Hi Weeper ! You haven't been around much lately. I think you have a new horse that took you away from your garden (?)

About peonies. I think one of the regulars here ( can't remember which one, but maybe Northspruce) has a lot of peonies.

I used to have one but in those days I didn't like them so I dug it up each year for two or three years until it finally gave up. The one thing I can say is that when the blooms are spent, they fall off and make a mess unless they're hidden by other plants. Some people don't mind, but I did. You probably already know that ants are attracted to peonies, so don't plant them too close to your house. Also, make sure you're happy with where you're going to plant them, because they're almost impossible to dig up once they're established.

Hopefully someone with more experience with them will be replying soon.

Good to see you're still here =:)

Hi NAF...ha ha, well my horse kept me busy in the summer, but riding in the winter takes all the fun out of riding(especially with the weather we've been getting..jeesh!). Work, however, has been busy and stressful. It is getting to be that time of year however, that I simply can't stop thinking and planning about garden stuff! It is good to talk to you again as well. :D

I've heard that the itoh hybrids do not attract ants because they are sterile, but also that they are less hardy. So I'm not certain how well they would do here. I think I'll have to think on this for another year before I order, because I'm not sure how I should incorporate them into the landscape. I need to go picture hunting!

I have several peonies and love them all. :) And one of the things i like about them is their pretty glossy foliage after the flowers are finished - they're still an attractive plant. Thinking about it, the first perennial i planted was a peony.

Two of my peonies are in a "general" bed, two are in a lily bed, and two, including the original one, are in a raised bed with a few other plants (geranium 'Orion' for one). Another, the last one i planted, is in a memorial bed for a friend.

Years ago i planted a tree peony. It took three years to bloom, was gorgeous, and then croaked. :-/ So i stick with the regular peonies, ants and all!

I have about 7 peonies. Most of mine are in beds and surrounded by other perennials. Yes, I deadhead after they flower but the rest of the plant is usually hidden by other foliage. Some of mine are planted by themselves but I have flowerbeds in the area surrounding them so I don't really notice the finished peonies.

Well...I've been known to plant a peony or two :)

I am quite often an impulse planter - find a spot and fill it with whatever is on hand, usually only paying attention to height and sun requirements. However, I generally put a lot of thought into where I place peonies because (1) they often need a year or two to settle in and then bloom, and (2) there's no way I want to dig up and move a peony that gets too big for it's alloted space. Their rootballs are huge and the roots are brittle.

Most of the peonies I have are the ones with the big double or bomb type heads. They are beautiful, generally scented and look amazing in a vase. But...BUT...you will always struggle in keeping those heads up once they open.Even with peony hoops. And if it rains when the flowers are fully open, they will just lay flat on the ground, a big mushy mess. So when it comes to recommending types, I would recommend the singles, japanese or semi-doubles. Buckeye Belle is one that has been recommended on this forum a lot - I just got one 2 years ago and it's a beauty. I particularly like the japanese types - I ooh and aah over all the pictures of them and wish I had several acres, lol.

Ants are attracted to the sweet sticky sap that will form on a peony bud. They neither harm nor benefit the peony. When I cut peonies to bring in the house, I cut when the bud feels like a marshmallow (not yet open or just about opening) and then I dunk the heads into a tub of water, swish around a few times and no more ants. Peonies, when cut at this stage, will last close to a week in the house in water that gets changed daily.

Here's a photo of some of mine in the back yard. In this photo, I think that's calendula planted in front of the peonies and I have delphiniums and monkshood behind or in the vicinity of quite a few of them. Verbascum is another good pairing with peonies - I like spiky blooms to go with the broad leaves of the peony foliage which stays beautiful right through to a hard fall frost.

Wow! What a beautiful garden. Those peonies really make the garden pop with color!! Luckily, my favorites so far have mainly been japanese types, so hopefully I won't have the flopping problem. So nobody has tried the itoh hybrids? I think they LOOK fantastic, but I'm a little leary of the price tag when they may just go kaput. Speaking of Buckeye Belle, she is on my list..I love the color!

Thanks for posting that pic, Pudge - just what i needed on a snowy January morning!!

Pudge: That is a gorgeous picture but there's something wrong with your flower bed--I don't see any weeds! LOL What's the name of that red peony? I have a few pinks and whites and near reds but no real red----yet! Marg

Hey, Pudge is back =:) I was wondering if you were going to ever post on here again.

Those burgundy-red peonies kind of make a person want some. I may have to rethink my long ago dislike for them.

That picture is what a person needs when they're up to their waist in snow! What a beautiful yard. Makes mine look shameful.

Well thank you :)

That dark peony is unnamed and came from my mom's garden. I have 3 bushes of it, it's really prolific.

