2017 Tree Peony 'White Phoenix' Growing in January

Yes, this is a tree peony that is growing in January. It is only just starting its growth cycle, but it is starting. When I've seen tree peonies growing so early in the season in previous years, it was worrisome to me. I didn't and still do not have tons of experience with tree peonies. However, I am beginning to learn that these mighty beauties begin their growth cycle much earlier than herbaceous peonies. Also the buds of tree peonies seem to be much more impervious to winter weather (although not invincible). Since almost all of the tree peony's flower buds are above ground all winter long, these buds are built to withstand the cold temperatures and weather fluctuations that can be experienced in a winter to spring warm up transition.
Tree Peony 'White Phoenix'
Beginning to Grow in January
This is likely another reason that tree peonies have a reputation of growing well in Southern climates. Since tree peonies' flower buds are formed in the fall, and remain on the tree peony stem tips all winter long, they are able to accumulate more chilling hours on their buds than herbaceous peony buds, which are at or below the soil surface all winter long. This is yet another reason to plant your herbaceous peonies as close to the soil surface as possible in Southern climates. This allows the buds to accumulate the chilling hours needed to flower. So if you grow tree peonies in a Southern climate, and you notice that they begin to grow so much earlier than your herbaceous peonies, do not fear. The foliage will not be harmed and the buds will likely be just fine too...

2017 Questions - Dividing an Herbaceous Peony in Winter

I received this question from Gwendolyn in zone 7b:

"Hello,

I have an 8 year old Sarah Bernhardt peony that I would like to divide. I live in Raleigh, NC and I was wondering if it is too late to divide it? Thank you for any advice you can give me.

Best,
Gwendolyn"


Herbaceous Peony Buds Still Dormant
(End of January)
Actually you are in luck. Since the ground never really experiences a hard, long freeze during the winter here in growing zone 7b, you have some extra time to divide your herbaceous peony plant (especially with the warmer temperatures we've been experiencing here recently). Ideally peonies are divided in the fall season. However, digging and dividing a peony now in our growing zone should be no problem, as long as there is no snow cover (which is rare here anyway) and the ground is not frozen at the time. I would definitely get it done now, though. January and February would probably be the limit on when to divide a peony in a Southern growing zone.
Herbaceous Peony Buds Beginning of Growth Cycle
(End of February)
By March the peony's foliage will begin to start an active growth cycle, and that foliage would be stunned by a division during that time. The plant may still recover. However, completing the division now, before that active growth cycle starts is your best bet. Also if you need some step by step instructions (with pictures) on how to divide an herbaceous peony, please take a look at my How to Divide an Herbaceous Peony guide on my How To page. Good luck with your dividing your peony!
Herbaceous Peony Foliage Active Growth Cycle
(Middle of March)

2017 Herbaceous Hot 100 Peony Catalog Price Comparison List

I've been doing my Intersectional Peony Catalog Price Comparison Lists for a few years now. This year I thought it might also be helpful to list some of the pricey herbaceous peonies that people might be interested in. There a several up and coming hot herbaceous peonies that tend to be around or above the $100 price range. Some of these peonies can be hard to find and acquire because their stock is so limited. So this list will give you a heads up of where you can find them and who has them priced for what. Even if you don't want to spend that much on one peony (yet!), at least you can drool! 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.)

Photo Courtesy of Flower Muse

Varieties Offered		Peony Vendor
3		Adelman
1		Blossom Hill
4		Brooks
1		Cricket Hill
1		Fina
7		Hidden Springs
15		Hollingsworth
0		Peony's Envy
5		Peony Shop Holland
17		Solaris Farms
3		Song Sparrow
0		Swenson

