Thought as people were talking about peony books and information (not growers or sites for shopping) I would start a thread to gather favorites for learning about peonies. Add you favorites to share!

Link to the peony project:

http://www.paeo.de/navigation/...

A wealth of information there. Lots of history about every peony you grow! Love this site!!

Books: Peonies by Alan Rogers
The Peony by Alice Harding

Now, that site is useful!

The minute I found out about it, I thought I had struck a goldmine! Couldn't remember if I had posted the link here ever.

Another book available through APS, wonderful winter reading material:



American Peony Society Website:
http://www.americanpeonysociet...

Another nice site. http://www.peonies.org/index.s...

Carsten Burkhardt's Web Project Paeonia is amazing and it looks like he does it by himself. His site is the 1st, and often only, stop when I add information.

I noticed in Peonies by Allan Rogers the photo of Etched Salmon does look very different from the usually promoted with sharp edges in the center. It is more rounded and sometimes I do get similar shaped flowers. ( Plate 35 ).

I found a website Don Smith created that has pictures of wonderful Itohs. The site seems to be inactive, hasn't been updated in 5 yeas, but it still had lots to look at and read. One of the pages contains links to articles he wrote around 10 years ago for APS bulletins. I found them interesting, thought others would, too!
http://www.yellowpeoniesandmor...

Here's another cool reference passed on by a lady in the Planet Peony Facebook group on peony bloom times called the Peony Bloom Dates Project. http://peonybloomdate.com/inde...

Here's a site that lists:

biological description (e.g. whether it is a hybrid or a Paeonia lactifolia cultivar)
who originated the cultivar and when (e.g. Roger F. Anderson, 1986)
flower form (e.g. single, double, semi-double, and so forth)
colour
flowering season (e.g. early, midseason, or late, with respect to peony blooming time)
height
if it is floriferous (i.e. has side buds)
if it is fragrant

http://www.theplantexpert.com/...

Thanks Annette, that is a good resource.

Cem9165 said:Here's a site that lists:

biological description (e.g. whether it is a hybrid or a Paeonia lactifolia cultivar)
who originated the cultivar and when (e.g. Roger F. Anderson, 1986)
flower form (e.g. single, double, semi-double, and so forth)
colour
flowering season (e.g. early, midseason, or late, with respect to peony blooming time)
height
if it is floriferous (i.e. has side buds)
if it is fragrant

http://www.theplantexpert.com/...

Oh, yes! This is an amazing resource. It's missing some types, but it was instrumental in helping me find two for my very limited area. I spent several hours over several days there!

New for2017
Just saw this on peony planet will not be available for a few years

I would like to add this information from Cricket Hill email that LG posted in another thread.

"Frost Hardiness of New Growth

New growth on peonies is quite freeze tolerant. If you have less than 3'' of new growth, there is no need for concern, even if temperatures dip down into the teens (as is forecast for this weekend here in Connecticut). Once significant new growth begins, damage will be avoided so long as temperatures do not go below the low 20s. If you do feel the need to protect new growth, and upturned pail or barrel is often the best protection against overnight lows. For larger tree peony specimens, creating a teepee with wooden stakes and wrapping this with a tarp or agricultural row cover (reemay) is a good option. Just to reiterate, these measures should only be considered if there is a significant amount of new growth and the temperatures are going into the low 20s."

If anyone has personal experience with regards to freeze damages, please record the tree peonies' growths and the temps at which the damages occur here.

Here is a resource I did not see listed above:
http://www.helpmefind.com/peon...

HMF is a volunteer-run site that also has info about Clematises and Roses, so the Peony database is not as detailed as, say, the Rose database...

I work as a volunteer administrator, so I do try to add what I can, but I do not live in Peony Territory, so my contributions are historical; adding references from old catalogs and books that are free online.

It's dangerous work; I have to keep reminding myself that these lovelies would not care much for our hot and humid growing conditions.

Happy gardening,
Virginia

APS Peony Database:
https://americanpeonysociety.o...

Just came across this site curated by the University of Michigan:
https://peony.mbgna.umich.edu/...
Lots of pictures:
https://peony.mbgna.umich.edu/...

If you are planning a peony garden...
https://peonysenvy.com/planaga...

The Book of the Peony By Alice Howard Harding is on Google books free in PDF or EPUB. It's making me laugh!

Short descriptions and pictures of the wild peony species; that is, you can recognize them in the varieties we grow:
https://www.centrobotanicomout...
and the research paper on the wild species for those who know the language. The rest of us can only look at the pictures (or try to translate the article by Google):
https://www.biodiversity-scien...

Here is a paper on peony genetics:
https://www.nature.com/article...