2019 Planting Open Pollinated Seed from Last Fall

2018 Open Pollinated Seeds in Bags
I know it is a little late, but I guess I just got back around to it. I finally got my seed planted from 2018. Maybe it was because I wasn't very excited about the seeds that I got, or maybe it was because I wasn't that excited about the number of seeds that I got. Whatever the reason, at least I finally got them planted. I guess I was a little disappointed that none of my intersectional crosses worked last year, 2018 Dismal Seed Production Year. Also it was actually a bad year for seed overall. Usually I have enough seeds that I am able to donate some to the American Peony Society Seed Distribution Program (which is a great program if you are looking to grow peonies from seed). This year, however, I only got 18 seeds, not just from one variety, but total - 18 seeds in total. It was a terrible year for seed production.


2018 Open Pollinated Seeds Planting Bed
I guess I finally decided to be thankful for what Mother Nature has given me (plus I got my label maker working again, well, working enough to print out a few seed labels). So I made a few signs for the seeds and got them planted on this nice 60 degree day in February (another thing to be thankful for, especially after the cold arctic blast we got this past week). I highly doubt these peony seeds will sprout this spring since I planted them so late, but at least they're in the ground. Hopefully I'll see some lovely peony blooms from them a few years down the road...

2019 Tree Peonies Starting to Peek Out

Unknown White Tree Peony
It's been a month since I first snapped a few photos of my tree peonies in January, 2019 New Year Holds (Peony) Promise! Although it is only February, I can already see some movement in the buds. I'm not sure if it is the temperatures or the length of our days that they are responding to (or maybe a combination of both), but they are definitely starting to grow a bit. Although tree peonies have been slow to start taking hold for me, I am starting to enjoy growing them a bit more. Also you get to watch them come to life long before the herbaceous and intersectional peonies start to wake up. If you don't yet grow any tree peonies, I'd definitely recommend trying one or two. They are certainly entertaining in these long winter months...


Tree Peony 'White Phoenix'

Tree Peony 'Chojuraku'

Tree Peony 'Yao Huang'

Tree Peony "Chinese Pink" Seedling

Tree Peony 'Sahohime'

2019 Intersectional Peony Catalog Price Comparison List

Not only is the new year here, but the first month of the new year is almost over! The online peony catalogs have been up for weeks now, but I think we are really only missing one. The vendors who don't have their lists up yet still have a line through them. I'll update this information as more online peony catalogs are updated and become available. I added a little bit of formatting and color to try to make the price list a little easier to read. I hope you like it! If you'd like to compare this year's prices to last year's prices, here's a link to my 2018 Intersectional Peony Catalog Price Comparison List Enjoy! (Also if you'd like your company to be listed here, please join the American Peony Society as a Commercial Member, since this is where I obtain my peony grower information.)


2019 Southern Peony Intersectional Peony Price List
Intersectional Peony 'Julia Rose'

Varieties Offered	Peony Vendor	Price Change from Last Year
35	Adelman		mostly same or lower
2	Blossom Hill		same
18	Brooks		mostly same or lower
6	Cricket Hill		same
11	Fina		same
6	Hidden Springs		mostly higher
10	Hollingsworth		mostly lower
7	Peony's Envy		same
17	Peony Shop Holland		mostly lower
30	Solaris Farms		mostly lower or same
11	Song Sparrow		same
39	Swenson		mostly lower

