Wednesday, May 16, 2018

2018 Peony Blooms - Week 6 Late

Well, with pretty much 2 weeks of no rain, and now the temperatures are starting to rise into the 90s, the peonies are finishing their season up fast. I don't think we'll have any new varieties opening in week 7 this year. Everything got condensed at the end due to the hot weather and lack of rain. We'll still have some side buds opening next week, but it will most likely be the end of our peony season here. There were still some very lovely blooms that opened this week, though. Peony 'Sorbet' and Peony 'Karl Rosenfield' are both old standbys that are very nice. Peony 'Douglas Brand' opened for the first time for me this year. He was not quite as 'red' as I expected him to be, but still a lovely shade of dark pink. Peony 'Prince of Darkness' bloomed for me for the first time in a long time, if ever. After growing him for almost 10 years, I finally moved him to a better location 2 years ago, and I love the dark purple pink color of his blooms! Peony 'Perfect Princess' bloomed for me for the first time this year as well. She is a recent acquisition and new introduction from Khlem's Song Sparre, and I must say I am really impressed so far. She does seem to need a bit of support, but with only 2 stems she was loaded with 7 huge blooms! Peony 'Myra MacRae' is one of our Southern Peony Best Performers. Peony 'Candy Stripe' really came into its own this year. A lovely striped bloom, with such a rounded, symmetrical form, very nice! Peony 'Vivid Rose' is getting larger each year in it's new location, and the blooms are so lovely and mesmerizing, I just couldn't stop tacking pictures of them!