2012 Peony Experiments - Sun vs. Shade

I have one Peony 'Bartzella' that is growing in full sun, and another that is growing in partial shade. The difference between them is huge. The one in full sun has loads of blooms and the foliage is fuller and lower to the ground. The one in shade had only a couple of blooms, and the foliage is much thinner, taller, and upright. Both peonies were planted in 2007. So I've been growing both of them for 5 years. The number of stems and blooms on the one in full sun really outnumbers the one in shade. The plant growing in partial shade had 6 stems and 2 blooms this year. The plant growing in full sun had 20 stems and 19 blooms this year. So it is quite obvious that intersectional peonies can grow and bloom in shade, but their vigor and number of blooms is greatly reduced. So if you have a peony that's not doing very well that is in partial shade, find a nice sunny spot in your garden for your peony and move it there! :-)

Peony 'Bartzella' Growing in Sun


Peony 'Bartzella' Growing in Partial Shade

2012 Peony Experiments - Cutting Back Dead Flowers

I usually don't get around to cutting back dead flowers on my peonies. The past couple of years I have just left them to fend for themselves until the entire stem dies back. That way I would leave the flower head intact so that seeds could develop. However I have noticed quite a bit of fungal disease, and I wondered if it had any correlation to leaving the spent bloom on the plant. The flower type really seems to make a difference in this. The single and semi-double type flowers that shed their petals easily do not seem to have as much fungal disease as the more full double flowers that seem to hang onto their petals. Also I have noticed that dead petals that have fallen onto foliage below actual contribute to additional fungal growth that otherwise may not have developed. It seems the dying petals create just the right environment (more moist and warm) that the fungus needs to develop.

Dried Peony Petals on Foliage


Fungus on Peony Foliage
Over time I have been able to better recognize which seeds pods actually have developing seeds in them. So this year, I have started cleaning up my full double flowered peonies to remove the spent blooms. I also have 2 peony bushes of a white double peony that are the same variety. I decided to cut back the spent blooms on one of them, but not the other. I will check the amount of fungal disease later in the season. I also plan to cut down the dead foliage on the same one I cut back the flowers on and leave the dead foliage intact on the one I didn't cut back the flowers on. So we shall see how much difference it makes in the amount of fungus on the plants this fall and next spring.

Peony Spent Blooms Not Cut Back


Peony Spent Blooms Cut Back

2012 APS Convention Peony Seed Sale

From the moment I got to the American Peony Society convention this year, I was looking for the seeds from the APS Peony Seed Sale. Finally on Saturday afternoon, Scott Parker, the administrator of the APS Seed Distribution Program, set up the hundreds of seed packets right outside the door to "heaven". (I'd heard one of the APS flower show attendees exclaim earlier in the day, "It smells like heaven in here!", and indeed it did.) There weren't quite as many Paeonia species seeds available this year as there were 2 years ago, but there were loads of hybrid peony seeds available.

APS Peony Seed Sale

I managed to snag 6 packs of seeds, with 4 of them being tree peonies and 2 herbaceous species peonies. I don't really grow many tree peonies currently, since with the few tree peonies I have tried (P. delavayi, P. lutea, and P. 'High Noon') only one of them is still alive (P. delavayi). Perhaps with these new tree peony seeds I will hopefully get one or two that will thrive in my climate and under my harsh gardening regime. ;) The tree peony seeds I purchased are P. rockii from Cricket Hill Gardens, P. rockii and P. suffruticosa Mixture, P. 'Kamada Nishiki' (suffruticosa group), and a generic pack of tree peony purple flower. The herbaceous peony seeds I purchased are P. Ostii and P. Veitchii (pink single), neither of which came up for me the last time I tried them. So maybe this time I'll have better luck with those too. Better luck this time might = more water. :) If you want to get your own peony seeds for growing in your home garden in hopes that one day you may get something worth registering, you can join the APS and contact the APS Seed Distribution Program Administrator, Scott Parker. (It's one of the benefits of APS Membership.) :)

2012 APS Convention Peony Book Sale

I got one new book at the 2012 American Peony Society convention this year. It was a book recommended by Don Hollingsworth in his Peony Breeders session. It's called 'The American Hybrid Peony', and it was published by the American Peony Society in 1990. I have already started reading it, and just by reading the first few pages, I can already tell that the book is geared toward peony growers in cooler climates / USDA growing zones than mine. It tells you to plant your peony at least 1-2 inches below the soil. However I always plant mine even with the soil in my zone 7b garden. Perhaps in the next version they can include information for warmer growing climates. However I'm sure the information contained therein will still be valuable just to absorb years and perhaps decades of experience with peonies. The book also has loads of color photos of herbaceous hybrid peonies and species peonies. If you want to get your own copy of the lovely green hardback book entitled 'The American Hybrid Peony', you can purchase your book online from the APS Publications Page or through the APS Editor (and new publications director) Claudia Schroer.

