2020 Peony Experiments - Adventitious Roots Results, Peony 'Grace Root'

Peony 'Grace Root' Sign
Well, I guess you could say this Experiment is a failure. It's been almost 5 years since I planted those Peony 'Grace Root' root tips, 2015 Peony Experiments - Planting Adventitious Roots, and nothing has grown from them. Maybe next time I will try actually cutting pieces close to the crown of the plant and/or cutting larger pieces. The root tips I planted for this experiment were just small pieces that happened to break off from the Peony 'Grace Root' plant when I was digging it to be divided (so that I could donate a root to a local arboretum). I can also say with confidence that I did not pay those root pieces any special attention - no watering, no fertilizing, no nothing - just time. Upon digging in the soil I found no traces of those root pieces either. So I'm guessing they dried up and disintegrated. Oh well, on to the next!


Peony 'Grace Root' Adventitious Root Test Bed

2020 Bye Bye Imposter Itohs, Hello Favorite Intersectional Peonies!!

Intersectional Peony 'Yumi' in Japanese Garden
I got tired of every year hoping the intersectional peonies I had right outside my back door were going to be beautiful intersectional peony plants filled with lush, full double blossoms. They were supposed to be Intersectional Peony 'Impossible Dream' and Intersectional Peony 'Yumi'. Both were imposters, intersectional peonies - they were, but the named cultivars they claimed to be - they were not. I purchased both of them from the same seller on Ebay, atskor8, 2018 Ebay Peony Seller Reviews, and they both turned out to be mostly single, yellow intersectional peonies with a very small number of flowers of small size and unimpressive qualities. It was especially disappointing since I had these planted in some of the most prime real estate in the garden, with partially protected, mostly moist, sunny locations!


Intersectional Peony 'Yumi'
Every year I keep thinking that I've already ripped out the imposters and replaced them with "real" cultivars, and every spring I am disappointed again. So this year before they bloomed, I finally remembered that I still needed to take those lame peonies out of my best spots and put in something good! I had already ordered a replacement for Intersectional Peony 'Yumi' from a different vendor on Ebay in 2016, garden*breeze, whose product turned out to be authentic. So I just needed to get rid of that imposter, which ended up in the compost pile, and put the real one in its place. Easy peasy.


Intersectional Peony 'Bartzella' in Deck Garden
As for the imposter Intersectional Peony 'Impossible Dream', that one too went to the compost pile. In keeping with the yellow theme in that area, I decided to put a division of Intersectional Peony 'Bartzella' in its place. Intersectional Peony 'Bartzella' really is one of the best intersectional peonies there is. It is an APS Gold Medal Winner and has also been awarded the APS Award of Landscape Merit. It is also a Southern Peony Best Performer and consistently puts on a show every year, 2012 Peony 'Bartzella' Best Performer - Week 5. I am excited to see both of these gorgeous intersectional peonies take off in their new spots!!!


Intersectional Peony 'Bartzella'

2020 Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' Arrives from K. Van Bourgondien

Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' Arrives
from K. Van Bourgondien
Remember that order I placed last month for another try at Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious'? 2020 Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' - Here We Go Again!! Well, it actually arrived last week. That was really fast. It actually arrived one week to the day after placing the order. Unlike the intersectional peonies I ordered from Spring Hill Nursery, 2020 Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' Arrives from Spring Hill Nursery, this peony was not potted, growing, and carefully packed. It was bagged in a vented plastic bag containing peat moss and shipped in the box with a couple of air bubbles to minimize damage and breakage in transit. It's a little disappointing in comparison. However this root was much cheaper. Hopefully the savings in price is from the treatment and presentation of the plant and not the authenticity this time!


Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' Bagged
I was able to get the root planted quickly, and I decided to plant it right next to one of the fake ones I received from Tulip World, 2019 'Scrumdidleyumptious' Intersectional Peony Update, for comparison purposes. It will be interesting to see how the foliage compares when they are both up and growing. I hope this one wakes up soon, as it looks like it has been storage perhaps. I'm also hoping this one is the real thing. The root I got this time from K. Van Bourgondien looks much different that the roots I got from Tulip World, 2018 Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' Arrives. Here's hoping it's correct!!! :-)


Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' Bagged

2020 Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' Arrives from Spring Hill Nursery

Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' Arrives
My order of Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' arrived this week from Spring Hill Nursery. The plants arrived well packaged and quite safe from spills and accidents just as they did the last time I placed an intersectional peony order with Spring Hill Nursery, 2019 Spring Hill Nursery Peony Order Arrives. Each peony is potted and growing in a small pot. The pots are bagged and twist tied, and then securely attached to cardboard boxes with viewing panes that are wrapped in an additional layer of shrink wrapped plastic. Last year the intersectional peonies I ordered had foliage visible in those viewing panes, while the Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' plants I ordered this year did not.


Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' Order Arrives

Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' Potted and Bagged
The big difference may be the timing of the order. Last year I received my order in mid April and the peonies were fully leafed out, which made it easy to identify the foliage as intersectional. This year I received my order in early March, and the peonies have not yet leafed out, which makes them a bit harder to verify as intersectional. However one of the two peonies received has started to break dormancy, as the bud has visibly opened, and a tiny leaflet has emerged. This tiny leaflet does appear to be very tree peony like in appearance, which leads me to believe these are likely intersectional peonies. I'd like to verify the full foliage once it emerges to make the final determination. So I'll keep you posted as the peony foliage continues to mature.


Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' Breaking Dormancy

Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' Still Dormant

2020 Peony Seedling Double Light Pink with Red Center

Southern Peony Seedling: Light Pink Double with Red Center
There was one more peony in my peony seedling bed that I found of interest last year. I tagged it to be moved to my peony seedling test bed last year while it was blooming. Let's just say today was the first opportunity I had to do so. I saved the cleanup of my peony seedling bed until last, and I finally got to cutting back the dead foliage today. While doing so I noticed the tag I placed on this plant last May, marked as "Light Pink Double Red Center". As you can see, the blooms present in two different ways in the photo. The one in the front is the main bud, with more rounded, even petals. The one in the back is the side bud, with more frilly pink petals. Both forms are beautiful to me, and I'm curious to see how this one will perform this year. Since the peonies aren't really out of the ground much yet here, (and this one hadn't started growing yet at all), I decided to go ahead and move it today.


Southern Peony Seedling Dead Foliage


Southern Peony Seedling Eye Bud & Sign


Southern Peony Seedling Roots


Southern Peony Seedling New Planting Hole


Southern Peony Seedling Planted


Southern Peony Seedling Close Up