Wow, some amazing new peony intros are up for auction by the Peony Shop. If I win the lottery, I would surely love to snatch up a few of them - particularly Peony Marcus Aurelius, Peony Pompeii, Peony Spirit of Silvanus, Temple of Apollo, Peony Theodosius. Love the form of Peony Theodosius! They are all stunning! Hope that some American growers buy these 5 and offer them for sale in a few years. I will gladly convert more lawn to garden beds for these 5 wonderful new intros.

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https://www.peonyshop.com/auct...

I know, Karen. I have been drooling over them today too. The prices start at 500€, and the exchange rate is 1€ = $1.05. This is a great rate.

Some of the new ones start at 1000€.

So a lottery win would be nice!

There are a lot of gorgeous full flowers there and the color range is nice too. Seems like a lot to introduce at once. I wonder how long they evaluated them for performance and how strong those stems are.
The photos are very nice winter eye candy. Thanks Karen for posting the link.

Looking at the descriptions they already start propagating after first year of bloom.

Some beauties there!
But can only drool and dream!

CarolineScott said: Some beauties there!
But can only drool and dream!

Yes, We will dream together, Caroline!

I looked and looked, and likewise drooled. They are gorgeous and so different. But until I figure out this environment and soil, I won't be investing in more peonies. Of course dahlias and lilies and iris are something else. Lol

I have been looking at these seedlings for a couple of years and waited for the time when they will be available. Well, not for me. Even if I wanted to spend a lot of money for such beauties they won't necessary flower that gorgeous for me in my garden. I found that most hybrids don't develop a very full double flower and some, like Quitzin or Carnation Bouquet still give single flowers after a few years in the garden. So I have to enjoy these beauties on photos. Please share pictures if someone buys these introductions.

Mary, irises and dahlias are fantastic plants as well. I love the new varieties that are offered now for both of them. So many gorgeous ones to choose from. Although I am partial to peonies, dahlias are much more appealing due their long blooming season.

Anya, I am sorry that some of the new hybrids have not done well for you. Does Pastelegance bloom single for you too? I guess in a way it is good to wait and hear how these new peony intros perform in a regular garden before considering adding them to the garden given their high price tag.

Karen, Pastelegance is semi-double, with more or less petals depending on the summer weather. The very first flower was the most double since it was set at a nursery where summers were definitely warmer. I also noticed that the shoots were hairy and so cute the first spring but "ordinary" all other years. This is probably because of our very compact soil, my pure guess. This is the first year shoots

Anya - sorry you're finding Quitzin still giving you singles The first year here, along with many other cultivars, it lost its buds to heavy frosts; the second year it was semi-double and this year was spectacular but I might still call it a semi-double but you know - I think I prefer that to the full double shown in the registration.



The hairiness you first noted in Pastelegance seems very similar to that of Avant Garde but it doesn't stay very hairy very long in the Spring so perhaps if you look earlier next year it will be hairy again I don't see it as an occasional 'feature'

I knew I would get sidetracked - I meant to comment on the Peony Shop auction. If I'm not mistaken, while they all have names, these are registered with the US Patent & Trademark Office but not necessarily with the APS, which is the international registry for peonies. In addition, if they decide - after further evaluation - that some are worth it, they will slap a European and possibly North American, Plant Royalty on those, even if owned by other people already.
I do agree many are beautiful but going by just their faces, they are like very many available already and which are considerably cheaper I think I would have to win a very big lottery to bid over 500 euro for just a face

Val, thanks for the info above! I did not know that these are under US patent applications. As that is the case, small peony vendors may not be able to sell them unless they also buy the right to reproduce them for sale. I don't know how that all works but I heard that when a plant is still under patent, you can't legally sell the increases of the plant or procreate seeds unless you have the right or permission from the patent holder. I wonder if the people bidding on these plants know this. What is the point of getting the plants if you can't recoup the cost of the plants by selling the increases. Maybe these plants will be picked up by the larger nurseries like Wayside Gardens, Burpees, etc... and they offer them for sale.

I have a questions for Pastelegance owners - is it yellow at the beginning or not? I saw quite a few pictures and some of them are showing basically very different flowers - some are creamy blush and some are obviously yellowish. May be wrong varieties are claimed as Pastelegance, different colors in different zones or they simply change the color in the process?

Same Zone as you Alex and this is how my Pastelegance blooms - purchased from Adelman in 2018. I don't seem to get to it for the start of the blooms so maybe it's more creamy at the start?

I might wonder if some retailers 'enhance' their pictures to justify a high price?

Thanks, Valerie. If everyone gets the same as yours - the difference could be because of enhancement or color changes due to different light conditions or equipment. It is more peachy in this picture and some are getting apricot colors.
I also do not understand paying 10 times for a very similar plant which is not the best match for your zone. Unfortunately, occasionally you are hooked and it is hard to resist. Some of the new introductions are standing out and some are not.

Pastelegance blooms in champagne color for me with pink overlay if the weather is right. When it first blooms, that is when I most likely see the pink but the pink will fade if the weather warms up. The pink color occurs at the base of the petals and fade to champagne or ivory at the top part of the petals. Its effect is a lovely pink glow from the base. You can see that in Val's photo above. When I fertilize it well, it will bloom double. Some years I could not get to it, then it blooms semidouble.

THese blooms are from this past spring.

My Pastelegance is pretty consistent in the color. The photo, on contrary, can show different shades depending on the light. The flower color is not yellow but more apricot, with a very light pink hue.
Valerie, I watch my peonies very closely from the moment they break the soil in spring My Pastelegance was planted in the fall of 2017 and only in spring of 2018 the shoots were hairy. the following 4 springs the shoots were bare. We'll see how they look in future.

Here is my 2020 Pastelegance at 3:30 in the afternoon.

I don't think my other one bloomed this past spring.

My Pastelegance in 2020, it was a good summer for it.

anyagoro said: My Pastelegance in 2020, it was a good summer for it.

The color of your Pastelegance is really intense and beautiful, Anya! I rarely see mine in this deep color except early in the morning and the morning is really cool.