Herbaceous Peony	Price	Vendor
Alexander Woollcott	$75.00	Hidden Springs
Blood Moon	$225.00	Solaris Farms
Bob	$125.00	Hidden Springs
Callisto	$80.00	Solaris Farms
Dione	$100.00	Solaris Farms
Dreamtime	$115.00	Solaris Farms
Europa	$225.00	Solaris Farms
Faithful Dream	$140.00	Hollingsworth
Golden Angel	$125.00	Song Sparrow
Golden Wheel	$125.00	Cricket Hill
John's Dream	C$350.00	Blossom Hill
Juliska	$80.00	Solaris Farms
Juliska	$95.00	Hidden Springs
Juliska	$100.00	Hollingsworth
Kathy's Touch	$80.00	Hollingsworth
Kayleigh Ann	$200.00	Hollingsworth
Lavender	$90.00	Hollingsworth
Lemon Chiffon	€21.00	Peony Shop Holland
Lemon Chiffon	$90.00	Brooks
Lemon Chiffon	$90.00	Hollingsworth
Lemon Chiffon	$95.00	Solaris Farms
Lemon Chiffon	$99.99	Hidden Springs
Lemon Chiffon	$115.99	Fina
Lemon Chiffon	$135.99	Song Sparrow
Little Dorrit	$125.00	Brooks
Little Corporal	$90.00	Solaris Farms
Little Corporal	$120.00	Hollingsworth
Lois' Choice	$85.00	Brooks
Lois' Choice	$89.99	Hidden Springs
Lois' Choice	$90.00	Adelman
Lois' Choice	$90.00	Hollingsworth
Lois' Choice	$90.00	Solaris Farms
Lois' Choice	€120.00	Peony Shop Holland
Old Soldier	$80.00	Solaris Farms
Old Soldier	$80.00	Hollingsworth
Paeonia mlokosewitschii	$75.00	Brooks
Pastelegance	$199.00	Adelman
Pastelegance	$200.00	Hollingsworth
Pastelegance	€200.00	Peony Shop Holland
Pastelegance	$240.00	Solaris Farms
Pastelorama	$200.00	Solaris Farms
Pearled Lemon Cream	$100.00	Song Sparrow
Quitzin	$350.00	Hollingsworth
Red Rock Canyon	$175.00	Solaris Farms
Sky Dance	$80.00	Solaris Farms
Steven Ambrose	$200.00	Hidden Springs
Summer Glow	$75.00	Hidden Springs
Summer Glow	$70.00	Adelman
Sunny Boy	€500.00	Peony Shop Holland
Sunny Day	€125.00	Peony Shop Holland
Tranquil Dove	$90.00	Hollingsworth
Triton	$100.00	Solaris Farms
Tropicana	$75.00	Solaris Farms
Tropicana	$124.00	Hollingsworth
Vanilla Schnapps	$125.00	Solaris Farms
Vanilla Schnapps	$150.00	Hollingsworth
Virginia Emerson	$100.00	Hollingsworth

2017 First Intersectional Peony Gift from a Friend

USPS Priority Mail Box with Peony Gift
This week I was delighted to receive my first ever division of an intersectional peony as a gift from a Southern peony friend. Sure my Mom has bought me a peony for my birthday before (and of course that was much appreciated), but I had never received a division from a peony friend's own garden. So it was especially nice to receive a box from a fellow Southern peony gardener this week with a division of 'Sonoma YeDo' in it. The box was large, but rather light. However, when I opened the box, the root was huge, and despite its lack of packing material, not even one root appeared to have been broken. Way to go USPS Priority Mail!
Peony Root in Reused (Yay!) Southern States Bag
The root was simply wrapped in a reused retail bag, with a name on it I thought appropriate - Southern States. :-) The root itself easily had more than 10 pink eyes on it and more than 10 stems cut back from the previous season - a very large root. So it seems very likely that I will get a bloom from this one this year! How exciting! I am keeping my fingers crossed. I will definitely be posting some pics if I get a bright, yellow bloom from this Intersectional Peony 'Sonoma YeDo' this year! :-D
Intersectional Peony 'Sonoma YeDo'

2017 Transplant Late Blooming Dark Pink Herbaceous Peony

Transplanted Peony of Interest's Pink Bud	Transplanted Peony's Faded Tag

I know it is super late in the season (read: past the season) to transplant peonies. However, I took advantage of the 62° day we had this week (now that the snow and ice has melted) to transplant a peony that looked promising to me last spring. It is a dark pink herbaceous peony, and I had tagged it as "WATCH LATE BLOOMER" at the end of the peony bloom season. It was particularly interesting to me because it was the only peony blooming after all of the other peonies in the bed had finished blooming. That is a valuable peony to have. I am curious to see when and how it blooms next spring. So I moved it from a crowded seedling bed to a less crowded seedling bed. Since I missed getting pictures of the blooms last spring, I will be sure to get some photos of its flowers when it blooms.
Transplanted Peony's Roots and Brown Stem

