The Garden Expo in Madison Wisconsin is just around the corner. If you have never been to this you really should check it out. http://www.wigardenexpo.com/ It is quite nice.

Wish I lived closer, I'd be there!

I love it. Wisconsin peony society will have peony roots for sale again😊

Take pictures and share them here, Tracey! I'd love to see (or at least hear) what kind of plants/things are offered. If Wisconsin Peony Society is offering roots how are they sold? Are these roots that were dug earlier and stored? Are they sold potted? If they were divided/dug earlier, when? I assume peonies are dug and divided there in Oct, maybe Nov--do the roots look good? I've never stored peony roots overwinter so was curious about what process they'd use. And I'd love to hear what selections they offer....What other vendors had the coolest gardening stuff in your opinion?
We have a Home and Garden Expo here in Denver every year but I've always been disappointed, it's more building stuff rather than garden stuff. Denver Botanical Gardens has a spring and fall sale but I've never made it there. Was a member for several years but we were always traveling during the sales! My daughter was still young enough to be on the track system at school during those years and they always fell on her spring and fall breaks! Maybe I'll look them up and see when their sale is this year and go....

We buy them from growers, in the case this year, Klehm's. They are sold bare root. Dug and cooled at a precise temperature to ensure chill period as well as dormancy ( I don't know the precise temperature but I can find out, I think). When I buy them from the sale, I keep them in the fridge until May and directly plant them out. They do fine in bloom the next year, very rarely do I get a blossom in the first year. Peonies here definitely like fall planting as compared to spring planting. They like the chance to settle in before doing their thing. Too many weather factors here to promote a great spring growth.

Do you keep them in a fridge reserved for that purpose, Tracey? Just wondering if you need a specific temp/humidity to keep them in good shape until they're planted. I plant bareroot pretty much every spring. I agree, not likely to get any blooms that same spring (only had one that bloomed out of probably 50 or so spring planted over the last several years) but I haven't had any negative experiences. I don't routinely get blooms 1st spring after planting in the fall, either. Higher rates than spring planting, of course! And most bloom 2nd spring whether they're spring or fall planted, exceptions being a few really slow increasers and those fall planted ones that come up a bit early 1st spring and get struck down by our nasty snows and crazy freezing weather.

The only place I have a controlled temp is my refrigerator crisper drawer. No veggies in that drawer for a couple months.

I think I'd sacrifice veggies for peonies any day!

I'm not sure if I'm going to make the trip up this year. If I do it will have to be on Sunday. Mags, do you know what varieties WPS is offering this year?

In March Hollingsworth will be at the Iowa Garden and Landscape show. I'll probably head down for that.

I have the list somewhere, if I recall it was a lot of singles. I'll be working some of the weekend at the peony booth. It will be nice to just get in there to smell the green and earth smells. It's my favorite thing about attending really. If only I could bottle up that smell for when I need it throughout the winter.

It was fun to see you at the Garden Expo, Mags! My new peony addition, Sorcerer, is safe and sound in my basement fridges crisper drawer till spring.

Nice to see you too, Ticker! I ended up with 1 peony, 'Mister Ed' . Worked on Sunday, which was fairly busy. I always enjoy spending time with other peony people. Wouldn't you know I had to bring up 'Pastelegance' and having never seen it in person, ask others who have it to make its case. It looks beautiful in pictures, but how can something so fluffy and gorgeous be unscented?? Needless to say, the folks were pretty convincing I should know better than to ask connoisseurs of peonies such questions.

Got me pretty excited though about the season and this year's APS show

I think that Pastelegance is an absolutely beautiful bloom, the depth of color and size make it very unusual. It seems to a very robust plant as well, it'll be interesting to see how it increases this year.

Someone described it as a very light, almost rust color. It would be good for hybridizing I think. Only need to breed fragrance back into it