2014 Peony Seedlings from Cricket Hill - P. Rockii

Of all the seeds I've purchased, I have to say that the Tree Peony P. Rockii Seeds on Ebay from Cricket Hill Garden are definitely the most viable. Their germination rate is 17 out of 20, that's 85%! That is a fantastic germination rate, considering the best I usually get from species peony seeds from the APS Seed Sale is 30-40% (and sometimes 0%). That is over twice the germination rate. Perhaps the seeds were fresher since they were sent directly from the grower. I'm very excited to have all of these P. rockii seedlings. Now I'll be able to select the best of the best for my climate, the fastest growing, the most disease resistant, the most floriferous, the best foliage, the best blooms, etc.
P. Rockii Peony Seedlings from Ebay, Cricket Hill Garden
I'm sad to say that the 105 Ali Express Chinese Tree Peony Seeds did not sprout at all. I'm beginning to wonder if the reports of boiled peony seeds from China are true, or perhaps they were just too old to sprout. It is curious since they were all so carefully labeled. Perhaps another year in the ground will soften their casings, and they can sprout a root this fall. We'll see if any of them sprout a leaf next spring... It seems like Ebay is the place to buy tree peony seeds. The Chinese Peony Seeds from Ebay actually did well germinating this spring. One of the colors (P3 Blue) actually had an 8 out of 20 germination rate, which is 40%. It's not the most impressive, but considering none of the 105 Chinese seeds I purchased from Ali Express sprouted, it's pretty good.

2014 First Bloom on Peony P. obovata var. willmottiae

Peony obovata var. willmottiae
Wow! I have been waiting 5 years for a bloom on this peony. It finally bloomed today!!! I purchased this species peony from Plant Delights nursery in 2009, and it bloomed for the first time this year. It had been steadily growing larger and larger each year, but only making small increases in size. It still only has one stem. I didn't even realize there was a bud on the plant until I saw it in bloom today! It is very beautiful. The flower is medium size, not huge, but not small either, and it has interesting colorations in the center of the bloom. It has burgundy colored filaments tipped with yellow anthers, while the stigmas are a matching yellow color tipped in burgundy. The foliage is a light, bright green color. This P. obovata var. willmottiae species peony grows happily in the filtered shade in my garden.
Peony obovata var. willmottiae Bloom


Peony obovata var. willmottiae Plant

2014 Tree Peony with Herbaceous Nurse Root Growth

I was surprised and curious to discover the first herbaceous nurse root sprouting from one of the tree peonies I planted last fall. It was on Tree Peony 'High Noon', which I purchased from a very reputable source. I suppose the quality of the tree peony grower won't prohibit this from happening. As you can see the photo on the left is what the tree peony looked like with the herbaceous nurse root sprout almost taking over the plant. After I removed the herbaceous sprout, you can better see what the actual tree peony foliage looks like. Both the herbaceous and tree peony foliage is very distinct. So you can easily tell when something is sprouting that shouldn't be and which stems you should remove. I just plucked the stem from its base, kind of snapping it off at the bottom. It was very easy to remove. Now that the herbaceous sprout has been removed, the tree peony stem above will have more energy available to it for its own growth. I will have to keep a close eye on this tree peony to make sure that no additional sprouts develop from the herbaceous nurse root that was grafted to this tree peony.

2014 Peony 'Firelight' Best Performer - Week 2

It was hard to choose my Southern Peony Best Performer this week. There were actually 3 contenders, and when the final decision had to be made, Peony 'Firelight' was the winner. The reason this peony beat out the other contenders hands down was because of the length of bloom, the variation in the petal color as the blooms fade, and how clean the peony bloom stems become after the bloom has faded. As you can see there are several bloom stems in the second photo that still hold their bright yellow stamens, even after the faded petals have fallen away. Also this peony actually has awesome, dark pink flares emanating from its center on each of its petals, giving it an extra point of interest. So if you are looking for a great, early blooming variety to add to your collection, Peony 'Firelight' definitely deserves a closer look.
Peony 'Firelight'
Southern Peony Best Performer


Peony 'Firelight'
Southern Peony Best Performer

2014 Peony Blooms - Early - Week 2

With warmer temperatures this week (average high of 75°), more peony varieties began to open. The second tree peony to bloom, Peony 'Li Yuan Chun', bloomed this week. Each year I find myself more and more enamored with Peony 'Roy Pehrson's Best Yellow'. This peony really has beautiful large, light green foliage, blooms with pale yellow petals and sunny centers, and just an awesome presence in the early spring garden. Peony 'Lustrous' has a great volume of lipstick red petals in a semi-double fashion, and always reminds me of a movie star. Peony 'Sweet May' is just that, sweet! Even though this peony blooms earlier than May for me here in my Southern Peony garden, the small, light pink petals surround a huge center of sunny yellow stamens that are very sweet indeed! Please enjoy some of my favorite week 2 peony blooms...

Tree Peony 'Li Yuan Chun'	Peony 'Roy Pehrson's Best Yellow'
Peony 'Lustrous'	Peony 'Sweet May'