What a color!

Those are gorgeous!!

Lovely. I've not seen one with such fine leaves.
Good scent?

That is a beautiful color! I love peonys. They are one of my favorites.

This one i have belonged to my Great Great Grandmother. My mom got a piece of it from her grandmother before her and my dad started their moving ( dad was in the navy). My mom brought it everywhere they went. Leaving a small piece of it in the ground where we lived (we moved more than once a year, so a lot). Then I took a piece and did they same, though not to the same extent. This peony has "legs". Its been to more places than many people have.

It also has a wonderful scent. Being an older variety, before shopping from catalogs became the norm and everything was purchased based on looks alone.

Didn't have one open until the last day in May; the latest EVAH...but they're a-poppin' now!

The Gotch

Those fernleaf (?) types are great but when I tried one I didn’t have enough sun and it croaked. The regular type here at “the new place” is dragging along.

DriftlessRoots wrote: ↑Sun Jun 05, 2022 8:33 am Those fernleaf (?) types are great but when I tried one I didn’t have enough sun and it croaked. The regular type here at “the new place” is dragging along.

It's a Fernleaf cross but not a true Fernleaf. The flowers are smaller than the Fernleaf. I had ordered a Fernleaf but received this one instead. I am enjoying this one though.

Awash in Peonies..."Cora Louise" and "Julia Rose" Itoh Peonies on the right, various unidentified species to the left, and either Paeonia "Kansas," or "Red Charm" (?) with a couple of "futures" in the background.

Nothing like a room filled with the intoxicating fragrance of fresh cut Peonies....until Oriental "Stargazer" Lily Season is arrives.
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The Gotch

@Cornelius_Gotchberg such beautiful peonies you've got there. This year I had no buds at all. I think I can smell yours from here. Maybe next year.

@Amateurinawe; "This year I had no buds at all."

The ever LUVin' Horror! Any idea why?

Peonies are VERY special to me.

Growing up, my Dear late Tomato Ranching Father always had huge seasonal bouquets on the kitchen table for my Dear late Mother. In their final years I properly supplied them, as any loving son would. Matter-a-fact, as she was shutting down, her last fresh bouquet, delivered two (2) days prior to her passing, was verily filled with them; the weak smile she mustered as she drew in their magnificent fragrance is a memory I'll treasure forever.

"I think I can smell yours from here."

Thank prevailing wind patterns for that...

"Maybe next year."

In the interim:


The Gotch

Amateurinawe wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 2:43 pm @Cornelius_Gotchberg such beautiful peonies you've got there. This year I had no buds at all. I think I can smell yours from here. Maybe next year.

Peonies don't want much nitrogen. A handful of bone meal spring and fall is all that they need.

Nice flowers. Mine are done pretty much generic. when should I cut them back and how far down?

I have a traveling peony story too. I planted two peonies when I was living at my brother's place in town. After I left there, my Mom went in and dug them up and took them to her garden. (And that's how she got goutweed, I believe!) Mom spilled the bonemeal when she planted those peonies and the bushes are huge, even many years later. She gave me a piece of them when I moved here, but they didn't get the royal treatment and really deserve better. I have just one bud on my favorite red one, as usual. The two-shade pink is taller and later, usually blown down by the wind here, where you might happen to notice a huge blossom lurking in the weeds as you walk by. We did manage to get them to bloom for a dear friend's wedding bouquet! Which was tricky to arrange and depended on the weather holding them back for the date. We also colored a shawl for her of silk gauze by pounding peony petals into it. Anyway I must take better care of them because it would be nicer to see a bush of them in that "oh look what's happening" way. Everything needs a turn at the loving care, at some point.
My grandmother had a peony of the old type and probably very fragrant. My mom used to talk about it quite a bit, as it grew in my Aunt's garden but she was hesitant to ask for a piece although she clearly wanted it! And unfortunately they later sold the place, so the opportunity to preserve it was lost. So kudos tho those who keep their peonies walking and finding new ground for old delights.

do you need to cut them back?

indysun wrote: ↑Fri Jun 17, 2022 4:48 pm do you need to cut them back?

Herbaceous peonies die back to the ground every year when frost hits. It is best to pick up the debris or cut them back first to that disease does not become an issue.

Then there are Tree Peonies that are a woody shrub and ought not be cut back but allowed to grow into a large shrub.

@Bower that is a nice story. I'm glad that you have a piece of something passed down. I have my grandfathers chives that I have moved from house to house.

Throw some bonemeal at your peony and it will be forever grateful!