2012 Peony Experiments - Cutting Back Dead Flowers

I usually don't get around to cutting back dead flowers on my peonies. The past couple of years I have just left them to fend for themselves until the entire stem dies back. That way I would leave the flower head intact so that seeds could develop. However I have noticed quite a bit of fungal disease, and I wondered if it had any correlation to leaving the spent bloom on the plant. The flower type really seems to make a difference in this. The single and semi-double type flowers that shed their petals easily do not seem to have as much fungal disease as the more full double flowers that seem to hang onto their petals. Also I have noticed that dead petals that have fallen onto foliage below actual contribute to additional fungal growth that otherwise may not have developed. It seems the dying petals create just the right environment (more moist and warm) that the fungus needs to develop.

Dried Peony Petals on Foliage


Fungus on Peony Foliage
Over time I have been able to better recognize which seeds pods actually have developing seeds in them. So this year, I have started cleaning up my full double flowered peonies to remove the spent blooms. I also have 2 peony bushes of a white double peony that are the same variety. I decided to cut back the spent blooms on one of them, but not the other. I will check the amount of fungal disease later in the season. I also plan to cut down the dead foliage on the same one I cut back the flowers on and leave the dead foliage intact on the one I didn't cut back the flowers on. So we shall see how much difference it makes in the amount of fungus on the plants this fall and next spring.

Peony Spent Blooms Not Cut Back


Peony Spent Blooms Cut Back

2012 APS Convention Peony Seed Sale

From the moment I got to the American Peony Society convention this year, I was looking for the seeds from the APS Peony Seed Sale. Finally on Saturday afternoon, Scott Parker, the administrator of the APS Seed Distribution Program, set up the hundreds of seed packets right outside the door to "heaven". (I'd heard one of the APS flower show attendees exclaim earlier in the day, "It smells like heaven in here!", and indeed it did.) There weren't quite as many Paeonia species seeds available this year as there were 2 years ago, but there were loads of hybrid peony seeds available.

APS Peony Seed Sale

I managed to snag 6 packs of seeds, with 4 of them being tree peonies and 2 herbaceous species peonies. I don't really grow many tree peonies currently, since with the few tree peonies I have tried (P. delavayi, P. lutea, and P. 'High Noon') only one of them is still alive (P. delavayi). Perhaps with these new tree peony seeds I will hopefully get one or two that will thrive in my climate and under my harsh gardening regime. ;) The tree peony seeds I purchased are P. rockii from Cricket Hill Gardens, P. rockii and P. suffruticosa Mixture, P. 'Kamada Nishiki' (suffruticosa group), and a generic pack of tree peony purple flower. The herbaceous peony seeds I purchased are P. Ostii and P. Veitchii (pink single), neither of which came up for me the last time I tried them. So maybe this time I'll have better luck with those too. Better luck this time might = more water. :) If you want to get your own peony seeds for growing in your home garden in hopes that one day you may get something worth registering, you can join the APS and contact the APS Seed Distribution Program Administrator, Scott Parker. (It's one of the benefits of APS Membership.) :)

2012 APS Convention Peony Book Sale

I got one new book at the 2012 American Peony Society convention this year. It was a book recommended by Don Hollingsworth in his Peony Breeders session. It's called 'The American Hybrid Peony', and it was published by the American Peony Society in 1990. I have already started reading it, and just by reading the first few pages, I can already tell that the book is geared toward peony growers in cooler climates / USDA growing zones than mine. It tells you to plant your peony at least 1-2 inches below the soil. However I always plant mine even with the soil in my zone 7b garden. Perhaps in the next version they can include information for warmer growing climates. However I'm sure the information contained therein will still be valuable just to absorb years and perhaps decades of experience with peonies. The book also has loads of color photos of herbaceous hybrid peonies and species peonies. If you want to get your own copy of the lovely green hardback book entitled 'The American Hybrid Peony', you can purchase your book online from the APS Publications Page or through the APS Editor (and new publications director) Claudia Schroer.

'The American Hybrid Peony'

2012 Peony Mail Day

Wow, yesterday must have been Peony Mail Day. I only got three things in the mail yesterday, and all 3 pieces of mail were about peonies. I think this is the best mail day I've had in a while. I got the latest issue of the American Peony Society Bulletin (a benefit of APS Membership), a confirmation letter from Adelman Peony Gardens concerning the peony I won in the APS Peony Auction at the 2012 APS Convention, and a book I ordered from Shutterfly with pictures from my 2011 peony bloom season. The APS Bulletin was the June 2012 issues, which is nice, but I'll definitely be looking forward to getting the next one since it will have my first APS Bulletin Article in it! The peony I won from Adelman Peony Gardens in the APS Auction was Peony 'Halcyon' which is a Saunders hybrid and will go in the Saunders Peony Garden. The book I ordered from Shutterfly, which really does a nice job with their hardback photo books, has my favorite picture from my 2011 peony bloom season on the front. It is Peony 'Lavender' and 2011 was the first year it bloomed for me.

Peony Mail

2012 American Peony Society Gold Medal Winner - 'Topeka Garnet'

At the 2012 American Peony Society Board Meeting, Peony 'Topeka Garnet' was selected to receive the 2012 American Peony Society Gold Medal. This is a very prestigious award, and only one peony is selected each year to receive this award. Also, in the past few years, the APS Gold Medal award winner must also have been honored with the ALM (Award of Landscape Merit) in order to be considered for the APS Gold Medal. So that means that this peony should be a great garden subject with sturdy stems and good foliage. Peony 'Topeka Garnet' was hybridized by Bigger and registered in 1975. Here is what the APS registration says "TOPEKA GARNET (Bigger) (14-59) 1975. Dark red single. 30" stems. Small tuft of stamens. Flower fades some. Registered Myron D. Bigger. Bulletin #214 June 1975." I don't currently have this peony, but luckily I somehow already placed an order for this peony earlier in the year. If you don't already own this one, you may want to get your order in quickly for shipment this fall. I'm sure these will be selling out fast this year and next year! Adelman Peony Gardens is one vendor who is selling Peony 'Topeka Garnet' this year. (That's where I ordered mine from). :) Good luck!

Peony 'Topeka Garnet'
Photo Courtesy of Adelman Peony Gardens