2016 Peony Roy Pehrson's Best Yellow Best Performer - Week 3

If you've ever really, really wanted a super early yellow peony for your Southern garden, then Peony 'Roy Pehrson's Best Yellow' is it! No other early yellow outperforms this peony. The bright pastel yellow blooms are always a sight for your winter weary eyes. Their light yellow blossoms with bright sunny yellow centers bring a smile to my face each spring. Peony 'Roy Pehrson's Best Yellow' was hybridized by Pehrson and registered in 1982. This peony increases well here, and comes back reliably year after year. Besides the rare color of this peony's flowers, the foliage really stands out. The huge leaves have a great presence in the garden and are a pleasing light green hue. If you don't grow this peony for its flowers, you may want to grow it for its colossal foliage!

Peony 'Roy Pehrson's Best Yellow'
Southern Peony Best Performer


Peony 'Roy Pehrson's Best Yellow'
Southern Peony Best Performer

2016 Intersectional Peony Blooms Early Mid - Week 3

Wow I can hardly believe it! The intersectional peonies are already starting to bloom here! Of course these two early blooming intersectional peonies are also two of my favorite because they both share a hint of my favorite hue - lavender! Peony 'Morning Lilac' has huge 6" blooms of a deep fuchsia color, while Peony 'Sonoma Amethyst's lavender pink blooms are a little more subtly sized. However, there are so many of them on the bush, their sheer numbers more than make up for the petite stature of the blooms. If you are looking to add a little lavender of the Itoh variety to your garden, both of these peonies are great choices for early blooming intersectionals.

Intersectional Peony 'Morning Lilac'	Intersectional Peony 'Sonoma Amethyst'

2016 Peony Blooms Early Mid - Week 3

It has been very dry this week which has slowed down the peony blooms a bit. However, the peonies' foliage happily continues to grow unaffected by botrytis blight which thrives in moist conditions. The lack of rain during the immature foliage growth stage will bode well for a low incidence blight year since the new developing foliage is most susceptible to blight infections. Peony 'Coral Charm' was quite a stunner this year as usual. You are missing out if you don't have this coral. It is the best performing coral colored peony in my Southern garden, 2015 Peony 'Coral Charm' Best Performer - Week 2. Peony 'Burma Joy' is a bright early red that lights up your garden. Peony 'Paula Fay' is a great hot pink early peony, and Peony 'Pehrson's Violet Frisbee' is a violet pink single that adds a punch of purple hued color. If your peonies still haven't popped open, try a few of these early bloomers for an appetizing extension to your peony bloom season!

Peony 'Coral Charm'	Peony 'Burma Joy'
Peony 'Paula Fay'	Peony 'Pehrson's Violet Frisbee'

2016 First Ever Southern Peony Garden Party

Yay! Our very first Southern Peony Garden Party is going to be one month from today! We are going to have light snacks, tea, and play yard games. And of course we'll have lots of gorgeous peonies to see (and add to your wish list)! Seeing a plant in person instead of in a photo, in a vase, or on the show table (especially a plant growing in a similar climate to your own) can be very helpful in determining plants that would be suitable for your own garden. This way you can see how vigorously the plant grows, what the garden habit of the plant is, how the blooms open, and how the foliage grows in your climate. This is very valuable information since these type of attributes vary greatly in different growing zones. Also I hope this will serve as inspiration to others to share their peony gardens with their friends and neighbors and perhaps have a peony party of their own! I have been growing peonies for a long time, and people are always asking me to see them or come over when they are blooming. So this year I decided to put it on the calendar and invite everyone over. I'm sure a least some of them may find a new addiction - the love of peonies!
Southern Peony Garden Party

2016 Peony Blooms Early - Week 2

We've had a cloudy, but mostly dry week this week, which seemed to slow the development and bloom of the peonies. However, a few more flowers did open this week. Peony 'Honor' is always a bright shot of hot pink very early in the season, and one of my favorite colors in the early bloomers, a very bright pink purple. Peony 'Lustrous' is a great early blooming semi double candy red flower, that has so many petals it looks like a very lush double before it opens fully to reveal a bright yellow center. Peony 'Firelight' is an awesome single early bloomer in a light pink shade with darker pink flares. Peony 'Roy Pehrson's Best Yellow' is a reliable plant that increases well every year here in our Southern climate and I would highly recommend to other Southern gardeners for early peony color in a soft yellow. We did get a good rain after the end of the week. So I'm looking forward to lots more blooms in Week 3!

Peony 'Honor'	Peony 'Lustrous'
Peony 'Firelight'	Peony 'Roy Pehrson's Best Yellow'