Interesting that the other thread on scented peonies would pop up now. I was at a meeting recently where I mentioned that I saw an increase in people wanting to purchase scented peonies and many were returning to the old fashion floppers just for the scent. As usual I was poo-poo'd. I am wondering if I am correct or just being guided by what others are asking me to direct them to nurseries which have good ones. Although most here have a collection of various types of peonies which types of peonies are you asked for/about most frequently?
Scented Peonies a different question
After I had grown peonies for a couple of years and my neighbors noticed, they started putting them in too. Some buy unnamed ones, but with the exception of Bowl of Beauty and Windflower in one yard, all of the peonies around me are very double lactifloras in white, red and pink.
Donna
I love all peonies, but what is the point if they don't have a nice scent? :) It's like having a rose without a scent, what is the point in it? :)
To be blunter, was it some kind of society meeting? I dumped two rose societies because of hybrid tea snobbery. They looked down on people who grew old garden roses and made it abundantly clear. And a lot of the hybrid teas had no scent - not to mention that they were on unattractive shrubs so diseased that their growers had nuclear arsenals of chemicals to keep them looking good. Some people consider this attitude sophisticated. I quit both societies - one folded and the other is in serious financial difficulty.
We were talking about what to order for next year's sale so sort of a club meeting. Several prefer intersectionals and anything that does not flop. When ever some of us run into each other we talk about trends and what we want to order. The trend I see is for the doubles and semi-doubles but wanted to see what others are looking for. I myself like the ones that have interesting foliage but that is definately an aquired taste since some like the rumpled one I saw last year appear to many to diseased.
I am still saving for my first orange colored tree peony. Right now must import but perhaps I will find a seedling in my garden.
LOL Donna - your post made me laugh, because I agree. a) what fun is gardening if it causes some people to be obnoxious and snobby? I will keep my plain old plants thanks and hang around with real people - and b) you are right on about the tea roses. I avoid them anymore for that reason. I had several at my last place and they always had terrible blackspot and the foliage never looked good aside from in the early spring and during early bloomtime. Now I have a bunch of knockout roses and a couple floribundas and am much happier.
At at talk several years ago a speaker suggested that for this area we treat tea roses as annuals. She suggested rather than spend a lot of money just buy, the at time $1.99 in bag roses, let them bloom then toss because they would always struggle.
I do remember the tea roses that actually smelled of warm sweet tea.
Probably the best way to get a handle on which peonies are currently "hot" would be to quiz different vendor/growers. They can charge more for the newer cultivars so they would be likely to push them harder but most of the lists I have seen have a lot of the oldies.
I think roses are judged by the number of unpronounceable syllables in their name. I have one I found growing in the wild which would not pass muster with a rosarian but I would not sell for a hundred bucks if it were irreplaceable.
But to find out what will be marketed for the next couple of years you need to know people that sell wholesale or a supplier of 1-2 eye roots to plant. If you consistantly watch those you will see what will be available in a year or so. It does not mean that the ones available are what the public wants just what will be available to them.
I find that magazines and published articles are better indicators of what the public will be looking for. If one of the main mags such as Martha Stewart or Good Housekeeping has a piece with a certain flower in it, even just in a picture, people will start asking about where can they find that plant. I you go to a bookstore and browse the magazines you will see what people will be looking for later that year or the next season.
Oldgardenrose - that is one gorgeous rose plant.
It is probably an old rambler. Can reach 8 to 10 feet high if not cut back. Blooms only one time. Mild sweet fragrance. I have dug a sucker with a piece of root and replanted it and it grows to bloom by the second year. D-mail me if you would like a start of it.
It looks like what I've always thought of as a "Cabbage Rose." Very nice.
I have peony that have no scent, but I tend to mix them in with scented peonies so that one really doesn't notice the lack of scent. :)
Hey, Diann, I think you nailed it. I'll bet it's a centifolia, a cabbage rose. Blooms once, heavily scented, hardy, flowers nod a bit. Whatever it is, it's really stunning.
http://images.google.com/images?rlz=1T4TSHB_enUS217US218&q=rosa%20centifolia&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi
I am starting to "collect" tree and regular peonies. First I try to find one with a beautiful color that is also fragrant. I also have some that are just gorgeous without a strong fragrance, and some with fragrance the main thing. What are your favorite peonies that have it all?
