2014 Peony Bouquets Yellow Itoh & Pink Herbaceous

It is past Mother's Day, but these are the first two bouquets I've cut for myself this year. I did give my mother a bouquet of mixed pink herbaceous peonies for Mother's Day. When I brought them to the restaurant with me, everyone I passed that was waiting for their tables commented on how lovely and beautiful they were. I'm sure my Mom was the envy of several other mothers that day. I realized that my peony season is almost half over, and I hadn't even brought a bouquet inside for myself. Since it hasn't rained in quite some time, and there was a storm coming, I decided to cut a few before the rain ruined them anyway.
Yellow Intersectional Peony Bouquet
I decided to cut one yellow bouquet and one pink bouquet. The yellow bouquet is a mixed intersectional (or Itoh) peony bouquet comprised of Peony 'Bartzella', Peony 'Garden Treasure', and Peony 'Yellow Crown'. The mixed pink herbaceous peony bouquet is made up of Peony 'Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt', Peony 'Pink Derby', Peony 'Queen of the Dawn', and two other unknown pink double peonies. If you've still got some peonies blooming outside, now might be the time to cut a few while they are still in season. Bring them in and enjoy their beauty and fragrance!
Mixed Pink Herbaceous Peony Bouquet

2014 Intersectional Peony Blooms - Mid - Week 4

There was lots more color this week in the intersectional peony garden compared to last week's 2014 Intersectional Peony Blooms - Early Mid - Week 3 which was mostly pinks and purples. This week there were reds, yellows, whites, and pinks. Peony 'Keiko' and Peony 'Yellow Emperor' were both new to my garden last fall, and both of them bloomed for the first time for me this year. Peony 'Scarlet Heaven' and Peony 'White Emperor' both bloomed last year for the first time and both returned even stronger with more blooms this year. It was nice to have two 'Emperor's in the garden this year!

Intersectional Peony 'Scarlet Heaven'	Intersectional Peony 'Yellow Emperor'
Intersectional Peony 'Keiko' 愛幕 (Adored) Pink Double Dandy	Intersectional Peony 'White Emperor'

Intersectional peonies are great growers and seem to increase much faster than the traditional herbaceous peonies most commonly grown here in the US. So if you're looking for a peony that won't disappoint, then you should definitely give one of the intersectional peonies available a try. If you're not sure where to start, you can check out the handy price list I compiled this year, 2014 Intersectional Peony Catalog Price Comparison List. Happy Gardening!

2014 Peony 'Morning Lilac' Best Performer - Week 4

Just the purple color would be enough, but that's not all. Peony 'Morning Lilac' was loaded with blooms this year that just kept coming. The flowers are huge, up to 7" in size. The foliage is strong and green, and makes a nice bush on which the up facing flowers sit atop. Peony 'Morning Lilac' is an intersectional peony (a cross between a tree peony and an herbaceous peony) with the best characteristics from both worlds - a strong grower and a wider range of flower color. The blooms are beautiful to look at with dark purple flares emanating from a golden ring of stamens at the center. For unbeatable purple color, reliable blooms, and a strong growing peony that you'll soon be able to divide and share, Peony 'Morning Lilac' is a great choice for Southern gardens.
Peony 'Morning Lilac'
Southern Peony Best Performer


Peony 'Morning Lilac'
Southern Peony Best Performer

2014 Peony Blooms - Mid - Week 4

Lots of double and bomb type peonies started opening this week. If you take a look at last week's 2014 Peony Blooms - Early Mid - Week 3 peony pictures, you'll notice lots of variation in color, but the majority of the flowers were the single type peonies. Now this week we've got big fluffy doubles like Peony 'Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt', some anemone type flowers like Peony 'Top Hat' and Peony 'Gay Paree', and bomb type peonies like Peony 'Ann Berry Cousins' and Peony 'Etched Salmon'. There are also some single peonies still opening like Peony 'America'. Enjoy!

Peony 'Top Hat'	Peony 'America'
Peony 'Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt'	Peony 'Ann Berry Cousins'
Peony 'Etched Salmon'	Peony 'Gay Paree'

2014 Chinese Tree Peony Seeds from Ebay Sprouted

As I said in my last post about peony seedlings, Peony Seedlings from Cricket Hill - P. Rockii, Ebay seems to be the place to buy peony seeds. This is a photo of the Chinese tree peony seedlings that sprouted from the peony seeds I bought on Ebay in the fall. Here is what they looked like when the Chinese Tree Peony Seeds Started to Sprout in March. So as you can see they have grown quite a bit since then. Also there are several more varieties growing now. In March only two of the varieties had sprouted, the blue (P3) and the green (P4). Now 5 out of the 6 colors have sprouted - black (P2), blue (P3), green (P4), pink (P5), and red (P6). The only seeds that haven't sprouted from this group are the white (P1). Aside from the white seeds which didn't germinate, the germination rates ranged from 10% (2 out of 20) for the red to 40% (8 out of 20) for the blue. The overall germination rate was 20% (24 out of 120). However considering the price I paid for these Chinese Tree Peony Seeds from Ebay ($2.50, shipping included), I think that's an awesome deal for 24 baby tree peonies. :-)