Hi all!
I would like to plant a tree peony this fall and am trying to find a good variety.
I live in Minneapolis, which is 4B. I see the tree peony plants are generally hardy to 4, but I am concerned that the buds might be in jeopardy.
For what it's worth, I can give it a sheltered location because of being on an urban lot.
I saw it suggested that rockii might be a little more cold tolerant. I was hoping to try one of the Japanese: Black Dragon Brocade (Kokuryu Noshiki) or Shima Nishiki (I think that's Island Brocade?). Do I have good odds with these? I'm patient if they need time to develop.

I'm zone 4b as well at altitude in CO but am currently moving my garden to AL zone 8a for retirement. So far Ostii has been the most cold tolerant and established the quickest, I also have Rockii, Suffruticosas and Lutea hybrids, most of them do not have stems that survive the winter until at least the 3rd year but all put up growth from the ground a d typically bloom 2nd or 3rd year. If I were you I'd start with a mature graft or own root woody peony and go from there. Adelmans Peony Paradise, Solaris and Lyndecker (sp?) Farms are good options for the size you want, think some of Cricket Hill ones are 3rd year grafts as well but you have to look for them. I'm sure there are other good options but I can't think of any right now!

I'm in 4b also but usually with a passable snow cover. Some of the peony specialists (Solaris for example) will rate bud hardiness and whether they put up new shoots readily but when considering particular cultivars it is often quite variable. I find t.p. Yae Zakura keeps most of its stem buds and of course there is always High Noon - if it loses stem buds by Spring you'll almost always have flowers in September This is an Aug 28 rebloom

Val..do get pretty reliable reblooms with High Noon?

Sandsock said:Val..do get pretty reliable reblooms with High Noon?

I would say virtually every year but occasionally buds don't get to open before winter strikes.

I know Arrowhead Alpines is way up North, if you can't get some of the others, you'd prefer.
I think they may be mostly rockii type blooms, though rather inexpensive to try out (maybe $17.50 ?)
Though I'm not sure about cost of their shipping.