Went away for a few days and came back to this

Koukamon - this was put into the ground in 2012 - first bloom ever for this plant


mid shot and whole plant

This lighter single red I have had for quite a few years. This one did not open until the end of March last year. With the warm winter, everything is ahead this year by about 2 weeks.

I always wanted some tree peonies but never had any luck with them. I guess I was too cheap to pay for good ones.

The pictures are beautiful, soilsandup. What a great place to have your Koukamon, too - magical with that light. I have one incoming, but it hasn't unfurled yet. Your pic makes me glad I got it!

Beautiful! Keep the pictures coming!!!!

Thanks, all.

Pwinget - that particular area is under a crape myrtle tree so there is plenty of light before the tree leafs out, and it provide some shade from the summer sun as the season progresses.

For comparison, this is the front yard before I starting digging out the lawn in 2010. The incentive for that (besides the fact that I hate lawns) was that I ran out of room in the backyard, and I had 4-5 peonies to plant. I wanted especially to put the tree peonies where it will be visible and be appreciated.



Here is a shot of that area from today. To the left of the Koukamon is an ITOH which is 3 years old, never bloomed, but I see a bud on it

3 years old itoh with its first bloom - how exciting!

I think you did a remarkable job. You've made a lush refuge in what was a spare front yard. And I agree about grass. I used to love it as a kid, but as an adult, I find it difficult to maintain. And we've left it wild (but shorn) so the deer can eat it, but when the winter rain or the dry summer comes, the landscape isn't pretty.

Thanks, Pwinget. That transformation of lawn to garden was a labor of love that took two years ( my kids helped a bit, but 95% was my own manual labor).

My second single red tree peony is blooming


followed closely by the pink one.



I will have to prune the pink one this year as it is getting lanky. Here is a shot from 2010 after a pruning and it is much fuller.

Dianne, your tree peonies are gorgeous. I don't seem to have much luck with them either. I planted a 4 year old Coral Terrace from Cricket Hill last March, and only 1 of the 4 stems is showing any growth this year, my Black Dragon Holds a Slpendid Flower ( boy that's a mouthful😁) looks decent. My Koukamon and Shimanishiki are doing fine, but Hanakisoi, Renkaku, Shimadajin, and Kinshi bit the dust I just don't know what I'm doing wrong.

Beautiful photographs. I have had a Taiyo for four or five years. Bloomed the first year and not since. I moved it last Fall, hoping that the new location will help maybe not this year, but next.

These are the first year blooms:

Debra - that red tree peony is a beauty! Hope it does well in the new location.

Annette - I have lost a Kinshi too - am on my second one now and I think it may survive. When I first started growing peonies, I just brought the generic no ID, but only identified by color ones at the what was then Pay Less stores. Those survived without any problems.

That pink tree peony above is one of them. I have a white one from that same purchase that is just about to bloom. Maybe those are the ones that stood the test of time?

Black dragon holds a splendid flower is an intriguing name - can't wait to see your photo of it.

Gorgeous Taiyo, I love the richness of the blooms Debra.

I hope my BDHASF survives, it was a gift from my DH last year, along with the Coral Terrace. I have not seen any generic tree peonies here. We do get the Itohs and herbaceous ones.

I did plant Shimanishiki (from Springhill) in the spring of 2011 in a pot, then transplanted it in the garden in the fall, I had 1 bloom in 2012, and 3 blooms it 2013. I hope to have more blooms this year. Koukamon doesn't appear to have any blooms, but it has leafed out nicely. It was also started in a pot in spring 2012, and planted in the garden in December.

Shimanishiki is on my 'to get' list.

What beautiful photos! I have a weakness for the doubles. That pink one is fantastic. And thank you Debra for the Taiyo pic. I bought a Taiyo last year via mail-order, and it started to sprout, but then the shoots turned black. :/

I was checking my plants today, and I happy to report I see growth coming from the base of the dead stems of Shimadajin and Hanakisoi. Now it may only be growth from the graft, time will tell, and it's better to have that than nothing at all. The growth from Hanakisoi appears to have a bud.

Glad those are coming back for you

Thanks Dianne

Yea!

Tree peony season has begun, thought not here The pictures leave me in envy for 6 weeks (or more at this rate of very slow thaw) Thanks for sharing the beauty.

The first of my ITOH bloomed.

This is Morning Lilac


Overview of the area - way in the back is Coral Charm peeking through


I had originally ordered "Singing in the Rain", but they sent me the wrong one.