Aggiegrad,

Those prices do seem to be a bit high. Especially considering that it is as late in the season as it is. The seeds have probably dried out by now. It is best to plant both herbaceous and tree peony seeds as soon as the pods begin to open. If planted now I suspect the dried seeds will wait to sprout in the fall of 2008 amd then send up their first leaves in spring of 2009. It should take 3-8 years from that when you see your first blooms. I have only had one seedling that bloomed in 3 years. The batch I am trying to grow now looks like they are going to be closer to 8 years for me. I have a friend that did get a tree peony to bloom in 3 years, I am wondering what kind of magic he uses. I also had one herbaceous peony that bloomed in 3 years however as with every other herbaceous peony I have grown from seed it has proven itself not garden worthy so I will remove the plant this fall and use its roots as grafting understock. You have a much better chance of getting something garden worthy if you plant tree peony seeds.

I am trying to remember how much we sold tree peony seeds for when I collected and sold them several years ago. I think the price was $2.00 for a pack of 25-30 seeds.

If you have a friend with a tree peony I would think he or she would share seeds with you as soon as the pods begin to open at the end of this next summer. If planted quickly they should still sprout in the fall and you should see your first leaves the following spring 2009.

Leon

The American Peony Society has a seed exchange for members. It is a wonderful way to get access to many seeds(
tree, species and herbacious) at a reasonable cost. You get the addded benefit of lots of good information. For a limited time they are offering 100 mixed seeds to new members who join via the web page. One year membership is $20 and I think the seed offer is valid 'til February 2008. Good luck.