2015 APS Fall Auction Dig & Ship Peony 'Grace Root'

It was so easy for me to dig and ship the peony I donated to the 2015 American Peony Society Fall Auction - 'Grace Root'. All members of the APS can donate to the Fall Auction or even the Spring Convention Auction, if you so choose. However Peony 'Grace Root' made my job especially easy this year since it had grown a whole new plant right beside my original planting of this peony - all on its own! This very early blooming, super bright colored stunner is known to have adventitious roots. Apparently you don't even have to dig and separate these adventitious roots before they decide to create a whole new plant. :-) This baby plant had been growing beside its mother for at least 2-3 springs now. It had already bloomed two years in a row, and it was just the right size to be separated and start out on its own. It was even easy to mail, and it only cost me $8 and change to mail it! It makes me happy to think peonies from my garden will be grown in new places, new states!
Peony 'Grace Root' Child Plant

2015 Intersectional Peony 'Joanna Marlene' Arrived

I did get the Peony 'Joanna Marlene from eBay quite quickly. I ordered it on Sunday, October 11th, and it arrived on Thursday, October 15th. I got it planted last Saturday. It was actually a nice size root with several (at least 8 or more) eyes. The root actually looks like it may be an intersectional peony, unlike the Fake Itohs on Ebay - 4 (Not) Intersectional Peonies I purchased last year. I am excited to see how this peony grows in the spring. I will definitely let you all know how it turns out. I may even make a list of reliable and unreliable eBay peony sellers if I can collect enough data. That would definitely be a valuable resource for my fellow peony buyers out there. The more information we all have the better. Hopefully this seller will be on the good sellers list. :-)
Intersectional Peony 'Joanna Marlene' Arrived

2015 Rock Garden Peonies Do Not Grow Here

Peony Plant Tags Removed from Dead Rock Garden Peonies
Well, after many years of trying, and many dead rock garden peonies that have eventually disintegrated into nothingness, I have concluded that Rock Garden Peonies DO NOT Grow Here. Yes they came from a reputable seller, and yes, there were treated well here - to some of the best spots in my garden. Despite year after year of trying to hang on, they have all finally given up the ghost. Sometimes I got one flower out of them - like their last hurrah before they gave up. The list of the dead and dying goes on - Peony 'Earlybird', Peony 'Elfin Beauty', Peony 'Fairy Princess', Peony 'Lil' Sweetie', Peony 'Little Red Gem', Peony 'Squirt'...

Peony 'Lil' Sweetie' 2009 Bloom	Peony 'Earlybird' 2011 Bloom

Oh, that photo of all those miniature peonies in that cool looking rock garden is just so appealing. However I feel resigned to say that I won't be spending (read: wasting) any more of my hard earned dollars on peonies that do not grow here. However hard to admit, I will be leaving those cute little, diminutive rock garden peonies to all those Northern peony gardeners. The page for their Rock Garden Peonies even says "Recommended to be hardy in USDA Zones 3-7." I am in Zone 7b, and they are not even close to hardy here. They should change it to USDA Zones 3-6 - at least take out Zone 7.

2015 Hybridizing Peony Martha W.

I am very excited about this peony. Supposedly it is not the most beautiful of peonies, but one of the best Mothers. So I am hoping this peony will make lots of beautiful children for me. I planted it in a very good growing spot right next to my house. I received this Peony 'Martha W.' as a gift from a friend of mine. I think this is probably the second peony I have ever gotten that I haven't purchased. However I have become more aware that lots of peony lovers will actually trade peony varieties with their peony friends. It must be nice to have a local peony community. I suppose at least we're both on the East Coast. :-) Peony 'Martha W.' is supposed to be a good plant for breeding intersectional peonies - hybrid peonies that are a cross between herbaceous and tree peonies. I can't wait to try to cross this peony with the tree peonies I do have. I think I may be getting some first time blooms on some of my tree peonies next spring. New pollen to hybridize with!

2015 Move Single White Peonies to Front of House

Mass Planting of Peony 'Krinkled White'
in Don C. Smith's Garden
I was really inspired by the mass of single, white Peony 'Krinkled White' blooms at Don Smith's house on the 2015 American Peony Society Convention garden tour. (I think we all were!) So as part of my 2015 Southern Peony Big Dig, I have planted 5 single white peonies in front of my house. This was not a single day in the making. I have been working on this project for months. I should have taken some before pictures, but I had these massive - almost as tall as me - bushes eating up my front walkway. They were growing over the sidewalk every year, and had to be given a buzz cut to keep them in check. My stepfather came over one day in July and cut them all down - all 5 of those monsters. As you can see they were so big, they were blocking the sun for my three Dwarf Alberta Spruce trees. I probably should have cut those bushes down a couple years ago. I'm hoping the dwarf spruces will recover well, and perhaps some of the other new landscaping will help fill in the gaps!
Front of House - Monster Bushes Cut Down,
New Landscaping, New Mulch, Holes Dug for Peonies
I spent a couple more days digging out the stumps and roots of those bushes. I decided I wanted a silver and white theme, and I added a dash of lavender too. So in August I planted some Powis Castle artemisias, Buzz Ivory butterfly bushes, and Russian sage. I also planted some Joan Senior and Sunday Gloves daylilies. In September I got a dump truck of mulch delivered and added a nice layer of new mulch. Things were improving, but there was still one thing missing - my hedge of single white peonies! So now in October, I have planted 5 single, white peonies - divisions of the most floriferous, single, white peony I have ever grown, 2013 Peony Single White Best Performer - Week 3. It was a plant that was sold to me as Peony 'Seraphim', but obviously mislabeled. I think it must be Peony 'Krinkled White', the same peony Don has planted in his garden. I thought before that it wasn't 'Krinkled White' since Gilbert Wild had it listed as mid-late season bloomer. However several other sources state that Peony 'Krinkled White' is an early season bloomer. Now I just can't wait until spring to see these peonies bloom. I'm sure it will take a couple more years before my peonies become a mass of color like Don's, but I will enjoy them all along as they grow. :-)
Single White Peonies Waiting to be Planted