'The American Hybrid Peony'

2012 Peony Mail Day

Wow, yesterday must have been Peony Mail Day. I only got three things in the mail yesterday, and all 3 pieces of mail were about peonies. I think this is the best mail day I've had in a while. I got the latest issue of the American Peony Society Bulletin (a benefit of APS Membership), a confirmation letter from Adelman Peony Gardens concerning the peony I won in the APS Peony Auction at the 2012 APS Convention, and a book I ordered from Shutterfly with pictures from my 2011 peony bloom season. The APS Bulletin was the June 2012 issues, which is nice, but I'll definitely be looking forward to getting the next one since it will have my first APS Bulletin Article in it! The peony I won from Adelman Peony Gardens in the APS Auction was Peony 'Halcyon' which is a Saunders hybrid and will go in the Saunders Peony Garden. The book I ordered from Shutterfly, which really does a nice job with their hardback photo books, has my favorite picture from my 2011 peony bloom season on the front. It is Peony 'Lavender' and 2011 was the first year it bloomed for me.

Peony Mail

2012 American Peony Society Gold Medal Winner - 'Topeka Garnet'

At the 2012 American Peony Society Board Meeting, Peony 'Topeka Garnet' was selected to receive the 2012 American Peony Society Gold Medal. This is a very prestigious award, and only one peony is selected each year to receive this award. Also, in the past few years, the APS Gold Medal award winner must also have been honored with the ALM (Award of Landscape Merit) in order to be considered for the APS Gold Medal. So that means that this peony should be a great garden subject with sturdy stems and good foliage. Peony 'Topeka Garnet' was hybridized by Bigger and registered in 1975. Here is what the APS registration says "TOPEKA GARNET (Bigger) (14-59) 1975. Dark red single. 30" stems. Small tuft of stamens. Flower fades some. Registered Myron D. Bigger. Bulletin #214 June 1975." I don't currently have this peony, but luckily I somehow already placed an order for this peony earlier in the year. If you don't already own this one, you may want to get your order in quickly for shipment this fall. I'm sure these will be selling out fast this year and next year! Adelman Peony Gardens is one vendor who is selling Peony 'Topeka Garnet' this year. (That's where I ordered mine from). :) Good luck!

Peony 'Topeka Garnet'
Photo Courtesy of Adelman Peony Gardens

2012 APS Peony Court of Honor Winners

There were quite a lot of good entries this year in the 2012 American Peony Society Exhibition and so many different colors! As you already know from my previous post, Peony 'Hephestos' won the Grand Champion Best in Show Ribbon as well as Best Red Lutea Hybrid. However there were several other entries that made the APS Court of Honor. They were: Best White Lactiflora - Peony 'Puffed Cotton', Best Blush Lactiflora - Peony 'Mrs. Frank Beach', Best Pink Lactiflora - Peony 'Vivid Rose', Best Red Lactiflora - Peony 'Maestro', Best White/Blush/Yellow Hybrid - Peony 'Prairie Moon', Best Pink/Coral Hybrid - Peony 'Coral Supreme', Best Red Hybrid - Peony 'Illini Warrior', Best Yellow Intersectional/Itoh - Peony 'Sonoma Halo', Best White Suffruticosa - Peony 'Koshino-yuki', an unnamed variety exhibited by Timothy Stanek that was simply labeled "Apr Db" (presumably meaning Apricot Double) which was also awarded a Certificate of Merit ribbon, Best Pink Lutea Hybrid - Peony 'Ruffled Sunset', and Best Yellow Lutea Hybrid - Peony 'Souvenir de Maxime Cornu'. I think my favorite is the Apricot Double seedling. Which one is your favorite?

Peony 'Puffed Cotton'	Peony 'Mrs. Frank Beach'	Peony 'Vivid Rose'
Peony 'Maestro'	Peony 'Prairie Moon'	Peony 'Coral Supreme'
Peony 'Illini Warrior'	Peony 'Sonoma Halo'	Peony 'Koshino-yuki'
Peony "Apr Db" (My Favorite)	Peony 'Ruffled Sunset'	Peony 'Souvenir de Maxime Cornu'

2012 American Peony Society Board Meeting

The 2012 American Peony Society board meeting went well this morning. In addition to other business, the board arranged to move all publications to the APS editor, discussed plans to publicize membership in the society, chose writers for rewriting the APS peony handbook, and selected the new APS Gold Medal award winner. Also the site for next year's national convention was confirmed as Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. That should prove to be a high visibility convention which will hopefully attract new peony lovers, collectors, and growers and hopefully more APS members as well. The more people that love peonies, the more people that will share their love of peonies!!!

