2013 P. Rockii Peony Plant Arrived

Well, the P. Rockii Species Peony from Edelweiss Perennials that I ordered last week arrived today. It looks like a nice size plant, although the leaves looked a little wilted, presumably from its trip through the mail system. So I decided to let it take a dip and rest in the shade this afternoon. The plant was well protected in its box except for its dirt, some of which was dispersed inside the package. The roots of the tree peony were showing since the top soil has been displaced. (This could have been prevented by putting the pot in a plastic bag and using a twist tie to close the plastic bag around the stem. I've gotten several other plants in the mail this way, and it seems to work very well.) So anyway I added a little potting soil and water to the top of 4" pot, that was supposed to be a quart - which I plan to contact the company about. So we will see what they say about that. Otherwise, the plant seems to be a good one with nice foliage. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, which is good since it's so hot all of a sudden. Hopefully it will cool us down a bit and keep the ground a little moist. Then I should be able to plant out this P. rockii on Saturday. :-)
P. Rockii Peony Plant

2013 P. Rockii Species Peonies at Edelweiss Perennials

Wow. Google is my friend. :-) I found a P. rockii peony using Google offered by Edelweiss Perennials. I've never heard of this nursery before, but I thought I'd take a chance. It seems like they a large variety of plants. They even have several other species peonies to choose from (Paeonia delavayi, Paeonia intermedia, Paeonia lutea var. ludlowii, Paeonia mairei, Paeonia mascula subsp. arietina, Paeonia mlokosewitschii, Paeonia obovata var. willmottiae, Paeonia peregrina, Paeonia potaninii, Paeonia rockii ssp. rockii, and Paeonia tenuifolia). Some of them I've not seen offered elsewhere (like Paeonia intermedia, P. mairei, P. potaninii, P. triternata), and their prices are very reasonable. If the P. rockii peony I purchase from them does well, I may order some additional species plants from them later this year or next year. I'm really excited to see the white and purple blooms of the Paeonia rockii!

P. rockii Peony at Edelweiss Perennials

2013 Intersectional Peony Catalog Price Comparison List

So. I really like intersectional peonies (also known as Itoh peonies). I've collected quite a few of them, but I definitely do not have them all (especially some of the more expensive varieties). So I've been keeping my eye on their prices, and they have been coming down in price as they become more common in the marketplace. I created a spreadsheet with all of the available varieties for 2013 from nurseries that specialize in peonies. I haven't ordered from all of these vendors, so I can't speak for their quality or reliability, but I thought this might be helpful information for other gardeners out there looking to collect intersectional peonies as well or maybe just add the first one to your garden. Also if you have your heart set on a particular variety, get your order in early, because some of these will sell out (and some of them already have)! Enjoy!

