2018 Peony Experiments - A Tale of Two 'Kansas'es (Peonies That Is)

There once was a peony named 'Kansas' who lived in a garden in North Carolina, but there were actually two of them. One lived in full sun in the middle of the garden and was quite happy. The other one lived in part sun / part shade, and was always a grump. The 'Kansas' that lived in part shade was always jealous of the 'Kansas' that lived in full sun. That full sun 'Kansas' had everything it needed to grow and bloom beautifully - full sun, plenty of water, and no competition from tree and shrub roots. The part shade 'Kansas' wanted to grow and bloom as big and beautifully as the full sun 'Kansas', and it put forth a great attempt, even getting 7 blooms one year. Sadly the full sun 'Kansas' just could not sustain the growth or blooms. Each year the competition got more fierce, the sun's rays became dimmer, and there was less and less water available. One day the full sun 'Kansas' suggested the part shade 'Kansas' find a new home - one with more sun, more water, and no competition. The part shade 'Kansas' had never thought of this before, but liked the idea. It was sad to leave it's home after 10 years, but decided to go and live in the sun with some other peony friends at Grandma's house.


A Tale of Two 'Kansas'es (Peonies That Is)

BLOOMS
Year	'Kansas' #1 Blooms Partial Sun	'Kansas' #2 Blooms Full Sun
2009	0	1
2010	3	27
2011	3	35
2012	1	14
2013	7	28
2014	7	39
2015	0	7
2016	1	22
2017	2	18
2018	2	30

Needless to say I decided to dig up one of my 'Kansas' peonies and give it to my Grandma. My grandmother lives on a bit of farmland with plenty of sun. She loves the dark colored peonies, and since this one, Peony 'Kansas', is an APS Gold Medal Winner and a Southern Peony Best Performer, I thought it would be nice to share it with her. As you can see from the charts here, the full sun 'Kansas' grew to full size rather quickly. (I'm sure I should divide it.) However the part sun 'Kansas' never got more than 4 stems and 7 bloom, and has since declined. The full sun 'Kansas' records are 16 stems and 39 blooms, quite a difference! So if you have any doubts about where to plant your peonies this fall, - FULL SUN!!! Pick a nice spot in the middle of your yard with no trees or shrubs nearby, and if you need more ideas on where to plant, check out our Top 5 Spots to Plant a Peony. If you're interested in checking out some of our past experiments, you can check them out here, Peony Experiments.

STEMS
Year	'Kansas' #1 Stems Partial Sun	'Kansas' #2 Stems Full Sun
2009	2	3
2010	4	13
2011	4	12
2012	3	13
2013	4	16
2014	4	15
2015	3	15
2016	2	14
2017	2	14
2018	2	14

2018 Southern Peony 'Hillary' Ships to Winner - Jill in MN

The first of this month, October, I shipped out the prize to the 2018 Southern Peony Intersectional Peony 'Hillary' Winner Selected in April. The winner was Jill from Benson, Minnesota. The growing zone in Benson, MN is 4b. That's 3 whole growing zones colder than ours. I'm sure the Intersectional Peony 'Hillary' will settle in nicely, and I can't wait to hear how it does. Intersectional Peony 'Hillary' is one of our Southern Peony Best Performers. This intersectional peony was given away to celebrate an amazing milestone for us, 2018 Southern Peony Hits 250,000 Pageviews!!. Next year will be our 10 year anniversary, so keep your eye out for another great giveaway to celebrate our 10 years of writing about peonies! Thanks again to each and everyone of our loyal Southern Peony readers!


Intersectional Peony 'Hillary' Ships to Winner
in Benson, MN, Growing Zone 4b

2018 Brooks Gardens Peonies 15%/20% Off Special Sale

Brooks Gardens Peonies 15%/20% Off Special Sale
If you missed your chance at winning a root at this year's 2018 American Peony Society Fall Auction, another peony grower just started their fall sale, Brooks Gardens Peonies. It looks like the Brooks Gardens Peonies Special Sale is good through the end of October. So get your treats now, so you won't feel tricked come October 31st! :-) They used to offer free shipping as their fall sale, but now they seem to offer a 15% to 20% discount depending on how much you order. I decided take the plunge and go for Peony 'Lois' Choice', the 2017 APS Gold Medal Winner (pictured in their sale flyer here). I usually purchase the APS Gold Medal Winner every year, but hadn't gotten this one yet because of the price. Brooks already had the lowest price, 2018 Herbaceous Hot 100 Peony Catalog Price Comparison List, and with an extra discount, who could resist?


