doing the peonies no harm, and as long as they found no threat in me, did me no harm either. Wasps are definitely not my favorite flying insects, especially since I just got stung by one last year that was underneath my deck. However I'm sure they just get a bad rap, and are most likely needed, just like bees, to aid in pollination. So unless they are making nests on my front or back porch, I'm inclined to leave them be.

Peony Nectar, The Ladybug's Afternoon Snack

When I spotted this wasp trying to land on the same peony bud as this bright red ladybug, I couldn't resist taking some photos. "The Wasp and The Ladybug"... It sounds like some sort of fable, like I need to make up an entertaining story about these two. Well, the real story was that this ladybug had already found its afternoon snack, and the wasp came along and tried to take it from the ladybug. The wasp was quite persistent, but the ladybug maintained its ground, and eventually was the victor of this food battle. This bright red ladybug is just too cute. I don't remember if I've ever seen one on one of my peony buds before. Ladybugs are supposed to be good luck. Let's hope that means the peonies will be blooming well this year. With all the cold weather we've had this March (until today), you can probably imagine that I'm getting a little impatient waiting for the peony buds to start opening... Let's hope they bloom soon!

The Ladybug "Cleaning" the Peony Bud

Monday, March 26, 2018

2018 Well-Priced Peonies for Sale at Hardware Store - Lowe's


Herbaceous Peonies Offered For Sale at Lowe's

It's not exactly the best season to plant them, but if you need herbaceous peonies and you need them right now, then now might be a good time to stop into your local Lowe's Home Improvement store to grab some of these well-priced peonies. What especially caught my eye wasn't just the price, but also the selection. Yes, they have some of the well known and widely distributed standard varieties - Peony 'Dr. Alexander Fleming', Peony 'Felix Crousse', and Peony 'Sorbet', but they also have a coral peony for sale - Peony 'Coral Sunset'. This is the first time I've seen a coral peony offered as a bare root bagged and carded peony in a big box store. If you don't yet have a coral peony, this might be your opportunity to snag one for a great price!

Peony 'Coral Sunset' for $6.98 per Root!

Sunday, March 25, 2018

2018 Southern Peony Celebration Intersectional Peony ???


Southern Peony Gives Intersectional Peony '???'

To help us celebrate our recent milestone, 2018 Southern Peony Hits 250,000 Pageviews!!, we are giving an intersectional peony to one lucky reader. It is the one pictured in our celebration photo. Can anyone guess what interesectional peony it is? Here are a couple more photos as a hint in case you need it... This really is an awesome intersectional peony, and I'm really excited to share this peony with a Southern Peony fan. The first two photos here are taken in the sun, and the last one is taken in the shade, just as the bud started to open. So you can see what a beautiful color range this peony has (and what a difference sun vs. shade makes in photographs!). If you are interested in winning this intersectional peony, be sure to sign up for our email newsletter. The winner will be drawn at the end of this week, March 31, 2018, and the intersectional peony will be shipped bare root this fall.

Double Blooms on Intersectional Peony '???'


Southern Peony Reaches 250,000 Pageviews
Intersectional Peony '???'

Saturday, March 24, 2018

2018 How to Lift a Sunken Herbaceous Peony


Sunken Herbaceous Peony

So if you live in the South, and you grow peonies (or try to grow peonies), you probably know that a common problem is peonies not blooming. Why are they not blooming you ask? Most likely because they are planted too deep or do not get enough sun. If your problem is the former (planted too deep), we are going to fix that today! Sometimes even when you plant them at the correct level they sink or get buried over time. It could be that layers of mulch have gotten piled on over the years, creating a peony that is much too far below ground. It could be that there's something going on underground underneath where you peony is planted - animal holes, rotting plant material, or even fire ants! - that have caused the ground to sink underneath your peony. So how can you fix it, and get that peony blooming again?

Lift it up!


Rake Away Mulch from Sunken Peony

The first thing you want to do is to remove the mulch from around your sunken peony. If the problem is too much mulch, you may have quite a bit of mulch to remove. Pull the mulch out in a wide circle around the peony crown to give yourself enough room to dig around your peony without severing any roots (if possible). The bigger/more eyes your peony is, the further away you will need to dig/rake the mulch. After you have removed the majority of the mulch with your rake, use you hands to remove the smaller pieces near the crown, taking care not to damage any buds or small growth on your peony. You don't want to mix the mulch into your soil since the wood will remove nitrogen from the soil as it decomposes. Mulch on top is fine (nature's way), but mulch mixed into the soil is not good.

Use Your Hands to Remove
Remaining Mulch from Sunken Peony


Cut Into the Ground in a Wide Circle Around Sunken Peony

After all of the mulch is removed, you'll want to start digging. Remeber, the bigger/more eyes your peony has, the further away you will need to dig. Don't worry if you sever a storage root or two here or there, your peony should still live, but the less roots you sever the better! Make cuts in the soil with your shovel all around the peony in a wide circle. Once you have made enough cuts, you should be able to lift your peony up with your shovel. There is no need to move it or even remove it from the soil totally. You just need to lift it a little, just enough to get a bit of soil under and around it.

Use Shovel to Lift the Rootball of the Peony


Use Top Soil to Fill in Under and Around Lifted Peony

Once you have your peony rootball lifted a little, you'll want to add some soil under and around your peony. Now if you care enough about your peony to go to all the trouble of lifting it up to help it grow and bloom, put some decent soil under and around it. Don't just put some fill dirt from some other spot in your yard. At least go to the local hardware store and get a $1.50 bag of top soil. You can also get some organic compost as well if you want to spring for a little nicer soil, but plain, old top soil works fine too. Keeping the peony's rootball lifted as best you can pour a little top soil all around the crown of the peony. Use your hands to work a little of the soil underneath the peony and under the sides too. Fill it in all the way around. If your peony crown is mounded up slightly that's fine too, as it will likely settle lower again later. Plus peonies grown mounded up slightly will get better chill in the winter (needed for creating flowers).

Keep Peony Lifted with Shovel While You Add Top Soil Around and Underneath Lifted Peony


Tamp Down Top Soil Around Lifted Peony to Remove Air Pockets

Once you have your new soil pushed under and around the lifted peony's root ball as much as possible, tamp the soil down a bit with your hands or even your feet (lightly) to make sure there are no air pockets around your newly lifted peony. While you are working on your peony anyway, now would also be a good time to add a bit of organic fertilizer or slow release fertilizer around your peony rootball. Sprinkle the recommended amount of fertilizer (check your fertilizer bag for details) on top of the new soil and mix it in a little with your hands.

Sprinkle Some Organic/Slow Release Fertilizer Around Peony

After you've finished fertilizing your peony, replace the mulch lightly. If you had too much mulch on your peony in the first place, you will not want to put all of the mulch back on the peony, just put a portion of it back. Find a new home for that remaining mulch. When applying the mulch on your peony take care to not put too much mulch directly on the crown (growing eyes/buds) of the peony. Once your mulch has been replaced, give your peony a good drink of water to help it resettle into its new surroundings. Now just sit back relax and watch that peony grow. You've just treated it to a day a the spa!

Replace Mulch Around Lifted Peony