2017 Peony Shop Holland 13 Intersectional Peonies Less than $20!

Peony Shop Holland
12 Intersectional Peonies for Less than $20!
As I was putting together the 2017 Intersectional Peony Catalog Price Comparison List this year, I couldn't help but notice that Peony Shop Holland is offering 13 Intersectional Peony Varieties for less than $20 each! I have never ordered from them before, but I am definitely tempted. There is a €100.00 fee for a phytosanitary certificate, plus shipping. However, if you are placing a big order from them, the much, much lower price of the roots would likely more than pay for the extra fee. Also the dollar and the euro are almost equal now. One dollar equals .95 euro. I sent a note of inquiry to Peony Shop Holland, and Joshua informed me of another option for private collectors. There is a person in the USA who conglomerates USA orders into one shipment, making the shipping about $5 per root to your door with no separate phytosanitary charge. This might be another option to get some pretty intersectional peonies to your door!

The intersectional peony varieties that Peony Shop Holland is offering this year for less than $20 are:

Peony Variety	Price
Bartzella	€11.00
Border Charm	€11.00
Callies Memory	€11.00
Cora Louise	€15.00
Garden Treasure	€11.00
Hillary	€17.00
Old Rose Dandy	€13.00
Prairie Charm	€15.00
Scarlet Heaven	€15.00
Shining Light	€13.00
Viking Full Moon	€19.00
Yellow Crown	€11.00
Yellow Waterlily	€15.00

2017 Intersectional Peony Catalog Price Comparison List

The new year is upon us, and so is a white layer of winter weather. What better time to spend the snow day than creating my annual Intersectional Peony Price List? The online peony catalogs are coming online, but they are not all out yet. The vendors who don't have their lists up yet still have a line through them. I'll update this information as more online peony catalogs are updated and become available. If you'd like to compare this year's prices to last year's prices, here's a link to my 2016 Intersectional Peony Catalog Price Comparison List 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.)

Photo Courtesy of Georgianna Lane

Varieties Offered	Peony Vendor	Price Change from Last Year
37	Adelman		mostly same or lower
0	Birchwood		same
4	Blossom Hill		mostly same or higher
19	Brooks		mixed same, lower, & higher
9	Cricket Hill		mostly same
13	Fina		same or lower
7	Hidden Springs		mostly lower or same
8	Hollingsworth		mostly lower or same
7	Peony's Envy		mostly same
25	Peony Shop Holland		mostly same
30	Solaris Farms		mostly lower or same
16	Song Sparrow		mostly same or higher
35	Swenson		mostly same or lower