Intersectional Peony	Price	Vendor
Al's Choice	$75.00	Brooks
Al's Choice	$75.00	Swenson
Anderson's Kaleidoscope	$40.00	Swenson
(Anderson's) Kaleidoscope	$75.00	Brooks
Ballarena de Saval	$65.00	Adelman
Bartzella	$40.00	Solaris Farms
Bartzella	$45.00	Adelman
Bartzella	$50.00	Brooks
Bartzella	$50.00	Hollingsworth
Bartzella	$54.95	Hidden Springs
Bartzella	$58.00	Fina
Bartzella	$60.00	Swenson
Bartzella	$75.00	Song Sparrow
Bartzella	$79.00	Peony's Envy
Bartzella	$89.00	Cricket Hill
Berry Garcia	$95.00	Brooks
Border Charm	$25.00	Swenson
Border Charm	$40.00	Adelman
Border Charm	$60.00	Song Sparrow
Border Charm	C$90.00	Blossom Hill
Callie's Memory	€10.00	Peony Shop Holland
Callie's Memory	$35.00	Solaris Farms
Callie's Memory	$40.00	Hollingsworth
Callie's Memory	$40.00	Swenson
Callie's Memory	$65.00	Brooks
Canary Brilliants	$35.00	Solaris Farms
Canary Brilliants	$40.00	Swenson
Canary Brilliants	$55.00	Adelman
Canary Brilliants	$55.00	Brooks
Canary Brilliants	$79.00	Peony's Envy
Canary Brilliants	$89.00	Cricket Hill
Chief Black Hawk	$175.00	Brooks
Chief Black Hawk	$175.00	Swenson
Cora Louise	$59.95	Hidden Springs
Cora Louise	$60.00	Adelman
Cora Louise	$60.00	Brooks
Cora Louise	$79.00	Peony's Envy
Cora Louise	$80.00	Song Sparrow
Cora Louise	$89.00	Cricket Hill
Court Jester	$40.00	Swenson
First Arrival	$35.00	Solaris Farms
First Arrival	$40.00	Swenson
First Arrival	$50.00	Hollingsworth
First Arrival	$57.00	Fina
First Arrival	$60.00	Adelman
First Arrival	$60.00	Brooks
First Arrival	$79.00	Peony's Envy
First Arrival	$89.00	Cricket Hill
Garden Treasure	$30.00	Swenson
Garden Treasure	$35.00	Solaris Farms
Garden Treasure	$50.00	Adelman
Garden Treasure	$50.00	Brooks
Garden Treasure	$50.00	Hollingsworth
Garden Treasure	$52.00	Fina
Garden Treasure	$54.99	Hidden Springs
Garden Treasure	$79.00	Peony's Envy
Garden Treasure	$85.00	Song Sparrow
Garden Treasure	$89.00	Cricket Hill
Going Bananas	$32.00	Adelman
Going Bananas	$40.00	Swenson
Going Bananas	C$90.00	Blossom Hill
Going Bananas	$110.00	Song Sparrow
Gordon E. Simonson	$150.00	Hollingsworth
Gordon E. Simonson	$150.00	Swenson
Gordon E. Simonson	$185.00	Adelman
Gordon E. Simonson	€250.00	Peony Shop Holland
Hidden Treasure	$35.00	Solaris Farms
Hillary	$35.00	Solaris Farms
Hillary	$40.00	Swenson
Hillary	$50.00	Adelman
Hillary	$50.00	Hollingsworth
Hillary	$55.00	Brooks
Hillary	$55.00	Fina
Hillary	$59.95	Hidden Springs
Japanese Itoh (Unknown Yelllow)	$30.00	Swenson
Joanna Marlene	$60.00	Swenson
Joanna Marlene	$75.00	Fina
Joanna Marlene	$75.00	Solaris Farms
Joanna Marlene	$80.00	Adelman
Julia Rose	$35.00	Solaris Farms
Julia Rose	$40.00	Swenson
Julia Rose	$54.00	Fina
Julia Rose	$65.00	Brooks
Julia Rose	$75.00	Adelman
Julia Rose	$79.00	Peony's Envy
Julia Rose	$85.00	Song Sparrow
Julia Rose	$89.00	Cricket Hill
Kopper Kettle	$99.00	Adelman
Kopper Kettle	$100.00	Swenson
Lemon Dream	$35.00	Adelman
Lemon Dream	$35.00	Solaris Farms
Lemon Dream	$40.00	Swenson
Lemon Dream	$45.00	Fina
Lemon Dream	$55.00	Brooks
Little Darlin'	€25.00	Peony Shop Holland
Little Darlin'	$60.00	Song Sparrow
Lollipop	$45.00	Solaris Farms
Lollipop	$60.00	Swenson
Lollipop	$62.00	Fina
