I have asked peony man to correct. Because he was busy someone posted information for him.

Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church, 9300 Nall Ave., Overland Park, KS. On West side of the street.

The lecture starts at 9 am and the sale will start after it is finished. Ends at 3 pm. No set time to begin because we really want the people who made it for the lecture to have first crack at the plants. If the lecture was not over if a time was established late comers would have first choice.

I like what you mentioned as far as wanting people who made it for the lecture to have first crack at the plants. 2 years ago, it seemed like a few got in and picked some things out before the very end of the lecture. Not that there should be any mad rush, but you know how those peony lovers can get!!! :)

Several of those that made the rush were the peony committee. They have to leave the lecture to make certain things have not fallen off of the tables and set out the cash boxes. In my case I also head for the snacks/coffee in the kitchen. For packing etc as incentive people are allowed one peony up to a certain value. Since different peonies come in for different packing days some will wait until everything is on the tables before picking. If you would like to help with the packing we would be glad to have you. We are also looking for board members if you are interested.

I will pass on your concerns and see what can be done.

If you see a short dumpy person going to the back it is probably me. Say hello.

How many of you are going to the HPS program and sale? I think it would be a great idea for gardenweb peony people to meet, introduce themselves to the others, and say HI. I really only know one other person that has posted in this forum. It would be fun and really great to know who we have been talking to for such a long time. I expect to be one of the guys at the tables helping to answer questions and helping people to choose the right peony for their yard.

I was going to say look for a guy wearing a peony t-shirt but that is like saying look for a guy with a beard at a Rabbi convention.

Leon

Leon will be the tall thin one with dark hair saying "Oh Lord" as he talks about one of his favorite subjects.

Maifleur, perhaps next time I will help package things up ahead of time...thanks for asking. It sounds like some of that was done this past weekend.

Barring anything unexpected, I plan to be there. If I remember correctly, there's an old video/article out on the web of Leon and his peonies. So, I might recognize him.

If you see a relatively young gentleman scanning the tables for a coral peony...well, that may just be me.

As you can see from the list we have several corals but there are some like Cytheria that depending on soil and weather can be anything from coral to rose. It becomes more coral as it fades. Also Chiffon Cloud is a salmon/coral color. I have not seen Chiffon Cloud in person so can't tell you how coral it gets.

One of my favorites just because it fades to such interesting colors is Elzabeth Foster. It is a single red but if the season is cool enough that the petals stay on it will fade to an old parchment color.

Look forward to seeing you. I hope you make it to the dinner. I will be the short one.

I'll be there too, hopefully! I'm driving up from Wichita and I know of two others from here who expect to be there. (Cindy L and Mary Lou) I've been looking forward to this sale for 2 years. Very happy to get my HPS info in the mail last week. Thanks.
cindi (I'll be the tired-looking one).

Cindy, Houdinii

Wow, this was quite a weekend. I am still exhausted from it all. I just layed around the house today and I grafted some tree peonies. I will try to get outside to begin planting some of my purchases when it cools off out there.

What treasures did you leave the sale with? Houdinii, did you get a good coral peony? Which one? This fall I got Hakuhou, a snow peony, several other tree peonies and a few herbaceous peonies. I just hope the snow peony blooms here; the other snow peony that I have has been beautiful every year but it blooms with the other tree peonies.

On Friday evening I really tried to buy a species peony at the auction, Paeonia qiui (pronounced chewy as in the Star Wars creature) but I got beat out on the purchase by a friend who has deeper pockets than mine.

Leon

I sure did get my coral...Coral Sunset. That's the one I was wanting. Coral Charm was very tempting, but I'll be content with Sunset. I have very limited space in my yard for plants, which is why I had planned to only get 2 tree peonies and Coral Sunset. BUT, at the end of the sale my hands were full with:

Coral Sunset
Molly the Witch
Aristocrat (I was wanting an early blooming red besides Red Charm, this looked nice)
Kamata-Nishiki (I knew I wanted this one, and got an additional one for my parents)
Shima-Nishiki (I was on the fence, but figured why not)
High Noon (wasn't planning on it, but decided a yellow tp would be nice)

I'd never heard of a snow peony, but just read that Hakuhou can bloom twice. I hope it performs well for you. I haven't mature enough tree peonies to use for grafting, but someday I'll try that. I just need fuller tree peonies before I can start taking from them.

It was nice putting some faces to names from here. Good job on the event, it was an enjoyable morning.

This was an interesting, fun event. Maifleur introduced me to so many knowledgeable people and really opened me up to growing more types of peonies. I am kicking myself for not buying a Bartzella, but I had to stop somewhere. (Are there any leftovers for sale, Leon?) I bought 10 plants, and it took me almost 2 hours to select those 10. I was amazed at how big and healthy the plants were. It's easy to see why packaging is a big chore!
Carsten was an entertaining speaker, the snacks were yummy, the sales selection was tremendous and the club members were so friendly and helpful. Couldn't ask for a better event, I think. I wish I could have come to the potluck the night before because I would like to get to know club people better. The money I saved not going to a hotel I spent on plants. Next time, I'll be there!
Cindi
ps Maifleur, can you email me? I want to follow up on plants we talked about.

maifleur-My friend did get to the sale for me and bought Bartzella for me. He bought 2 for himself and a friend that came with him bought 5. They were very impressed.Thanks for getting me dates and place.

I am glad you enjoyed the event. Thanks for all that came including especially the one that mentioned although I am short I should not call myself dumpy.

I will email later. As far as leftover plants some have found homes, some will be planted out for future sales. The Chinese tree peonies have yet to arrive. From past experience customs and USDA do not treat plants gently and these may be unsaleable. I probably should not ask but if they do come in and are still alive would anyone here be interested in purchasing? Some of the board have volunteered to plant some but not all. Of course they may never get to us. A problem when you import.

I have 2 tree peonies I am growing in pots. They seem to be doing ok. If the Chinese tree peonies get here really late in the season, would they be better off in pots or in the ground? I might want to add some more...
Cindi

Tree peonies will do well in a large pot, 15 gal or so. You can start smaller but the pot must be deep enough that most of the grafted stem is under the surface of the potting mixture. If the plants are too shallow the stem will not develop it's own roots.

One advantage to growing in pots is that you can turn the plant out to see if roots have developed. If they have it is easier to remove the nurse root.

We will just have to wait to see when the Chinese tree peonies arrive and condition they are in. I would plant in ground in your area and mulch with tree leaves.