Intersectional Peony	Price	Vendor
Ballarena de Saval	€50.00	Peony Shop Holland
Ballarena de Saval	$70.00	Adelman
Bartzella	€11.00	Peony Shop Holland
Bartzella	$45.00	Solaris Farms
Bartzella	$58.00	Fina
Bartzella	$59.99	Hidden Springs
Bartzella	$60.00	Adelman
Bartzella	$60.00	Brooks
Bartzella	$60.00	Hollingsworth
Bartzella	$60.00	Swenson
Bartzella	$79.00	Peony's Envy
Bartzella	$85.00	Song Sparrow
Bartzella	$89.00	Cricket Hill
Berry Garcia	$95.00	Brooks
Border Charm	€11.00	Peony Shop Holland
Border Charm	$40.00	Adelman
Border Charm	$40.00	Brooks
Border Charm	$40.00	Swenson
Border Charm	$65.00	Song Sparrow
Border Charm	C$90.00	Blossom Hill
Callie's Memory	€11.00	Peony Shop Holland
Callie's Memory	$40.00	Solaris Farms
Callie's Memory	$60.00	Swenson
Callie's Memory	$75.00	Adelman
Callie's Memory	$125.00	Song Sparrow
Canary Brilliants	$55.00	Adelman
Canary Brilliants	$60.00	Brooks
Canary Brilliants	$60.00	Swenson
Canary Brilliants	$75.00	Solaris Farms
Canary Brilliants	$79.00	Peony's Envy
Canary Brilliants	$89.00	Cricket Hill
Canary Brilliants	$125.00	Song Sparrow
Chief Black Hawk	$175.00	Brooks
Chief Black Hawk	$250.00	Swenson
Cora Louise	€15.00	Peony Shop Holland
Cora Louise	$59.99	Hidden Springs
Cora Louise	$60.00	Adelman
Cora Louise	$60.00	Hollingsworth
Cora Louise	$60.00	Swenson
Cora Louise	$79.00	Peony's Envy
Cora Louise	$85.00	Song Sparrow
Cora Louise	$89.00	Cricket Hill
Court Jester	$40.00	Swenson
(Maroon) Dragon Claw	$89.00	Cricket Hill
First Arrival	$40.00	Solaris Farms
First Arrival	$50.00	Hollingsworth
First Arrival	$50.00	Swenson
First Arrival	$57.00	Fina
First Arrival	$60.00	Adelman
First Arrival	$79.00	Peony's Envy
First Arrival	$89.00	Cricket Hill
First Arrival	C$130.00	Blossom Hill
First Arrival	$140.00	Song Sparrow
Garden Treasure	€11.00	Peony Shop Holland
Garden Treasure	$40.00	Solaris Farms
Garden Treasure	$50.00	Swenson
Garden Treasure	$52.00	Fina
Garden Treasure	$59.99	Hidden Springs
Garden Treasure	$60.00	Adelman
Garden Treasure	$60.00	Brooks
Garden Treasure	$64.00	Hollingsworth
Garden Treasure	$79.00	Peony's Envy
Garden Treasure	$85.00	Song Sparrow
Garden Treasure	$89.00	Cricket Hill
Going Bananas	$40.00	Adelman
Going Bananas	$50.00	Swenson
Going Bananas	$100.00	Song Sparrow
Gordon E. Simonson	$150.00	Solaris Farms
Gordon E. Simonson	$180.00	Hollingsworth
Gordon E. Simonson	$200.00	Swenson
Gordon E. Simonson	$225.00	Adelman
Gordon E. Simonson	€300.00	Peony Shop Holland
Hidden Treasure	$35.00	Solaris Farms
Hillary	€17.00	Peony Shop Holland
Hillary	$40.00	Solaris Farms
Hillary	$50.00	Adelman
Hillary	$50.00	Hollingsworth
Hillary	$50.00	Swenson
Hillary	$55.00	Brooks
Hillary	$58.00	Fina
Hillary	$59.99	Hidden Springs
Hillary	$85.00	Song Sparrow
Joanna Marlene	$60.00	Swenson
Joanna Marlene	$72.00	Fina
Joanna Marlene	$80.00	Adelman
Julia Rose	$45.00	Solaris Farms
Julia Rose	$50.00	Swenson
Julia Rose	$56.00	Fina
Julia Rose	$75.00	Adelman
Julia Rose	$79.00	Peony's Envy
Julia Rose	$85.00	Song Sparrow
Julia Rose	$89.00	Cricket Hill
(Anderson's) Kaleidoscope	$50.00	Swenson
Kopper Kettle	$75.00	Fina
Kopper Kettle	$95.00	Brooks
Kopper Kettle	$99.00	Adelman
Kopper Kettle	C$120.00	Blossom Hill
(Copper) Kopper Kettle	$150.00	Swenson
Lemon Dream	$45.00	Adelman
Lemon Dream	$45.00	Fina
Lemon Dream	$45.00	Solaris Farms
Lemon Dream	$50.00	Brooks
Lemon Dream	$50.00	Swenson
Little Darlin'	$65.00	Song Sparrow
Lollipop	$45.00	Solaris Farms
Lollipop	$100.00	Swenson
Love Affair	€120.00	Peony Shop Holland
Love Affair	$150.00	Adelman
