This winter weather has me dreaming of the coming peony season. I have gotten a few peonies this fall and I hope that they will bloom this spring. The ones that I am most excited about are Lavender, Ludovica, and Lustrous. I also hope that my May Lilac and Auten's Pride will bloom more this year. Karen

Didn't you get a few Itohs from Select Plus, Karen? I just want to see Pastelegence grow, as well as Sonoma Halo, that I didn't kill either of them. I don't usually spend a lot of money on individual roots, those two were exceptions.

I'm so sick of winter already that the first peony that blooms this spring is going to be my favorite of the year!

I agree. And that is usually my fern leaf. And I have a lavender tree peony that I planted last fall that I can hardly wait to see. At least to see how the bush does. I don't expect flowers for two or three years.

Just any peony blooms will be a thrill.
But I did plant one called Top Brass which may or may not flower this spring?

I begin with the single FL, then the double FL, Early Scout and Roselette follow and sometimes are all in bloom at the same time. My Windchimes may bloom this year also. The exceptions to fern leafs are fern leaf hybrids and are early bloomers. We may have a mixed up Spring like last year so nothing is taken for granted. Best weather is to stay cold then stay warm. The back and forth is not good.

It is the changing back and forth that is most harmful to garden plants.

I do not know which peony will bloom first this year as I added some early blooming varieties this past fall. If I get a bloom from my newly planted double fernleaf, I guess that would be the earliest to bloom this spring. Last year, the first peony to bloom in my garden was the fernleaf hybrid that I bought from Adelman peonies.

Liz, I am not sure that I will get a bloom or two from the itohs I bought at Select Plus because I divided them into smaller divisions when I planted them.
Oldgardenrose I also added Early Scout and Roselette so hopefully they will bloom early too.

Yes, I agree that the freeze and thaw cycle in early spring is most injurious to plants esp. roses. I lost 4 roses last year due to this and some less vigorous were pretty set back. The freeze and thaw last spring did not seem to faze the peonies much though. Karen

Here is a pic of the fernleaf hybrid that bloomed about May 10 last year.

Can't wait to see all your blooms. I have a new one that is actually named the same as a dear friend that passed away
last year, It is Mary Elizabeth I thought it would be a way to honor her

Most of mine properly don't like me to much they moved to RI about 1 1/2 ago and are going back to Va this year So I doubt I will get many blooms

Please post all your photos

I got Mary Elizabeth last fall, too, Shannon! It looked beautiful in the pictures, a very fitting memorial for a dear friend. Are you moving before or after the bloom season? I've had to dig up and move peonies in early spring, most only suffer a slight setback. They're a nice, forgiving plant for the most part, don't you think?

Karen, I divided those that I got from Select Plus, too. I only divided them in half and those divisions were still bigger than any I'd received from other growers so I'm still hoping to get a bloom or two this spring. Always hopeful here....

Any peony miss the smell.
I have not had a blooming peony since I moved. I hope to get a few blooms this year from the ones I brought with me.

What a beautiful name for a peony! I took a look at the pic of of in the database and it has such a pretty deep pink color.

I do love to smell pleasant scented peonies esp. the ones that smell like roses. Though what i have found over the years that the fragrant peonies never smell the same from year to year. In 2013, I thought Henry Bockstoce had the strongest, nicest, sweetest fragrance. Then I tried to smell this fragrance from him again last spring and it was not there. THere was just a very faint scent, nothing memorable. But I found this sweet scent on a different peony, a mislabeled that looks very similar to Laura Dessert. I hope that she will have the same fragrance this year.

I've read that peonies scent changes dramatically throughout the day, more so than roses or other traditionally scented flowers. Has anyone found that to be true? Think I read it on the UofM website for their peony garden.

Liz mine have moved so much they are trained to jump in the bag and most did bloom last year but, I missed it as I did not live at the house they lived at. Now they are here and hopefully some will bloom before we move.

Mary Elizabeth was a very special person and the peony is beautiful . Cool that you have that one also

Shannon, my best friend lost her granddaughter at birth last fall due to hospital complications. We're putting a memorial garden together for mt friend's daughter, the baby's mother. They live in Texas so I've only been able to participate by sending roots so far, will visit and help in person next fall. Your comment about finding a peony with your friend's name resonated with me because I've been searching for the same thing for baby Sophia Elizabeth. Haven't found anything yet but did get an unnamed tree peony seedling from The Tree Peony Garden in her preferred colors. We're working to get different bulbs and perennials to keep something in bloom from early spring to late fall. I want to root some cuttings from plants in my garden and take a bunch of peony divisions to make it a more personal contribution, so far I've just sent things I've ordered from online.

Liz, I'm sorry to hear about Sophia Elizabeth. I hope her family has found peace.

Karen, I'm excited to see tree peony Black Dragon Holds a Splendid Flower bloom. I spotted a bud on it yesterday, it was planted in 2013, a gift from my DH, from Cricket Hill as a 4 year old plant.

Since last year was my first spring with peony blossoms I just hope they return. Not q lot of pips yet but maybe the plants are smart to only have 2pips since it was a very unseasonable 10 degrees here just just a few days ago. This week has been mild and more normal so maybe things will start to speed up. Sarah Bernhardt and Madame de Verneville

Annette, that is so sweet of your DH to gift you a tree peony. I took a look of your peony and it is a beautiful semi-dark red. I hope you will get more buds and this bud will make it to bloom. Please post a photo of it when it blooms. I love to see the flower pics as actually taken bloomed in a garden

Karen, I'll be sure to post a picture of the blooms.

He was also kind enough to give me tree peony Coral Terrace at the same time, unfortunately it appears to have died. I've given it Neptune's Fish and Seaweed Fertilizer and some Azomite, hoping I'll get some growth from the base of it.

I don't know if the Cricket Hill trees are own root or grafted. I haven't told the DH that this 4 yo tree may be dead. It was given as a birthday/anniversary/Mother's Day gift, and was expensive

Oh no! It may look that way now but when the weather is right it may start growing. Is there a reason why you think it maybe dead? I hope that you can revitalize it. I took a look at the Cricket Hill website and I am smitten. It is a gorgeous tree peony. What a beautiful color! When I have a prime spot, I may get this peony someday. I do not know what I am doing wrong either but I have two tree peonies died on me last year. Perhaps my soil is not well drained enough for them. I have two more that are struggling. I have to see how they do this year. If they don't do well, I may have to dig them up and replant them in a better location and amend the hole with sand and rock dust.

If Coral Terrace does recover, it would be a miracle, and I would move it to my new peony bed closer to the house.

I planted it on my slope, and I think the canopy of trees may have prevented it from getting enough water. Further, it got damaged from falling tree limbs due to high winds last year, that broke the branches that had leaves. I don't think it was able to store any energy for growth this year without branches. I can only hope that it recovers.

This is how it appeared today.