The Great Peony Massacre of 2011

So today I was cleaning up my peonies (late again, I know!), and I actually chopped off one of their heads. If you look at the pink bud in the middle of the picture, you'll notice that it has been decisively severed from its root. So here's the lesson for all of you. If you haven't cut down all of last year's peony stems yet, do it now before this year's stems and blooms are sacrificed. Don't wait too long so that you can prevent unnecessary bud loss. :-)

2011 Peonies on Ice

Well, I have heard of some extreme peony enthusiasts putting ice on their peonies in rather warm growing zones, like zones 9 and 10, in order to encourage their peonies to bloom. I guess they are trying to meet the required number of chilling hours needed to develop the blooms. I've never tried that myself, but last night Mother Nature put my peonies on ice. I think this has been the coldest and most snowy fall and winter that I can remember. I am really curious to see how this cold weather will affect the peonies in the spring...