Intersectional Peony	Price	Vendor
Al's Choice	$89.00	Brooks
Ballarena de Saval	$70.00	Adelman
Bartzella	$45.00	Solaris Farms
Bartzella	$60.00	Fina
Bartzella	$75.00	Swenson
Bartzella	$79.00	Brooks
Bartzella	$79.00	Buck Canyon
Bartzella	$79.00	Peony's Envy
Bartzella	$80.00	Adelman
Bartzella	$80.00	Hollingsworth
Bartzella	$85.00	Birchwood
Bartzella	$95.00	Song Sparrow
Bartzella	$99.00	Cricket Hill
Border Charm	$39.99	Hidden Springs
Border Charm	$40.00	Adelman
Border Charm	$40.00	Swenson
Border Charm	$45.00	Birchwood
Border Charm	$45.00	Song Sparrow
Border Charm	$59.00	Peony's Envy
Callie's Memory	$59.00	Peony's Envy
Callie's Memory	$75.00	Brooks
Callie's Memory	$95.00	Solaris Farms
Callie's Memory	$100.00	Swenson
Canary Brilliants	$59.00	Peony's Envy
Canary Brilliants	$70.00	Adelman
Canary Brilliants	$75.00	Swenson
Canary Brilliants	$90.00	Solaris Farms
Chief Black Hawk	$285.00	Brooks
Copper Kettle	$150.00	Swenson
Cora Louise	$60.00	Adelman
Cora Louise	$60.00	Brooks
Cora Louise	$60.00	Hollingsworth
Cora Louise	$75.00	Song Sparrow
Cora Louise	$80.00	Song Sparrow
Cora Louise	$99.00	Cricket Hill
Court Jester	$100.00	Swenson
First Arrival	$45.00	Solaris Farms
First Arrival	$60.00	Adelman
First Arrival	$75.00	Buck Canyon
First Arrival	$75.00	Song Sparrow
First Arrival	$75.00	Swenson
First Arrival	C$130.00	Blossom Hill
Garden Treasure	$50.00	Solaris Farms
Garden Treasure	$55.00	Fina
Garden Treasure	$65.00	Swenson
Garden Treasure	$68.00	Hollingsworth
Garden Treasure	$69.99	Hidden Springs
Garden Treasure	$79.00	Brooks
Garden Treasure	$80.00	Adelman
Garden Treasure	$80.00	Buck Canyon
Garden Treasure	$85.00	Song Sparrow
Garden Treasure	$89.00	Peony's Envy
Garden Treasure	$90.00	Bannister
Garden Treasure	$99.00	Cricket Hill
Going Bananas	$40.00	Adelman
Going Bananas	C$130.00	Blossom Hill
Gordon E. Simonson	$250.00	Adelman
Hidden Treasure	$35.00	Solaris Farms
Hillary	$48.00	Hollingsworth
Hillary	$50.00	Adelman
Hillary	$55.00	Brooks
Hillary	$59.00	Peony's Envy
Hillary	$60.00	Buck Canyon
Hillary	$60.00	Fina
Hillary	$75.00	Solaris Farms
Hillary	$75.00	Swenson
Joanna Marlene	$75.00	Solaris Farms
Joanna Marlene	$80.00	Adelman
Joanna Marlene	$100.00	Swenson
Julia Rose	$65.00	Swenson
Julia Rose	$75.00	Adelman
Julia Rose	$75.00	Solaris Farms
Julia Rose	C$130.00	Blossom Hill
Kaleidoscope	$75.00	Swenson
Kaleidoscope	$99.00	Buck Canyon
Kopper Kettle	$99.00	Adelman
Lafayette Escadrille	$48.00	Hollingsworth
Lemon Dream	$45.00	Adelman
Lemon Dream	$48.00	Hollingsworth
Lemon Dream	$50.00	Solaris Farms
Lemon Dream	$59.00	Peony's Envy
Lemon Dream	$75.00	Swenson
Little Darlin	$60.00	Birchwood
Little Darlin	$65.00	Song Sparrow
Lollipop	$90.00	Solaris Farms
Love Affair	$150.00	Adelman
Love Affair	$150.00	Hollingsworth
Maroon Dragon Claw	$89.00	Cricket Hill
Morning Lilac	$64.00	Buck Canyon
Morning Lilac	$70.00	Adelman
New Millennium	$200.00	Adelman
New Millennium	$250.00	Swenson
Norwegian Blush	$95.00	Song Sparrow
Old Rose Dandy	$45.00	Adelman
Old Rose Dandy	$45.00	Solaris Farms
Old Rose Dandy	$45.00	Swenson
Old Rose Dandy	$59.00	Peony's Envy
Pastel Splendor	$35.00	Solaris Farms
Pastel Splendor	$40.00	Swenson
Pastel Splendor	$45.00	Adelman
Pastel Splendor	$65.00	Song Sparrow
Pastel Splendor	$79.00	Peony's Envy
Pastel Splendor	C$80.00	Blossom Hill
Prairie Charm	$40.00	Adelman
Prairie Charm	$50.00	Birchwood
Prairie Charm	$50.00	Hollingsworth
Prairie Charm	$50.00	Swenson
Prairie Charm	$54.95	Hidden Springs
Prairie Charm	$59.00	Peony's Envy
Prairie Charm	$60.00	Song Sparrow
Prairie Charm	$75.00	Bannister
Prairie Sunshine	$80.00	Hollingsworth
Rosy Prospects	$200.00	Swenson
Royal Blush	$150.00	Swenson
Saffron Innocence	$200.00	Swenson
Scarlet Heaven	$40.00	Adelman
Scarlet Heaven	$40.00	Swenson
Scarlet Heaven	$55.00	Solaris Farms
Scarlet Heaven	$59.00	Peony's Envy
Scarlet Heaven	C$80.00	Blossom Hill
Scarlet Heaven	$99.00	Cricket Hill
Sequestered Sunshine	$50.00	Solaris Farms
Smith Family Yellow	$99.00	Adelman
Sonoma Amethyst	$65.00	Adelman
Sonoma Apricot	$55.00	Solaris Farms
Sonoma Sun	$80.00	Adelman
Sonoma Velvet Ruby	$80.00	Adelman
Sonoma Welcome	$55.00	Adelman
Sunshine Sensation	C$130.00	Blossom Hill
Unique	$48.00	Buck Canyon
Unique	$60.00	Adelman
Unique	$75.00	Swenson
Viking Full Moon	$40.00	Solaris Farms
Viking Full Moon	$45.00	Adelman
Viking Full Moon	$50.00	Swenson
Viking Full Moon	$95.00	Song Sparrow
Watermelon Wine	$150.00	Adelman
Yankee Doodle Dandy	$59.00	Peony's Envy
Yellow Crown	$55.00	Solaris Farms
Yellow Emperor	$50.00	Swenson
Yellow Emperor	$55.00	Solaris Farms