2012 APS Peony Convention Banquet & Auction

2012 American Peony Society Banquet

The 2012 American Peony Society Banquet & Auction were nice. Even though it was a bit cold in the room, the people made it warm. The dinner was good - beef or salmon with red velvet cake for dessert, thanks to the APS Editor Claudia Schroer. :) APS President Dana Tretheway conducted a short and sweet business meeting. The presentation on the Sass family was interesting with the highlight being the actual APS Gold Medal from 1943. I'd never seen one of the actual medals before. So that was cool!

APS President Dana Tretheway	APS 1943 Gold Medal

Lucas Hudson did a great job with the auction. He is so outgoing and always has so much energy! There were fewer attendees this year, so I felt I had a better chance of winning something. So I actually bought 3 plants in the auction this year - Peony 'Halcyon', Peony 'Top Brass', and Peony 'White Cap'. I'm excited about all three of them!

Lucas Hudson APS Secretary and Auctioneer

My buddy from the bus trip the day before, Glenny, sat near me at the banquet, and I really enjoyed talking with her and all the other peony lovers as well. It was nice to be in such good peony company! :D

Glenny and Me

2012 APS Grand Champion Peony - Hephestos

Peony 'Hephestos'

The 2012 American Peony Society flower show was huge even though most of the growers complained about their seasons. I think they were just trying to set the judges' expectations a bit low so they could shine. ;) Everyone was busy with preparations this morning trying to get ready for the cut off before the judging of the show. The color of Peony 'Hephestos' must have captured the hearts of the judges this year. What a rare and dark color, which is fitting for the god of blacksmiths. It won the Court of Honor for Best Red Lutea Hybrid, and also the Grand Champion Peony, Best of Show ribbon. This peony was exhibited by Adelman Peony Gardens in Oregon. The color on all of their show peonies is always so dark and rich, and the size of their blooms are always huge. This tree peony was hybridized by Nassos Daphnis who named his varieties after Greek Gods associating the peonies he bred with his own Greek heritage.

2012 APS Peony Flower Show

2012 APS Peony Convention Garden Tours

Today was the garden tour day of the American Peony Society's annual national convention. We all boarded the tour bus early this morning for a 3 stop tour and a catered lunch. Since Nebraska's spring was about a month early this year, we missed the peonies entirely. The first stop was Jocelyn Castle which was very ornate, my favorite part being a stained glass window seat overlooking a small tropical conservatory.

Joslyn Castle

The second stop was the Sass Memorial Garden at Mahoney State Park, with a large display of all Sass hybridized peonies and irises. There wasn't much in bloom, but the layout and gazebo were nice.

Sass Memorial Garden
(Me with APS Editor Claudia Schroer)

The last stop was Lauritzen Gardens, which had an extensive collection of peonies and Chinese tree peonies. I would have loved to have seen it in bloom. However the garden had more to offer - a large rose garden, a miniature train garden, a Victorian garden, and so much more. At Lauritzen Gardens we had a nice catered lunch, mine being chicken salad on whole wheat, which was good.

Lunch at Lauritzen Gardens

After lunch peony hybridizer Don Hollingsworth gave a presentation on how to judge peonies for the Award of Landscape Merit (ALM). All in all it was a good day. However I feel almost like I have peony withdrawal since I was ready to see lots of blooms on the garden tours today, but they were all finished blooming! I can't wait to see all of the flowers tomorrow.

Don Hollingsworth's Award of Landscape Merit Presentation

2012 APS Peony Convention Arrival

When I got into Omaha tonight, it was almost midnight. The landscape is a bit flat with a nice river, the Missouri. The view of the city at night was beautiful. The lights of the skyline sparkled and were set off by the lit Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge. Omaha is much more of a city than the site of the last American Peony Society Convention I attended in Janesville, Wisconsin, which was more of a town. I am really looking forward to the garden tours tomorrow, but it is going to be an early start. So I guess I'll catch up on my sleep tomorrow night. :) I haven't had a chance to check into the convention yet. So I'll have to make sure I wake up early enough to check in and be ready to board the tour buses by 7:30am!

