2016 Registered for American Peony Society Convention

I did it! I finally got my registration in for the 2016 American Peony Society Convention. I am already excited! I can't wait to see all of my peony friends again, meet some new ones, and of course see all of those gorgeous flowers! The convention is going to be in Wisconsin this year. This will be the second peony convention I've attended in Wisconsin. The first one I went to was in Janesville, WI, and it was nice. So I am looking forward to this one in Green Bay, especially since I've never been to Green Bay before. Plus, we are going to be touring the gardens of Nate Bremer of Solaris Farms and of Bill Seidl. It will be nice to meet both of them and see all of their peonies. I can't wait! Also don't forget about the tour of Klehm's Song Sparrow - a rare opportunity to buy their normally mail order only plants in person! Plus, there's always the exhibit, lectures, and of course the banquet and peony auction! So what are you waiting for? Sign up now!!! :-) I hope to see you all there!
2016 American Peony Society Convention

2016 New Peony Breaking Dormancy Too Early

Intersectional Peony 'Prairie Charm' Breaking Dormancy Too Early
This happens on occasion, new peony foliage breaking dormancy too early. It's happened before like this 2012 Newly Planted Peony Sprouting in Fall. That peony lived, but those early sprouts of foliage did not, which is not ideal since the newly divided root is wasting its limited energy reserves on foliage that does not live. Usually the new peony will live, but it will just take longer for it to become established and bloom. This situation usually occurs in peonies that are newly planted, especially here in the South since the weather is warmer here than the climate they were previously growing in. As is the case with this Intersectional Peony 'Prairie Charm' from Moscow, PA - which appears to be in growing zone 5b/6a. I am in growing zone 7b. So that is at least 1.5 growing zones to about 2 full growing zones colder than where I am.
Intersectional Peony 'Prairie Charm' With Extra Mulch
This time, I noticed the dormancy break early, and tried throwing some much over it to block the sun and hopefully keep the foliage from freezing. I am hoping that by blocking the sun, the sprout will not continue to grow, and I'm also hoping that by covering the sprout with mulch, the newly emerging foliage will be protected from the freezing cold temperatures. Our winter has been very weird this year so far. We were warm for most of December, then it finally got cold for a week or so. Then it got hot again, and now cold again. I'm guessing this is how the rest of winter will play out too. I hope this little plant will figure out that it's not time to sprout yet and stay under this new layer of mulch!

2016 Southern Peony Joins Facebook!

Well, finally! Southern Peony finally joins Facebook! It's about time, it's only 2016! Happy New Year to all of my fellow peony lovers and growers out there! You now have a new way to keep up with all of the latest news here at Southern Peony through your favorite social media site - Facebook. So check out our new Southern Peony Facebook page and give us a like! All of our posts here will get posted to Facebook as well. That way you can see lots of gorgeous peony pics while you're catching up on all the family gossip and friend's photos! ;-) Also please tell all your peony friends about us too!
Southern Peony on Facebook

2015 Dreaming Up a Peony Wish List for Next Year

It's that time of year, the time when the cold outside starts to keep you inside. There's a nip in the air, and a bit more warmth inside. Somehow you find yourself dreaming of spring and all of those blooms you know are waiting just below the ground. What better way to whet your appetite for spring than reviewing the catalogs of peony growers and dreaming up a wish list of peonies for next year? And what better place to record peony dreams than on these "I Love Peonies - My Wish List" notepads that came in a Peony Basket from my 2015 APS Auction Winnings at the APS Convention this year. If you think there aren't any 2016 Peony Catalogs out yet, then think again! Some peony vendors post their 2016 catalogs early, like Brooks Gardens, Hidden Springs Flower Farm, and Klehm's Song Sparrow. So start dreaming!!!

Peony Wish List Notepads

2015 P. Rockii Seeds Arrived via Air Mail from Canada

The Purple Peony Rockii Seeds from Ebay Canada that I ordered three weeks ago arrived earlier this week. They arrived sooner than Ebay expected them to get here. Ebay's system said "Estimated delivery Tue, Jan 26 - Mon, Feb 01". I'm sure glad they were wrong. It's already a bit late here, since I planted my own peony seeds 4 months ago in September, 2015 Fall Peony Seed Planting and Donation. These peony seeds may not have enough time to germinate this year, but I hope they will or at least some of them will. People often say that it takes two years to germinate a peony seed. However, the majority of the seeds I plant will germinate the first year, especially if they are from my own garden (that way I know the seeds are fresh, and I can plant them right away).
So I got these P. rockii seeds planted right away. The seller was kind enough to send some extra of the Purple Paeonia Rockii seeds and 3 Pink Double Paeonia Rockii seeds as a gift. However, it seems the Pink Double Paeonia Rockii seeds were crushed in shipping or had been in the plastic too long, as the shell of the seeds had been broken and some of the shell pieces were stuck to the plastic bubble wrap. One of these seeds was missing its shell entirely, leaving the inner white part of the seed exposed. I planted all of them anyway. I will be especially curious to see if all 3 of these Pink Double Paeonia seeds germinate. We shall see what spring will bring! :-)