Love Affair	€60.00	Peony Shop Holland
Love Affair	$120.00	Brooks
Love Affair	$125.00	Adelman
Love Affair	$150.00	Solaris Farms
Lunar Glow	$45.00	Solaris Farms
Luxuriant	$150.00	Swenson
Momo Taro (Peach Boy)	$50.00	Solaris Farms
Morning Lilac	$60.00	Solaris Farms
Morning Lilac	$60.00	Swenson
Morning Lilac	$65.00	Adelman
New Millennium	$100.00	Swenson
New Millennium	€150.00	Peony Shop Holland
New Millennium	$160.00	Hollingsworth
New Millennium	$165.00	Adelman
Norwegian Blush	$125.00	Swenson
Old Rose Dandy	€13.00	Peony Shop Holland
Old Rose Dandy	$30.00	Swenson
Old Rose Dandy	$35.00	Solaris Farms
Old Rose Dandy	$40.00	Adelman
Pastel Splendor	$30.00	Swenson
Pastel Splendor	$35.00	Solaris Farms
Pastel Splendor	$42.00	Fina
Pastel Splendor	$45.00	Adelman
Pastel Splendor	$48.95	Hidden Springs
Pastel Splendor	$75.00	Song Sparrow
Peppermint Blush	$150.00	Swenson
Pink Double Dandy	$85.00	Song Sparrow
Prairie Charm	€10.00	Peony Shop Holland
Prairie Charm	$25.00	Swenson
Prairie Charm	$40.00	Hollingsworth
Prairie Charm	$44.95	Hidden Springs
Prairie Charm	$95.00	Song Sparrow
Predawn Beauty	$150.00	Swenson
Purple Reign	$250.00	Swenson
Rosy Prospects	€30.00	Peony Shop Holland
Rosy Prospects	$35.00	Adelman
Royal Blush	$50.00	Swenson
Saffron Innocence	$100.00	Swenson
Scarlet Heaven	$35.00	Solaris Farms
Scarlet Heaven	$40.00	Adelman
Scarlet Heaven	$40.00	Hollingsworth
Scarlet Heaven	$60.00	Brooks
Scarlet Heaven	$79.00	Peony's Envy
Scarlet Heights	$175.00	Swenson
Sequestered Sunshine	$48.00	Fina
Shining Light	$25.00	Swenson
Singing in the Rain	$40.00	Solaris Farms
Singing in the Rain	$50.00	Adelman
Singing in the Rain	$60.00	Brooks
Smith Family Jewel	$45.00	Solaris Farms
Smith Family Yellow	$99.00	Adelman
Smith Family Yellow	$100.00	Hollingsworth
Sonoma Amethyst	€30.00	Peony Shop Holland
Sonoma Amethyst	$45.00	Solaris Farms
Sonoma Amethyst	$60.00	Adelman
Sonoma Amethyst	$65.00	Fina
Sonoma Apricot	€23.00	Peony Shop Holland
Sonoma Apricot	$35.00	Solaris Farms
Sonoma Apricot	$80.00	Adelman
Sonoma By the Bay	$130.00	Solaris Farms
Sonoma Halo	$250.00	Solaris Farms
Sonoma Halo	$350.00	Adelman
Sonoma Kaleidoscope	$100.00	Adelman
Sonoma Rosy Future	$75.00	Solaris Farms
Sonoma Rosy Future	$85.00	Adelman
Sonoma Sun	€23.00	Peony Shop Holland
Sonoma Sun	$45.00	Adelman
Sonoma Velvet Ruby	€23.00	Peony Shop Holland
Sonoma Velvet Ruby	$35.00	Adelman
Sonoma Welcome	€25.00	Peony Shop Holland
Sonoma Welcome	$45.00	Solaris Farms
Sonoma Welcome	$65.00	Adelman
Sonoma Yedo	$350.00	Solaris Farms
Strawberry Blush	$150.00	Swenson
Strawberry Blush	$165.00	Adelman
Tonka Berry	$175.00	Swenson
Tonka Peach	$300.00	Swenson
Tonka Pink	$200.00	Swenson
Unique	€23.00	Peony Shop Holland
Unique	$40.00	Brooks
Unique	$45.00	Solaris Farms
Unique	$45.00	Adelman
Viking Full Moon	$35.00	Solaris Farms
Viking Full Moon	$45.00	Adelman
Watermelon Wine	€45.00	Peony Shop Holland
Watermelon Wine	$60.00	Swenson
Watermelon Wine	$99.00	Adelman
White Emperor	€25.00	Peony Shop Holland
White Emperor	$75.00	Swenson
Yankee Doodle Dandy	$85.00	Song Sparrow
Yellow Crown	€10.00	Peony Shop Holland
Yellow Crown	$35.00	Solaris Farms
Yellow Dream	$65.00	Brooks

