2013 Questions - Source for Peony 'Uncle Tom'

I received this question from Karen in Zone 8:
"I see that you have Auten's Uncle Tom Peony in your inventory. Can you tell me where you purchased this peony? I have been looking for a source for this peony but could not find anywhere. Thanks"

I actually purchased this peony from Gilbert H. Wild several years ago in 2008. This may be one of the few varieties I received from them that was actually labeled correctly. I no longer purchase plants from this vendor due to their rampant mislabeling of varieties (or perhaps it may be more accurately described, unannounced substitutions, who knows?). Anyway they are notoriously known for sending plant material that is not true to name. However their prices are very reasonable, read cheap, and if you are looking for sheer quantities of peonies, not caring about the variety or even color, they can definitely help you with flowers in numbers. Or perhaps you may want to place an order for just excitement to find out years later what color and peony flower type you actually received. I, however, did not find this to be an exciting game, and am still pruning my collection of mislabeled varieties they've sent me. I'm sorry I don't have a more reliable source for you since you are looking for a specific variety, I'm guessing you'd want it to be true to name. It doesn't look like Gilbert H. Wild is even offering Peony 'Uncle Tom' this year or season. However most peony growers do not offer all of their varieties every year. They rotate them in their catalogs according to their available stock (and perhaps to keep things interesting). Hopefully some other vendors will offer this peony to the public again in the near future!

Peony 'Uncle Tom'

2013 Double Peony Vs. Single Peony

The peony on the left is a double form peony. The peony on the right is a single form peony. If you think you love double peonies, wait until you grow a single! Sure double peonies have lots of petals, sure some of them smell nice, but what happens to them as soon as a rain storm comes along? On the ground. Sure you could stake them, tie them up, and threaten them. But why? You could just grow a single peony as well. I'm not saying to give up on doubles. I love them too! However single and semi-double peonies are often overlooked in favor of the large puffy bomb and double flowered peonies, and they (single form peonies) should definitely be given a second look. Apart from holding up better during rain storms, single peonies often have an earlier bloom season, allowing for an extension of your peony bloom enjoyment! They are also more likely to be fertile and bear seed, in case you're ever interested in growing new varieties - babies! Single form peonies also come in a wider range of colors - from pale lavender to hot coral! So who wins this debate, double vs. single? You do! Having peonies of all shapes, sizes, and colors available multiplies the benefits of growing peonies. So grow them all!!!

Double Peony vs. Single Peony

2013 Peony Foliage on Steriods! Peony 'Bowl of Cream'

While cutting the spent blooms off my peonies last week, I couldn't help but notice the size of this peony. It is Peony 'Bowl of Cream'. This plant is just huge. The leaves on this peony are almost a foot long (10 inches). Each leaflet is 10 inches, making the compound leaf 20 inches across! Of all the varieties I grow, this one definitely has the largest leaves! Peony 'Bowl of Cream' was hybridized by Khlem in 1963. It is also a American Peony Society Gold Medal Winner from 1981. The size of this peony foliage convinced me to add another category, foliage size, to my Survey page. I'd like to make peonies more easily identifiable in the future. The more information we have about each peony plant, the easier it will be to identify the specific variety in the future.

Peony 'Bowl of Cream' Leaflet

2013 How to Deadhead an Herbaceous Peony

Peony with Spent Blooms
After your herbaceous peonies have finished blooming, you can deadhead them (remove their spent blooms). There are several purposes of this. Firstly, it keeps the plants looking neat and tidy. The dried brown flower petals and sepals aren't very attractive hanging on the plant. Secondly, it prevents the spread of disease. The petals of peonies are perfect hosts for fungi to grow. If left on the plants, they absorb and hold moisture and warmth very well, making a perfect home for a fungus. Thirdly, it allows the peony to divert its energy towards creating a larger root instead of developing seed pods and seeds (unless you want to grow a peony from seed). With a larger root, the peony can develop into a larger plant the next growing season.
Brown Peony Petals and Sepals
When pruning the peony plant to remove the dead blossoms, the plant should only be cut back to just above the next leaf node. Take your pruners and follow the stem from the top near the bloom or bloom cluster down to just above the next leaf nodule. This is the point where the peony should be cut back. Use pruners that have been disinfected to make a clean cut at this point. You can use rubbing alcohol or vinegar to disinfect your clippers between cuts. I usually keep a small, lidded, plastic container filled with one of these biodegradable disinfectants to dip my clippers in while pruning.
Prune Peony Right Above the Next Leaf Nodule
Since peonies do not continuously produce new foliage growth, as much of the foliage should be preserved as possible. The leaves of the peony plant are needed to generate energy for storage in the peony's underground tuber. The plant will use this stored energy to regenerate itself the next year. Sometimes I will prune the plant back a little further than the next leaf nodule if I find a stem that has been severely affected by disease. This is identifiable by black spots on the stems or leaves, wilting, and/or leaves or stems that have turned totally black. If you find a stem like this prune that stem back to the next healthy leaf nodule. If the entire stem has been affected and turned black, remove the entire stem, and be sure to bag it for garbage collection.

That's it. If your peony was newly planted last fall, you should water it during any summer dry spells to help it survive its first year. Now your peonies are ready to collect as much energy as possible until the weather gets cool and the foliage goes dormant! At which point you'll need to learn How to Cut Back an Herbaceous Peony. That's why I love peonies, they are relatively carefree and deer do not eat them! :-)
Neat & Tidy Deadheaded Peony

2013 Monrovia Itoh Peony 'Keiko'™ 愛幕 (Adored)

Monrovia Peony 'Keiko'™ 愛幕 (Adored)
So I saw these Monrovia Itoh peonies at a local garden center near me. They looked so lovely, they looked so intersectional, they looked so... expensive! As you can see from the tag on this one, they are tagged to sell for $89.99. However I definitely didn't pay that much. The garden center had them on sale for 30% off, and I also had a $50 Visa gift card that someone had given me. So I ended up paying a little more than $17 with tax after the sale and gift card.
Monrovia Peony 'Keiko'™ (Adored) Tag
These Monrovia peonies that they were selling are part of Monrovia's Japanese collection of peonies with Japanese names to honor the creator of Itoh peonies, Toichi Itoh, of Japan. The intersectional peony I selected was the largest plant I saw and the one with the best looking foliage. It is named Peony 'Keiko'™ (Adored), and from the picture of the bloom, it looks like it will be a lovely pink color. With it's Japanese name I figured this peony would feel much at home in my Japanese garden near my pagoda statue and Japanese irises. So that's where I planted it. I can't wait to see it bloom next year! Also I will have to keep my eye on these at the garden center to see when they go on clearance. :-)
Monrovia Peony 'Keiko'™ (Adored) Near Japanese Garden