Love Affair	$150.00	Brooks
Lunar Glow	$100.00	Adelman
Luxuriant	$150.00	Brooks
Luxuriant	$150.00	Swenson
Magical Mystery Tour	$75.00	Solaris Farms
Magical Mystery Tour	$95.00	Brooks
Momo Taro (Peach Boy)	$48.00	Fina
Momo Taro (Peach Boy)	$75.00	Solaris Farms
Morning Lilac	$52.00	Fina
Morning Lilac	$70.00	Adelman
Morning Lilac	$75.00	Swenson
New Millennium	$120.00	Solaris Farms
New Millennium	$175.00	Swenson
New Millennium	$180.00	Hollingsworth
New Millennium	$200.00	Adelman
Norwegian Blush	$150.00	Swenson
Old Rose Dandy	€13.00	Peony Shop Holland
Old Rose Dandy	$35.00	Brooks
Old Rose Dandy	$40.00	Adelman
Old Rose Dandy	$40.00	Solaris Farms
Old Rose Dandy	$40.00	Swenson
Oriental Gold	$119.00	Cricket Hill
Pastel Splendor	$35.00	Solaris Farms
Pastel Splendor	$40.00	Swenson
Pastel Splendor	$42.00	Fina
Pastel Splendor	$45.00	Adelman
Pastel Splendor	$48.00	Hidden Springs
Pastel Splendor	$70.00	Song Sparrow
Pastel Splendor	C$80.00	Blossom Hill
Prairie Charm	€15.00	Peony Shop Holland
Prairie Charm	$39.99	Hidden Springs
Prairie Charm	$40.00	Swenson
Prairie Charm	$50.00	Adelman
Prairie Charm	$50.00	Brooks
Prairie Charm	$70.00	Song Sparrow
Rosy Prospects	$65.00	Adelman
Rosy Prospects	€65.00	Peony Shop Holland
Rosy Prospects	$75.00	Brooks
Rosy Prospects	$125.00	Swenson
Royal Blush	$125.00	Swenson
Saffron Innocence	$200.00	Swenson
Scarlet Heaven	€15.00	Peony Shop Holland
Scarlet Heaven	$35.00	Solaris Farms
Scarlet Heaven	$40.00	Adelman
Scarlet Heaven	$44.00	Hollingsworth
Scarlet Heaven	$50.00	Brooks
Scarlet Heaven	$79.00	Peony's Envy
Scarlet Heaven	$89.00	Cricket Hill
Scarlet Heaven	$125.00	Song Sparrow
Scrumdidleyumptious	$75.00	Solaris Farms
Sequestered Sunshine	$48.00	Fina
Sequestered Sunshine	$75.00	Swenson
Sequestered Sunshine	$95.00	Brooks
Sequestered Sunshine	$125.00	Song Sparrow
Shining Light	€13.00	Peony Shop Holland
Singing in the Rain	$40.00	Adelman
Smith Family Yellow	€65.00	Peony Shop Holland
Smith Family Yellow	$99.00	Adelman
Sonoma Amethyst	€40.00	Peony Shop Holland
Sonoma Amethyst	$65.00	Adelman
Sonoma Amethyst	$65.00	Fina
Sonoma Apricot	€45.00	Peony Shop Holland
Sonoma Apricot	$50.00	Solaris Farms
Sonoma Apricot	$80.00	Adelman
Sonoma Blessing	$75.00	Solaris Farms
Sonoma By the Bay (Tolomeo Itoh #L61)	$135.00	Solaris Farms
Sonoma Floozy	$75.00	Solaris Farms
Sonoma Halo	$250.00	Solaris Farms
Sonoma Halo	$350.00	Adelman
Sonoma Kaleidoscope	$200.00	Adelman
Sonoma Rosy Future	$100.00	Solaris Farms
Sonoma Sun	€45.00	Peony Shop Holland
Sonoma Sun	$65.00	Adelman
Sonoma Velvet Ruby	€40.00	Peony Shop Holland
Sonoma Velvet Ruby	$45.00	Adelman
Sonoma Velvet Ruby	$60.00	Solaris Farms
Sonoma Welcome	€40.00	Peony Shop Holland
Sonoma Welcome	$65.00	Adelman
Sonoma Yedo	$275.00	Solaris Farms
Strawberry Blush	$150.00	Swenson
Strawberry Blush	$200.00	Adelman
Unique	€45.00	Peony Shop Holland
Unique	$55.00	Adelman
Unique	$60.00	Solaris Farms
Unique	$60.00	Swenson
Viking Full Moon	€19.00	Peony Shop Holland
Viking Full Moon	$40.00	Solaris Farms
Viking Full Moon	$40.00	Swenson
Viking Full Moon	$45.00	Adelman
Watermelon Wine	€65.00	Peony Shop Holland
Watermelon Wine	$125.00	Adelman
Watermelon Wine	$125.00	Swenson
White Emperor	$150.00	Swenson
Yellow Crown	€11.00	Peony Shop Holland
Yellow Crown	$35.00	Solaris Farms
Yellow Crown	$44.99	Hidden Springs
Yellow Dream	$60.00	Brooks
Yellow Emperor	$35.00	Solaris Farms
Yellow Emperor	$45.00	Swenson
Yellow Emperor	$85.00	Song Sparrow
Yellow Heaven	$75.00	Brooks
Yellow Waterlily	€15.00	Peony Shop Holland