I was looking for a more recent pic as that one is a few years old. I've been cutting and selling peony bouquets at farmer's market for the past few years, so I don't have any more good ones of the peonies in bloom, but here's a shot of last year, later in the season. The border has been extended and has a few lilies in it now.

Pudge, your pictures sent me in search of the bubble! I'd forgotten that the first bubble thread disappeared - too bad! The second one is there, the one where you turned Ang into a mermaid! LOL Good memories!

Please please, can you lead us to this bubble you speak of?

Peonies are mandatory in northern gardens. They are highly coveted by those that live in warmer climates, as they require a cold dormant period to survive.

Pudge - beautiful eye candy for the depths of winter!

You inspired me to find some of my photos from previous summers. Kind of helps to get through these cold, cold days! Agree that peonies are manadory in northern gardens, shazam!

I was on holidays and didn't see this. I have a lot of peonies but most are the same one, Festiva Maxima.

I like how they look with big alliums, they bloom at the same time.

Some varieties are much more compact plants and stand up on their own. I find the big, old fashioned ones take up a LOT of space and they are space bullies that will drown other plants out. I also agree with Marcia that their foliage is very nice when the blooms are done.

Does anyone have a yellow peony? I have a couple pink and reds, but after seeing a picture of a yellow herbaceous peony, I really, really want it. Problem, I am completely out of space and the yellow ones are very expensive. Is a yellow peony worth the cost and juggling space issues to add it to my far NE Montana garden?

Thanks for the pictures from those of you that posted. We have had so much snow that I am dreaming of spring.

I bought a Bartzella when the local nursery was clearing out their stock at the end of summer. Got it for under $20. Also picked up a fernleaf peony for under $10 (I think it might have even been under $5) earlier in the summer in their damaged stock pile. Of course, it wasn't really damaged, it's just that they can go dormant really early and when customers don't see pretty stuff on top, they don't buy it.

So check the nurseries when they're clearing out ;)

What a wonderful price you paid for Bartzella! You will love its HUGE yellow flower in a year or two when it is mature enough to bloom.

Here in my yard I have 75 varieties of peonies, of which the majority of them were purchased in the years 2007 thru 2010....so many of them still need to mature enough to bloom for their first time yet.

These are my ITOH peonies...I have a dozen varieties now.
Bartzella
Copper Kettle
Cora Louise
Going Bananas
Julia Rose
Morning Lilac
Pastel Splendor
Singing in the Rain
Smith Family Yellow
Visions of Sugar Plums
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yellow Doodle Dandy

A few of my ITOHs had their first flower last summer. Wow, the colors were great!

I also have some other peonies that are not simply a bomb. These are cactus styled peonies hybridized by Klemn at his Songsparrow nursery. They are really different peonies!!!! Some of their names are Alley Cat, Bric a Brac, Cactus Jack, Daisy Coronet and Scatterbrain Pink. Just google these names...as only one of them bloomed last summer. I didn't get a good picture of it and so, cannot show you here in this post what it looked like.

I love peonies and have them planted, usually in the center of flowerbeds. Anything and everything is planted around them...all sorts of perennials. Once they finished flowerering, I have a nice green round shrub-looking plant in the center. As I am usually out taking pictures in my yard each morning, it is not that hard, yet (the majority of them are still immature) to keep up with the deadheading of all the peonies.

Brenda

Our peonies were planted by our home's original owners in the 60's and I have no clue what they are. I've divided them and they just keep coming. I have a cream, a light pink, a dark pink and a dark burgundy. I love visiting abandoned farmsteads and finding clumps of peonies around the foundations.

I have aprox 25 peonies now (I can't remember today!:)
I love them all - and wish that they all had fragrance, which unfortunately, many don't. I took a chance and bought an Itoh - Going Bananas (yellow) and oh my, it bloomed this past summer and it was beautiful!! what I especially like is how large a shrub it makes and the foliage is just wonderful throughout the whole growing season! I've been away from the forum for a long time - but must say pudge, your pictures are gorgeous as always!

I have peonies...quite a few as a matter of fact. At the last tally I had 46 named varieties, 31 unnamed ones, 8 Itoh hybrids, 6 tree peonies and a small patch of seedlings from my first attempt at germination last year........and the websites are being updated!!!!In order to get more peonies I will have to dig more flower beds...a small price to pay in my opinion.My unnamed peonies have been acquired through trades, yard sales, demolition site salvage, roadside rescue and by simply knocking on total strangers doors.I am currently trying to find the Itoh Hybrid Garden Treasure at something less than a king's ransom.If anyone out there has one they are willing to divide I have an extra Itoh Cora Louise(a labelling screwup)to offer in trade.