I was walking around today - the middle of August - taking stock of the stems and foliage of my peonies. I noticed several cultivars have browned, a few have laid their stems upon the ground, and all in all most of the peonies are fairly battered.

But... there are a few cultivars that are still looking pretty good. 'Margaret Truman' is still a nice dark green and both plants look to be unaffected by pests or sunlight. All three 'The Fawn' are looking great - and they started in February since they were bagged.

Anyone else notice a variety that ages better than others?

Thanks!

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I have noticed that Itohs seem to age better than lactifloras.

And, I have several Saunders hybrids that do not age well.

I think mildew is a major factor. Here's my list of usual offenders:

"Paeonia 'Cincinnati'
Paeonia 'Illini Warrior'
Paeonia 'President Franklin D. Roosevelt'
Paeonia 'Roselette'
Paeonia 'Viking Chief'
Paeonia 'White Frost'
Paeonia 'White Innocence'"

I second Frank's comment about the Itohs—they don't seem to be bothered by mildew like herbaceous are but they don't change colors, either, so less interest there. If you like tree peonies Alice Harding is a very short variety that doesn't get leggy, has really pretty foliage even in our arid summer. She needs to be elevated to see the blooms in spring as the blooms droop, she's on the edge of a retaining wall here. Even that didn't help this spring—the blooms that opened were on the side facing away from the yard, bloomed right in to Strawberry Blonde Itoh!