2017 First Winter Weather on Peony Beds

Winter Weather on Peony Beds
Earlier this week I took advantage of a 65 degree (and wet) day we had to cut back most of my remaining peonies. I squeezed the last bit of daylight out of a couple of days, and I was able to finish cleaning up several peony beds. Good thing I did too, since our first winter weather of the season was right around the corner! I awoke this morning to a light layer of snow covering all of the peony beds and some of the grass too. It has started to snow again this morning, and the final result will likely be much whiter! It is rare to get snow here. Some years we go without any snow at all. The last few years, we have seen at least one or two snow showers, though. Since it doesn't come around very often, I am happy to see it, and the peaceful calm it lends to our natural surroundings.
Peony Beds 2 Days Before the Winter Weather
As you can see just two days ago, I had just finished cleaning up the peony beds, and everything looked so neat and tidy. The old peony foliage was a bit wet when I was cutting it back, which I find very helpful to get the job accomplished. It is much easier to cut and bag the dead foliage when it is soft and pliable from a rain, rather than stiff and dry from winter winds. It makes the job quick and more effective when you are able to get the dead peony foliage into the bag without it crunching and breaking into so many bits all over your garden. When the goal is to remove the foliage to help prevent disease, it helps when the foliage stays in one piece instead of breaking up into a thousand tiny bits. No, I am not throwing away good garden soil. I always save my old soil bags to reuse them as trash bags for dead peony foliage. I hate paying for garbage bags. It is like throwing your money away... literally. Also it is so much better for the environment to reuse things. If these bags were going to get thrown away anyway, why not use them for trash?
Reuse Old Soil Bags for Dead Peony Foliage

2017 Intersectional Peony Centers - Can You Guess???

If you haven't noticed the centers of your intersectional blossoms before, then you are definitely missing out! These beautiful blossoms are more than just a bunch of colorful petals. The centers are full of an abundance of goodness. Even though these peony parts are mostly useless for hybridizing, they possess a curious, intimate, almost other worldly center in miniature. My imagination sometimes finds myself wondering what small sprites could inhabit the stately, castle-like stigmas. The tips of the stigma "castles" come in bright hues of fuchsia lavender, lipstick red, baby pink, golden yellow, and ivory white. The petals are decorated by contrasting colored flares in reds, burgundies, whites, and shades of purple. The golden yellow crown of stamens stand guard around the castle. I have purposefully left the names off of these flowers to see if you already know the names of these intersectional peonies by looking at their centers. If you'd like to guess, you can leave a comment below or here on Facebook. I will reveal the answers to the flowers' identities next week! ;-)
Intersectional Peony 'Bartzella'

Intersectional Peony 'Scarlet Heaven'

Intersectional Peony 'Cora Louise'

Intersectional Peony 'Sonoma Amethyst'

Intersectional Peony 'Takara' 慈悲 (Treasure) - Smith Opus 2

Intersectional Peony 'Sequestered Sunshine'