2019 Peony 'Glowing Candles' Tries to Grow Again in January

Well, the first sprout on my newly planted Peony 'Glowing Candles' has already died. Back in November, shortly after I planted this peony root (in October), it sprouted the first time, 2018 Song Sparrow Peony Root Sprouting in the Fall. Now it's January, and it is sprouting again. We always have weird winter weather here in NC. You never really know what you're going to get, like the 2018 7 Inches of Snow on Southern Peony Gardens! we got this December. It was 71 degrees on January 1st for the high and 31 degress on the 21st for the high. It's mostly been in the 50s, 60s, or 40s for the high, but we've had some much colder weather so far this week. The 17 degree overnight temperatures we've had this week have surely done it in again. I just hope this thing has some eyes left (and energy) come spring!


Peony 'Glowing Candles' Growing Again in January
The more I think about this, the more I feel sure this root must have been refrigerated for some time (maybe even an extended period of time). I bought this root from the 2018 Fall Peony Sale @ Song Sparrow where they had 7 select peony varieties on sale for $19.95. The varieties they put on sale were 'David Harum', 'Glowing Candles', 'Green Lotus', 'High Adventure', 'Honey N Cream', 'Jubilee Pink', and 'Scarlet O'Hara'. I'm guessing those 7 varieties must have been overstocked and were in need of being sold, thus the price markdown. I couldn't resist buying Peony 'Glowing Candles', though, because it just looks so lovely. I'm wondering if anyone else who bought a root or two from this sale has had the same experience as me with having them sprout early (just curious)...

2019 Planting Chinese Peonies from Ebay

Chinese Tree Peony Order on Ebay
So I ordered these tree peonies on Ebay last August, and I just got around to planting them on the first of the year. I guess you could say I'm thinking these probably won't be correct. There weren't cheap, but they weren't that expensive either. Each of the orders was for 2 roots and it was $22.99 with free shipping. So I ended up with 4 roots altogether, but after opening the box and looking at the roots, I wasn't very motivated to plant them since they didn't really look like tree peonies to me. They looked like herbaceous roots. Also all 4 roots were in the same bag, and none of them were labeled for variety. I figured these were probably too good to be true, but I haven't seen anyone else offering tree peonies like these, and I actually did see the purple tree peony on my trip to China, 2018 Southern Peony Visits Shenzhou Peony Garden 神州牡丹园, (and it was my most favorite peony that I saw on the whole trip).


Chinese Purple Tree Peony
The color of the purple tree peony I photographed is not quite this blue toned (so obviously this photo was altered), but it was a lovely shade of lavender-pink-purple and it has this same "bomb" type peony flower form. So I had to try anyway since I really, really want one of those purple tree peonies. Who knows if I will ever find one, though? The roots however were a solid mass of crown with tons of eyes on them, no woody stems, and very little to no feeder roots. I'm sure they will live, but they will probably take many years to flower, and most likely they will be some type of herbaceous peony. I feel a little disappointed already, but my quest for the purple bomb type tree peony will go on, and I will just add the results of these roots to my 2018 Ebay Peony Seller Reviews, whenever they bloom and show their true colors!


'Qui Ball' Light Pink Tree Peony