I ordered peonies from tree peony garden last year. They shipped large root stock and I was very pleased.

Small operation, great peonies and excellent support.

I would recommend them.

Thanks Frank. Did any of them bloom this year for you?

magnolialover said:Thanks Frank. Did any of them bloom this year for you?

Yes, all bloomed this year:)

All correct variety?

Just saw this post. I would highly recommend anything from TPGarden. Their roots are second to none, and most do bloom on year one. They are true to name and they have reasonable prices. TPGarden was a totally positive experience all the way around.

Thank you. I appreciate your input.

Does TPGarden have a website? I could not find it with Google and did not see it in the Green Pages of ATP.

www.treepeonygarden.com

Ok, so do you guys do your peony beds as mixed perennials? or strictly as peony beds. I'm going to have to move several of my herbaceous ones this year and I'm debating on whether to put them back in mixed perennial beds or just massive peony beds? I usually do the mixed perennial beds because that way something is always blooming.... Your thoughts, folks?

Liz, that list is wild! How many do you have all together (already planted and those now on order?

My peonies are in mixed beds. Even after peonies bloom, their foliage provides contrasting texture for the garden. Putting the peonies all together in a peonies-only bed could foster the spread of disease. Mixed beds make the spread of disease less likely because plants that are susceptible to the same pathogens are separated by plants that are not susceptible to those pathogens.

That is a good point.
I have them scattered around the yard with other plants, and was thinking of creating a dedicated bed for the new ones. Your idea makes me reconsider that idea.

Mixed beds for the above listed reasons. Helps prevent spread and disease and I always like to have something blooming.

I like the big mixed beds, too. Still working on getting the right combinations! I tried a few dahlias this year, they're still blooming so I think they'll be keepers--if I can store the tubers over winter correctly, that is! Have a mix of lilies, daylilies, blackberry lilies, gladiolas and peonies but the deer ate most of the flowers off the glads this year.
I think I have right at 500 planted now, be close to 600 after this fall, Diann. I need to make a real effort to remove the names/tags of the few that just didn't make it and decide if it's worth a 2nd try.....

Yeah, I'll probably do mixed perennial beds again, altho, they will start out as dedicated peony beds. If there is a free spot of dirt I'm probably going to plant something in it.

Liz, how do you do your fall clean-up on your peonies? I usually use a hedge trimmer to cut mine back.

Mixed beds for me also. I like the succession of blooms. Although my garden don't have that much plants blooming in August.

What other plants do you put in your mixed beds?

I normally don't do much of a fall clean up, Diann. Since it's so dry here we don't have many problems with the normal culprits--I clean up in the spring. It's been so wet here this summer though I'll do it this fall, though. I have a pruning knife--just grab a bunch of stems and slice low, works like magic!

I too am looking for other plants to go in a mixed perennial garden. My problem is a lot of the things that bloom late enough that the deer will leave alone get too big too fast--penstmons and agastaches that overwinter here are fairly aggressive. I did have Black and Blue salvia--that blooms late here, but it has to be lifted and I must've thrown the bag away by accident when I cleaned out the garage early in the spring.

kousa said:What other plants do you put in your mixed beds?

I'm an experimenter, so I have tried several combinations. One stunning combination is the dark purple tall bearded iris 'Dusky Challenger' next to a white double peony that looks and smells like 'Festiva Maxima' but whose identity is uncertain; it came with my old farmhouse 40 years ago.

In my new shrub border I have mixed numerous cultivars of peonies with the salmon colored oriental poppy 'Queen Alexandra" and with numerous Buzz series 'Sky Blue' butterfly bushes. Larger shrubs are situated behind these plants, and clumps of Liriope muscari are in front. This is still an experiment, so we'll see how it goes.

Would love to see a pic of your experimental mixed peony bed, Csandt. My beds definitely need improvement.

I have a nice greenhouse near me with a huge selection of plants that are hardy to this area. I have found it particularly helpful to visit the greenhouse at different times of the year, especially August into September when most plants have seen their prime. Hardy mums will bloom twice, once before July 4th and if you cut them back, again in September. A nice companion to peonies, and coming in a variety of colors. The University of Minnesota has released some really nice hardy types that have lived here for years. Rudbeckia is another later bloomer. Sprinkling seeds of annuals like the tall zinnias are beautiful and colorful as well and are very easy to grow from seed, sown directly outdoors after frost window is past. They bloom from July to frost. Anemones are lovely as well.

Lilies, daylilies, delphiniums are others that come to mind. The list is endless!