2020 Peony Blooms Week 8 Very Very Late

It looks like the "Firefly"s came out this week. It is always so neat to see the wild, twisted, and striped petals on Peony 'Raspberry Firely' and Peony 'Pink Firefly'. Peony 'Candy Stipe' is always one of the last peonies to bloom in my garden, and I always look forward to it's peppermint like stipes as well. Peony 'Cora Stubbs' presents a beautiful bi-color with perfectly pink petals and an almost white tuft in the center, so cute. Peony 'Pink Derby' also has multiple layers of color in a big, bomb shaped flower. I can't believe the peony season is drawing near to the end. This week 8 bloom period is only the 2nd time in 10 years that we've had a very very late Week 8 season. I have really enjoyed having so much time with the blooms this year. I think we may even have a record-setting Week 9 next week. :-o Stay tuned!


Peony 'Cora Stubbs'

Peony 'Raspberry Firefly'

Peony 'Pink Derby'

Peony 'Pink Firefly'

Peony 'Candy Stripe'

2020 Giant Leaves on Herbaceous Peony 'Juliska'!!

Herbaceous Peony 'Juliska' Giant Leaves 10 Inches Across
So the foliage on the Peony 'Juliska' is not as large as the foliage that grew on my 2013 Peony Foliage on Steriods! Peony 'Bowl of Cream'. However it is still really, really big. I am wondering if this Peony 'Juliska' foliage will grow this large every year or if something just happens some years that causes this monstrous foliage. My Peony 'Bowl of Cream' foliage is large, but I don't think I've ever seen it grow quite as large as it did in 2013. This Peony 'Juliska' plant is still quite young. This is only the second year of growth for it. It had a flower on it the first year. I probably should have pinched the bud off to let the plant store more energy, but I really wanted to see it flower so I didn't pinch it off.


Herbaceous Peony 'Juliska' Grows Giant Leaves

Herbaceous Peony 'Juliska' in Planting Bed
Foliage Much Larger than Other Herbaceous Peonies
To give you some perspective, I snapped the photo about with Peony 'Juliska' in the bottom center of the photo. It is planted near Peony 'Sarah Bernhardt' and Peony 'Lake o' Silver'. As a comparison the foliage on this Peony 'Juliska' plant is just huge compared to the foliage of the other two herbaceous peonies. The foliage of those other two herbaceous peonies is much more pointed and smaller. This Peony 'Juliska' foliage is really rounded and much larger. One compound leaf grew 10 inches across and 6 inches high, and a leaf node grew 4 inches wide. Only time will tell how this Peony 'Juliska' grows in the future. I will keep my eye on her...


Herbaceous Peony 'Juliska'
Single Compound Leaf

Herbaceous Peony 'Juliska' Leaf Height 6 Inches


Herbaceous Peony 'Juliska' Leaf Width 4 Inches

2020 Giant Bloom on Intersectional Peony 'Gordon E. Simonson'

Intersectional Peony 'Gordon E. Simonson'
WOW! That's all I can really say about this Giant Bloom on my Intersectional Peony 'Gordon E. Simonson'. Of all the intersectional peonies I grow, the flowers on this one are definitely the largest. This is actually the first year this intersectional peony has bloomed for me. I first planted it in 2017, and it took until now to grow it to blooming size. The very first flower to open on this plant is super huge!! The petals on this flower just continued to grow and expand as it was open.


Intersectional Peony 'Gordon E. Simonson'
The color has faded some since it first opened, but for the most part, it has held the color pretty well, and is still a very nice shade. The substance on these petals is unbelievable! They are thick and really hold up well to the sun. This plant had 4 blooms on it for me this year, the first year that it has ever bloomed for me. What a giant stunner! I can't wait to see how this one does next year as well!! I wasn't sure if I would like this peony or not since it doesn't have a great name, but I am really impressed.


Intersectional Peony 'Gordon E. Simonson'

2020 Intersectional Peony Blooms Week 7 Very Late

Never Have I Ever...
1. Never Have I Ever had 4 weeks of intersectional peony cultivar blooms opening for the first time, until 2 weeks ago!
2. Never Have I Ever had 5 weeks of intersectional peony cultivar blooms opening for the first time, until last week!
3. Never Have I Ever had an intersectional peony open for the first time in Week 6, Late Bloom Season, until 2 weeks ago!
4. Never Have I Ever had an intersectional peony open for the first time in Week 7, Very Late Bloom Season, until just this past week!!

Wow!!! This has really been an exceptional year for the peony bloom season. While there are a few other blooms left on some cultivars that starting blooming earlier in the season like Intersectional Peony 'Bartzella', these two peonies 'Chief Black Hawk' and 'Berry Garcia' opened their first blooms this past week in Week 7. I just can't believe it. The weather really does make a difference in when during the year your peonies will bloom, how fast (or slow) all of buds on the plant will open, and how long the blooms will stay on the plant before falling off. If you'd like to see how this year stacks up to some of the previous years here at Southern Peony, take a look at our Southern Peony Bloom Dates page. It shows which years had flowers in which weeks for the past 10 years! This is pretty much the end of the intersectional bloom season. However there are still some herbaceous lactifloras that haven't opened yet. So I'm still looking forward to Week 8, Very Very Late!


Intersectional Peony 'Chief Black Hawk'

Intersectional Peony 'Berry Garcia'

2020 Peony Blooms Week 7 Very Late

The lactifloras are definitely out this week. I can't believe how many blooms we had opening this past week in May our 7th week of bloom! I have never seen a bloom season quite like this one, and I am just thrilled. I wish our spring weather could be this temperate and easy on the plants every year! I know the peonies have enjoyed the cooler nights and less hot days. Their blooms have lasted longer and they have opened slower, both for the season and on the bush. A peony that's blooms might only last 1 week in the year are now lasting 2 weeks. I am very grateful for this opportunity to observe, document, see, and smell the flowers this year for such an extended period. I hope your bloom season is going swell too!


Peony 'Mother's Choice'

Peony 'Angel Cheeks'

Peony 'Paul M. Wild'

Peony 'Pillow Talk'

Peony 'Rose Heart'

Peony 'Westerner'

Peony 'Ursa Minor'

Peony 'Petticoat Flounce'

Peony Lavender Ruffles

Peony 'Mr. Ed'