2017 Protect Peonies from Super Cold Overnight Temps

So I don't usually worry with protecting my peonies. However this weekend I decided to try to help them. The temperatures here swung from 80 degrees for the high, to an overnight low of 25 degrees in just two days! I figured the peonies wouldn't like that too much. So I went to buy some buckets on my lunch break yesterday at work. I bought all four gray buckets they had. Luckily I had a few more buckets at home already, and I found a few empty flower pots to use as well. The big buckets worked well to cover the peonies that were up higher out of the ground, and the smaller flower pots worked well to cover the peonies that were not up much yet, and still low to the ground.
Peonies Protected from the Cold with Buckets and Flower Pots
It was already getting dark (and cold!) by the time I got off work and picked up my daughter from her after school program. When we got home she helped me cover the peonies with the buckets using a flash light. Between you and me, I think she had a little bit of fun doing it - any excuse to use a flashlight and play outside in the dark! We were able to get most of the early herbacouse hybrid peonies covered that were already popping up. I didn't worry with the tree peonies or interesectional peonies since these are usually pretty cold hardy anyway.
25 Degrees Overnight Temperature
The next morning, I removed all of the flower pots and buckets from the peonies. With the covering they all seemed to have made it through the super cold night just fine. The real test will be to see if the blooms open and if they open without any damage. I left the pots and buckets near the peonies. The forecast is calling for two more nights of below freezing weather. Since I've already protected these early peonies one night, I guess I better continue. Two more nights to go!
Peonies Protected from the Cold with Buckets and Flower Pots

2017 Tree Peony Paeonia ostii at Plant Delights Nursery Open House

Tree Peony Paeonia ostii Bloom
I had the opportunity to visit Plant Delights Nursery's winter open house this weekend. Even though it was the winter open house, it really felt like late spring or early summer. The temperature got up to 80 degrees, and it was so nice to have a spring like day to peruse the hellebores in bloom. I wasn't even planning to look at the peonies, even though I did notice that Tony introduced a new peony for the first time ever in his spring catalog (Peony 'Golden Sunrise').

Tree Peony Paeonia ostii

However, I just happened by a wonderful tree peony in bloom, and it smelled so good! Someone had pulled it out of its greenhouse, and it was sitting near the checkout lane. It turned out to be a Paeonia ostii seedling, and lucky for me there were several of them in the greenhouse and a couple that still had blooms on them. Needless to say one of them made the ride home with me, and perfumed by car during the whole trip! The scent on this tree peony is just heavenly!


Haul from Plant Delights Nursery Open House
(Including a Tree Peony Paeonia ostii)
If you hadn't noticed yet, the American Peony Society will be taking a tour of Plant Delights Nursery and Juniper Level Botanic garden during the 2017 APS Annual Convention. If you haven't yet made your plans to join us, now is the time to get your registration in! You might actually end up taking one of these awesome tree peonies (and likely several more plant friends too) home with you from the conference. ;-) If you'd like to know more about this Paeonia ostii species tree peony, take a look below at the catalog description from Plant Delight's Nursery's online catalog.


Plant Delight Nursery Paeonia ostii
(syn: Paeonia suffruticosa ssp. ostii) From China's Gansu, Hunan, and surrounding provinces comes an endangered tree peony species that was first published in 1992 and named after Italian peony expert, Dr. Gian Lupo Osti. Similar to Paeonia rockii, the 5' tall Paeonia ostii has narrower leaves and is topped in very early spring (mid-April in NC) with over 100 large, 6-8" wide, sweetly fragrant flowers. Paeonia ostii is unquestionably one of the finest peonies we've ever grown. Flower color ranges from white to pale pink, highlighted by a dark red central blotch and bright yellow stamens. Our plants are flowering-sized plants grown in the US. Interestingly, the 2004 publication, "The Genus Paeonia" says, "This is another recently established Chinese taxon that has not yet been introduced in the West."

2017 Record February Temperatures Cause Peonies to Sprout Early

Peony 'Lustrous'
Weather forecasters all over the country are reporting record high temperatures this month. It is supposedly the 2nd warmest February on record here so far. This early spring warm up has some peonies popping up a bit early and sending new shoots and buds up too. Many of A. P. Saunders' early hybrid peonies are starting to come up - Peony 'Lustrous', Peony 'Red Red Rose', Peony 'Halcyon', and Peony 'Rose Garland'.

Peony 'Red Red Rose'	Peony 'Halcyon'
Peony 'Rose Garland'	Peony 'Prairie Moon'

Tree Peony 'White Phoenix'	Tree Peony 'White Phoenix'

The tree peonies are definitely farther along than the herbaceous peonies. It almost looks like we could get our first bloom in February, especially if these temperatures continue. It has been in the 70s or close to 70 all week! Tree Peony 'White Phoenix' looks like it may bloom first. However, the foliage on Tree Peony 'Kamata-nishiki' 鎌田錦 is definitely the most developed. I can't wait to see these peonies bloom, and I am wishing and hoping that we do not get a nasty cold snap!
Tree Peony 'Kamata-nishiki' 鎌田錦

2017 Southern Peony Gets a New Look

You might have noticed... Southern Peony recently got a new look. The conversion took place a little at a time over the last month or so. Thank you for putting up with our construction dust while all of the new code was being put into place! I hope you all like the new look, and I think it is a huge improvement over our last look - more colors, more flowers, and of course more peonies! We've also given you the capability to like and share all of our posts on Facebook, and look for the capability to Pin your favorite Southern Peony photos to your own Pinterest board soon! I hope you find the new features, layout, and look to your liking and hope the new sharing features will enable you to share the love of peonies with everyone you know! :D
Southern Peony's New Look

2017 Southern Peony Joins Pinterest

In light of the article I shared with the American Peony Society on Facebook, The PEONY makes a comeback as best-selling summer flower following Pinterest popularity, I have decided to create a Southern Peony Pinterest page. I only have a few pins so far. So there's not much to look at yet, but there is a lot more to come! Also I'll be looking at adding Pinterest support to this site as well, so that you can Pin your favorite Southern Peony pictures to your own Pinterest boards! I'm not sure exactly where this endeavor will lead, but I have a feeling that spreading the love of peonies far and wide is one of them! :-)
Southern Peony Joins Pinterest
Peony 'Kopper Kettle'