Peony Experiments - Herbaceous Divisions Grow
Remember those outcast herbaceous peony root stumps I had left over last fall after dividing my peonies? Each of these pieces had an eye on it, so I decided to plant them as Peony Experiments - Herbaceous Divisions. It seems like they are growing (well, most of them)! Both of the Peony 'Scarlet O'Hara' stumps are growing. The unknown white double peony stump is growing. It is labeled in the photo as Peony 'Top Brass' since that's what it was sold to me as (unfortunately that cultivar name was incorrect). The only one that didn't grow was the white and yellow anemone peony, which is labeled as Peony 'Rushlight' in the photo. This peony too was labeled incorrectly. Originally I divided these peonies to give them away at the plant swap. Now that these divisions have grown, I can give away or donate even more peonies in the future. I guess the moral of this story is, no matter how small a peony division you end up with after dividing your peonies, plant even the smallest pieces if they have eyes on them. They may just grow for you and make a new plant!
Peony 'Scarlet O'Hara' Root Stumps Grow
White Double Peony Root Stump Grows
White and Yellow Anemone Peony Root Stump Does Not Grow
Last summer I helped out my grandparents with moving their peony in exchange for any divisions I could get off of it. Given it had been in the same spot for decades... Yeah, I got twenty pieces and still tossed some material. They only wanted one, and my uncle's girlfriend snagged three, so I ended up with sixteen. Even though I wasn't able to replant them for almost a month, none are dead. As of last weekend, they're all up.
ReplyDeleteLong story short: peonies are much hardier than I think we usually give them credit for.
Sunshine,
DeleteThat was quite a good deal. That's so nice also that you have a piece of a peony that came from your grandparents. I'm so happy to hear all of the pieces have come up. Give them a few years, especially if they are small pieces, to gain some root mass and you will have a nice peony show before you know it!
Adriana