I just wanted to get your opinions on peony bloom dates. I like to record the bloom dates of my peonies to compare them year to year and variety to variety.

However I was wondering if the method to recording bloom dates was different from person to person and whether there was an official way of recording the bloom date.

When would you consider a peony in bloom? At the first sign of color? At the first loose petal? When the bud covering (sepals) are bent more than 90 degrees? When you can see the center of the peony and/or when you can see the stamens and/or pistils? Or some other measurement?