Peony 'Chiffon Clouds'
Brooks Gardens Peonies 15%/20% Off Sale
I also snagged a root of Peony 'Chiffon Clouds'. I've been wanting this peony since 2016 when the APS Convention attendees toured Klehm's Song Sparrow, and I saw it in their field. It really reminds me of Peony 'Silvia Saunders', which I've been wanting so badly since 2016 Peony on My Wish List 'Silvia Saunders'. Peony 'Chiffon Clouds' may be a little bit more white than Peony 'Silvia Saunders', but they both have the pale pink fading to white going on. Also the photo that Brooks Gardens has on their web site really does not do this peony justice. These are photos I took of Peony 'Chiffon Clouds' when we took the 2016 APS Peony Convention Tour of Song Sparrow. As you can see Peony 'Chiffon Clouds' is just amazing. It's like a sky FULL of fluffy white peony blossom clouds!
Peony 'Chiffon Clouds'
Brooks Gardens Peonies 15%/20% Off Sale

2018 American Peony Society Fall Auction

If you haven't checked out the 2018 American Peony Society Fall Online Auction yet, today is your last chance! There are several nice selections up for bid, including some Southern Peony Best Performers, like Peony 'Hillary' (#14), 'Julia Rose' (#15). The latest APS Gold Medal Winner, Pietertje Vriend Wagenaar (#18) is even up for bid! There are also some great past American Peony Society Gold Medal Winners on the auction block, including 'Elsa Sass' (#1), 'Do Tell' (#3), 'Eliza Lundy' (#4), 'Garden Treasure' (#9), 'Seashell' (#13), 'Bowl of Cream' #20, 'Coral Charm' & 'Coral Sunset' (#24), 'White Cap' (#28), and 'Miss America (#30).


2018 American Peony Society Online Fall Auction
There are also lots of Intersectionals 'Sonoma By the Bay (#23), Pastel Splendor (#35), Sonoma Halo (#38) and Tree Peonies 'Golden Experience' (#5), 'Tria' (#6), Paeonii ostii (#11), Icarus (#16), Boreas (#25), Fuchsia Ruffles (#27), and Black Panther (#36). If you haven't found enough of a reason to check out the auction, there are also several American Peony Society Best In Show winners in this year's lineup as well. If you're interested in growing a prize winning peony, one of these Best in Show varieties might be your ticket! - 'Red Charm' (#4), 'Salmon Dream' (#9), or 'Boreas' (#25). If showing isn't your thing, and you're more interested in wild & crazy, check out 'Spiffy' (#3), 'Candy Stripe' & 'Fiber Optic' (#7), and Kirinmaru (#20). Also let's not forget about the American Peony Society ALM winners which have a collection all their own, 'Krinkled White', 'Roselette', & 'White Cap' (#28).


2018 American Peony Society Online Fall Auction Catalog
If you haven't found a reason to run, not walk, yourself over to the 2018 American Peony Society Fall Online Auction yet, there are even more varieties than what I've named here, including some advanced generation herbaceous hybrids. The APS Fall Online Auction includes 42 lots in all, but 77 peonies in all! This is definitely a great member benefit and opportunity to find that one (or two or three) last peonies to plant before 2018 is over! It's also a great way to support your club, The American Peony Society. All auction plants are donated by APS Members and all funds raised by the auction go directly to support the APS. The plants (and free shipping) are all donated by our member donors, and we owe all of them a great big THANK YOU!


2018 American Peony Society Online Fall Auction Donors

2018 Planting Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious'

Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' Pot
Is There Anything in the Pot?
I was kind of nervous to see if my intersectional 'Scrumdidleyumptious' peonies, that have been sitting it out in pots all summer were still alive after 2018 Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' Arrives, and they were planted in April. Their foliage came up nicely and they grew for a time, but the foliage has long since died back. I'm not a great pot Mom, so I didn't remember to water them much. I'm guessing that's why the foliage died back early. Luckily we have had record rain fall this year (not once did my lawn turn brown this summer from lack of water). So now these roots have been sitting in quite wet pots for a couple of months with no foliage, and I was worrying that the roots had rotted away. They've been in part sun/part shade sitting next to my deck all summer. So I decided it was time to check them out to see if there was anything still left in their pots.


Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious'
Checking the First Pot

Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious'
Checking the Second Pot
I was happily surprised to find that not only were they not rotten, but they seemed to be doing okay, maybe even pretty well. It looks like they've started to grow new, baby storage roots as well as some small white feeder roots. They actually seemed decently happy. I guess I got lucky! So I got them planted out right away. One root was larger than the other, but that's pretty much how they came. The larger root had 3 foliage sprouts in the spring, and the smaller one only had one, but they both made it! I'm guessing it might be a couple years before they actually bloom, but I am just happy to have them in my garden. I'm really hoping they are the right variety. Only time will tell! If you happened to buy a root or two from 2018 Tulip World Offers Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' for $12.95!, please write in to let me know if you get any 'Scrumdidleyumptious' blooms this spring!


Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' Root #1

Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' Root #2