I loved peonies initially for the scent. The scent is tied to childhood memories. When I first visited Roger Anderson's farm years ago, well, that is when I sniffed a peony and I thought "is something wrong with my nose?" It smelled like nothing.
So, I would have to agree with Diann when she says mix the fragrant with others you consider lovely. It might even make you think that those others have fragrance ;)
Had an interesting email conversation a couple of years ago with Don Hollingsworth about 'Vivid Rose' and its lack of fragrance, though it was touted as a fragrant peony by description at Klehm's. He couldn't specifically remember the fragrance, but stated that there had been some questions about scented peonies , more than in the past years and that they would be evaluating all of their peonies. What I noticed in the redesign of the Hollingsworth website is the fragrant peony section. You just ckick on it and you know you're getting a fragrant one Perhaps fragrance is coming back into favor. It's sad to think that they have hybridized the lovely scent out of them, isn't it?
The interesting thing about 'Vivid Rose' is that that first year I grew it, I swear it had no scent. Year two? You bet it had a nice rose-like peony scent. So perhaps a few of them need to settle in a little before they come alive with fragrance.
Tracey, what an interesting point about plants developing scent over time. I have roses I would swear were unscented when I bough them, and now I can detect one. I had the same experience with a viburnum just yesterday. It's really a treat.
I love scented, old fashioned peonies and roses. I am disappointed with a pink peony that I got from a friend that looks just like my grandmother's floppy peonies, but has no scent! It looks like Sandra Bernhardt, but could be another one. I also have sorbet, which is finally making more blooms. Sorbet is more fragrant, but not as fragrant as the one's in grandma's garden! I got Sorbet a few years ago during an end of summer sale at Walmart. Lots of bags of bulbs were piled in a grocery cart marked 75% off. Yippee! I got a bloom the following year and more as it increased.
My favorite roses are the Austins and old fashioned roses. Souvenir de la Malmaison is the most fragrant rose in my garden, so far. Austin's Wildeve is the most vigorous. Both are soft pink, but Wildeve has a peachy tint and a kiss of yellow at the base of the petals. My favorite hybrid tea is Tiffany. I got it because my beloved Westie is named Tiffany, but love the fragrance, blooms and color. Another pink with a kiss of yellow.
Maybe I'm a little bit late following this thread but here's some good choices for peonies with scents:
Duchesse de Nemours and Festiva Maxima. Both are white. White flowers have to work harder to attract pollinators and what they lack in color, they make up for with scent - my theory. There are hints of lemons and tea roses in their perfume - says my nose.
Monsieur Jules Elie and Sarah Bernhardt. Both are light pink with a subtler fragrance than the white.
Casselman,
I second that,I have all 4 you mentioned and especially Festiva Maxima .FM is a large plant which I will divide this fall ( have to ) and give some to our grown children.While they were in bloom people would stop by and comment and I would treat them to a bouquet,the same with my Old Garden roses which I prefer.We are in the process of getting a fence so I still have to plant and just waiting
Damask - Mm.Hardy
Gallica - Belle de Crecy
Gallica - Duc de Guiche
Gallica - Jenny Duval
Moss - Etna
I have grown all of them before except Jenny Duval.The scent in the month of June is intoxicating and again I share my roses with neighbors.They're all 19th Century roses from France.The scent and historic plants is important to me .I even have started a small historic iris garden last year and I have 4 now.
Planted quite a few peonies but I believe I went by looks and can't remember which ones I choose with scent without checking my notes.
Yeah for all of you who love scented peonies. My best friend bought me a peony plant for my birthday last year because I lost most all of my flowers when we moved our house (yes, I typed that correctly). I was SO disappointed when it finally bloomed with this beautiful bright pink full flower and not even the tiniest whiff of scent. The roses I plant are old, full and heavily scented also.
It's kind of like the prettiest piece of candy and you get it in your mouth and it has no flavor... Model beautiful but no substance.