2013 Tree Peony P. Rockii Seeds on Ebay

I've been wanting a P. rockii tree peony for quite some time, but I have yet to acquire one. So I decided to buy some of the P. rockii tree peony seeds that I found for sale on Ebay. They were kind of expensive ($7.50), but not as expensive as the plant itself (which is usually $50+). So I decided to give them a try. Plus the $7.50 price did include the shipping. So I guess it's not too bad. I've purchased some P. rockii and P. rockii hybrid seeds from the APS Peony Seed Sale before, but they have yet to germinate. I'm hoping these will do something since they're advertised as USA grown and fresh. We shall see...

2013 Soaking Peony Seeds

I knew these little bowls would come in handy when I bought them at Ross a while ago. I haven't used them until now, but I think I've found a pretty good use for them. Now I wish I had bought more! I have 15 different varieties of Chinese Tree Peony Seeds that I need to soak, and I want to keep them separate while I'm soaking the seeds so that I can keep track of the peony variety. These mini bowls are the perfect size, and the colors are so bright, they just cheer me up. (Which is good since with the cold late winter / early spring we've been having, none of my peonies have bloomed yet!) I usually soak my peony seeds overnight to let them soften up a little and absorb some of the water. I ordered 100 of these Chinese tree peony seeds, about 7 of each of the 15 different varieties. They ended up sending me about 8 seeds of each of the varieties. That was nice of them to send a few extra seeds. Hopefully that will increase the chance of getting some of the seeds to successfully germinate! After these peony seeds soak for a day, then I will plant them out into my seedling test bed and let Mother Nature take over!
Soaking Peony Seeds

2013 American Peony Society Medal on Etsy

I finally got a protective case a couple of weeks ago for the American Peony Society Silver Medal I found on Etsy. Wow, what a great find! It looks really nice in its case. I'm planning to bring it to the 2013 American Peony Society convention with me this year. So if you'd like to see it, and also be in the company of lots of other peony enthusiasts, please come join us at the 2013 American Peony Society Convention at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA in this year. This particular APS Medal was issued to Marvin Karrels in 1975. This medal is older than me! :-) It would be nice to earn one of these one day. It might be kind of funny to be a Mr. Peony, though. I wonder if they've ever issued a Mrs. Peony! LOL!

American Peony Society Silver Medal Front
Medal Reads:
AMERICAN PEONY SOCIETY INC. JULY 2, 1904


American Peony Society Silver Medal Back
Medal Inscription Reads:
MARVIN KARRELS
Master Showman
Enthusiastic
Connoisseur
Gentleman Deluxe
MR. PEONY

2013 Peony Experiments - Intersectional Divisions

I am happy to report that 5 of the 6 Peony 'Bartzella' root divisions that I planted last fall, in the 2012 Peony Experiments - Intersectional Divisions, have come up! Even one of the divisions with no roots sprouted. I didn't apply any rooting hormone or fertilizer, and I gave them very little supplemental water. Mother Nature did her thing! Some of the peony divisions even have multiple stems sprouting from the base! The only one that didn't sprout at all was the division that had no roots and the stem was old wood. The other division that had no roots came up, and that one had new wood. So it seems that the intersectional peony divisions can generate roots when there aren't any, if the division is a new stem. So get out there and start dividing your peonies! Fill up your yard, and then fill up your friends and neighbors yards too! :-) Share the love!

Peony 'Bartzella' Division with Small Roots Sprouting
Peony 'Bartzella' Division with Tiny Roots Sprouting
Peony 'Bartzella' Division with No Roots Sprouting (New Wood)	Peony 'Bartzella' Division with No Roots Not Sprouting (Old Wood)