2015 Tree Peonies in the Ice

The first winter storm hit yesterday. They are predicting another one tonight. The lowest prediction for the overnight low I saw was -4°F! They have now changed that prediction to 0°F. Hopefully if we do see temperatures that low, it is only for a very short period of time, and it doesn't do any damage to any of the peonies. It is now snowing quite a bit as I write this. I guess the only hope is that the snow will create a layer of protection from the cold temperatures. The tips of the peony foliage still look okay so far. I don't see any browning or blackening of the exposed foliage, but we also haven't encountered the lowest predicted temperatures. I'll keep you posted on how they fare!
Tree Peony 'Li Yuan Chun' Under a Layer of Snow & Ice

2015 Signs of Spring, Tree Peony Foliage

Tree Peony 'Li Yuan Chun'
I took these pictures just before the weekend, and as you can see the tree peonies are starting to show their first signs of spring. The foliage is beginning to sprout, which only makes me yearn for spring even more. However now is not the best time for the tree peonies to begin to sprout, since we have a big winter storm headed our way this week with some crazy low temperatures predicted for several nights as well. I am curious to see how this weather impacts all of my peonies, especially the tree peonies. I am new to growing tree peonies, so the ones I do have aren't very well established. So this may be a hard winter on them. I'm hoping none of them die, and they all make it! Perhaps if we have a decent groundcover of snow and ice that will help protect the lower halves of the peonies from the extreme temperatures. Right now the lowest prediction I've seen is -2°F! Yikes!

Tree Peony 'Li Yuan Chun'	Tree Peony 'Li Yuan Chun'

Tree Peony 'Li Yuan Chun'