Omaha, Nebraska

2012 APS Peony Convention Preparation

I'm going to Nebraska, to Nebraska, to Nebraska. I can't believe it. I leave tomorrow for Omaha. I actually took a day off from work this time. So I'll be arriving Thursday night this time instead of Friday night. One whole extra day of peony goodness! :-P I can't wait! I am mostly finished packing, but I still need to pack my camera, my laptop, chargers, etc. This is going to be an awesome trip. There's a bus tour on Friday of two gardens and a castle, but I think the part I'm looking forward to most is the "Peony Breeders" discussion on Saturday. Also I'm hoping to observe the Board of Directors Meeting on Sunday. Oh, and who could forget all of the gorgeous peonies! (especially since my peony season is over)! It will be like getting another whole weekend of spring! This is going to be awesome. If you're going too, I hope to see you there!!!

2012 Last Blooms of the Peony Season

I can't believe how long the peony season was here this year! Today is the 7th day of week 9! The blooms in the last couple weeks have definitely not been the same as those at the beginning of the peony season which were so delicate and fresh. The last blooms have been wilted, drooping, and crispy brown on the edges. But who is to say that these last blooms are not just as beautiful as the first? Is something old not just as beautiful as something new? Is it not all a part of nature, which is beautiful in all its changing seasons? Why should we value youth and newness more than longevity and age? So here are some pictures I took today of the last blooms of my peony season here in zone 7. I hope you enjoy them and appreciate all nature has to offer in the beginning and the end. :)

Peony 'La Tendresse'


Peony 'Paul M. Wild'

2012 Paeonia Species Peony Seedlings

So I got 9 kinds of peony seeds from the 2010 American Peony Society Convention. I planted them in 2010, but I waited until this year to make sure that there weren't any stragglers. Four of the nine species actually germinated. I'm wondering if the germination rates were affected by the freshness of the seeds. Seeds sown here in my zone 7 growing climate will generally germinate the next spring. I've heard several times that sometimes peony seeds won't send up leaves until the 2nd year, but I've not found that to be true here. They usually sprout the first spring or not at all. Of course I usually let Mother Nature do the sprouting for me. I'm not much of a babier when it comes to plants, so they are most often left to take care of themselves. The 3 species that actually germinated here in 2011 were: Paeonia mascula, Paeonia mlokosewitschii, Paeonia peregrine, and Paeonia tenuifolia. Paeonia tenuifolia did not come back this year for 2012, but the other three did. I'm hoping to get some more seeds from the 2012 APS convention at the end of this month to try again. Hopefully I'll get some other species peony to grow here!!!

Paeonia mascula


Paeonia mlokosewitschii


Paeonia peregrine

2012 American Peony Society Bulletin Article

Woo hoo! I've been asked to write an article for the American Peony Society Bulletin's September issue. That is really exciting. I've been an APS member since 2005, and I've thought it might be nice to submit an article to them in the future, but I got asked to write an article about the 2012 American Peony Society Convention. Okay, maybe it's not that big of a deal, but it seems like a big deal to me! I guess I'm just a peony nerd! :) Don't worry, I'll still be publishing up to the minute updates on the convention here, but the bulletin will contain a nice summary with highlights and pictures of the whole thing. Stay tuned more to come... Oh, and if you want to start getting your own copies of The American Peony Society Bulletin, become an APS Member!

2012 Peony 'Feather Top' Best Performer - Week 7

By far my favorite this week has been Peony 'Feather Top'. The blooms on this peony are huge and the variation in petals and color makes this flower a real winner. There's an outer layer of hot pink guard petals topped by yellow tipped petaloids with a crown of hot pink. Peony 'Feather Top' was hybridized by Wild & Son and registered in 1967. It is not currently a Gold Medal winner, but I definitely think it should be considered for it. This peony took a little time to get adjusted to my southern climate, but now it has really taken off in growth and in blooms. This peony definitely deserves a spot in your garden!
Peony 'Feather Top'
Southern Peony Best Performer


Peony 'Feather Top'
Southern Peony Best Performer

2012 Peony Blooms Very Late - Week 7

This has definitely been one of the longest peony blooms seasons I've ever had. I think the weather really helped or cooperated with the peonies this year. It warmed up rather early in the spring with no late frost and it's been a temperate spring so far. It hasn't really jumped straight from winter into the 90s like it usually does! :) I think the only complaint I have with many of the late season peonies is they seem to have floppy stems so their flowers really need staking! Peony 'Kelway's Glorious' has huge symmetrical white blooms. Peony 'Moonstone' was a real star in my garden this year with beautiful pink flowers that seem resistant to bud blast and bud rot. Peony 'Uncle Tom' has a deep red color that is hard to find. Peony 'Yellow Crown' has so many bright yellow petals that it is a real treasure.

Peony 'Kelway's Glorious'	Peony 'Moonstone'
Peony 'Uncle Tom'	Peony 'Yellow Crown'