Started a new thread since the old one was rather long. I am hopeful others will post their peonies also as we move across the south and then northwards! I am excited to see how everyone's are doing :-)
White Cap - only one flower on one bush is open right now with lots more on the way. Just opened this evening. This photo doesn't do it justice as this is probably my favorite peony or def. in the top 3. Fragrant too!
Doreen just starting to open
Chocolate Soldier in an evening light. Takes on more of a reddish hue. Appeared darker in full sun.
Paree Fru Fru....what a horrible name right LOL
Waiting for Hot Choc. to open
One last one..on the verge - Krinkled White
I just came home from an HPS plant sale meeting and the plant I received as P. corsica is in bloom. Too dark to get a good picture tonight but will take one tomorrow. Always my earliest but has been later than the March 27 it used to bloom.
LOL that's what camera flash is for Alana, LOL
First bloom
Ahhhh, very nice!! Congrats on such an early bloom for your area!
Oh Steve, I'm thrilled to see your White Cap. Mine got a single lovely flower last year, and thus year looks very promising.
And AHH, that is early! Wow!
I just checked my peonies and they are all growing up nicely and I have buds forming on 2 of them. YA!!!!!!!
Excellent! Moving north.
Since someone started a thread about ants I got curious. This is a stupid question but inquiring minds want to know. Do you have ants on your peonies in the south?
None on mine. Yet! but I will keep an eye out for them. I have ants in the house. Their after the cat food.
I live in the Dallas area and ants are all over my Festiva Maxima every year.
Should I spray for ants?
In the house? Sure. But as far as the peonies are concerned, they're only after the sticky sweet stuff on the buds and they do no harm.
Our 84 degree day yesterday has accelerated the growth of my peonies. I had plenty of pips but now the pips are forming those little things that look like leaves. I also noticed that it has made some trumpet lilies break dormancy way ahead of schedule.
This is an interesting year for me because my more mature peonies are in the ground are not developing nearly as quickly as the ones in pots. But then, the ones in the ground are much larger, and some of them are about ten years old. I'll send pics of both.
Donna
Oh no fair, Steve on posting those gorgeous pics. of your peonies. I am drooling all over my key board!!
ah3815, love the leaves on your peony. Very large leaves, do you know the name of it??
Maxine
Maxine, are you still frozen? Anything coming up for you yet?
no don't spray the ants. They won't hurt your peonies. I have them on mine. My MIL used to tell me that the ants helped open the peony. I don't know if that is true or not but there must be something sweet on the buds that attracts the ants.
was 29F this morning and frost on everything, pond is frozen over again, but has 'warmed' up to 32.5F and is supposed to be clear again so we should thaw out later this morning. I shoveled by front garden bed until I started hurting a little where they took out my gallbladder two weeks ago. For once I had the sense to stop. that's a first! but I need to get to my bearded iris out from the snow and ice as quickly as possible. They are looking very moldy although the tubers are firm. Hope not just frozen. lol. I think I will try a 'wash' of liquid fungicide. Never did that before but I don't think it will hurt.
the ants helping to open the peonies is an old wives tale. They are after the sugar!
Maxine, it is a species peony. P. corsica, so no name. I got it at a Pacific Northwest Peony Society auction a number of years ago from a guy in New Hampshire who was cleaning out some of his extras. It was not supposed to live much less bloom here. I love the underside of the leaves. They are somewhat fuzzy and a silvery color to contrast with the shiny green of the top surface.
My peony before the wind and rain strucked yesterday
The guy across the street has a raised bed with peonies and bulbs in it. He wants it removed so that he can mow without having to go around the bed. If he will let me I'm going to take the rocks used to make the raised bed and any plants I can dig up.
Marti, you scored. I cannot imagine that man wanting to remove the bed and peonies. wonder if he is married and what his wife thinks.
mstella, yes my peonies are starting to show growth, especially the fern leaf ones.
Need to get out and finish cleaning flower beds which I didn't get done last fall. Shame on me.
Our early snow sure protected every thing very well, as daffs emerged from under snow showing yellowing.
Maxine
He is elderly and his wife is disabled. He wants the yard simple to care for. Mow it and forget it.
marti, this way he and his wife will still get to see them, won't they?
deb
drthor, I really do like that white/yellow peony. I used to live in Irving and never had much luck with that ALKALINE soil.. Was always amending the soil with loads of compost..
yes they will. I figure with all the daylilies, irises, peonies, roses, columbines, speedwell, etc I've got in the front yard I'll have some great pictures to post next year.
opsss. Sorry Marti. I can see his point. hauling out a heavy lawnmower and then having to heave it wound a rock flower bed probably isn't what he needs or should be doing. Hopefully, I agree with Debra, they can enjoy the flowers from afar. Maybe even take them a bouquet or two over the summer.
thanks Maxine. I maybe can gauge mine on yours. We are about 2 weeks behind last year on stuff growing. I had Red Charm and Julia Rose with growth by the 25th of March last year. Not a sign of anything this year.
This message was edited Apr 11, 2011 3:50 PM
Howdy Maxine, so good to see you here...and yours will be looking beautiful long after ours are all finished, never to worry!
On the ants, yes, mine have them all over them.
Dthor, as I have commented, I love your fried egg peony as I call it. Yous looks like it's loaded with blooms and quite happy. What kind is it?
Rrrr, the alkaline soil is tough for many things but peonies don't seem to mind it. Maxine, didn't you say once that yours was alkaline? Thank goodness peonies don't care of I would be in dire straits and not know what to do with myself, got to have my peonies LOL....on the other hand, some plants are picky..like Azaleas....I cannot get them to flourish even if heavily amending my soil with acidizing agents....meanwhile when I travel 350 miles east to my building I manage in Louisiana, I see HUGGGE ones in everyone's yard and am so jealous. Their weather is hot as heck and nasty in summer, but i think the soil must be acidic.
Donna...yeah the weather forced mine open too. We got VERY heavy rain (badly neede) off and on all night which trashed a few blooms but the sun and just mildly warm temps forced a bunch more open. 70's for the next two weeks - woohoo!
Pic I took tonight after work.
A nice single
Mons Jules Elie
Steve, I'm glad the peonies work out well for you.. My mother finally got some azaleas and camellias established at her house in Dallas.. She had to plant them under a pine tree.. The pine needles are great when it comes to lowering the pH of the soil.. She even got her hydrangeas to switch from pink to blue..lol
Wow Rrrr now THAT is an acomplishment. Every hydrangea I planted (those do pretty well here BTW) was PINK. Even the ones marketed as blue, LOL. Didn't need a pH tester to give me the results on my soil LOL.
mstella - interesting your comments on Red Charm. Last year it was one of my first ones up and this year among the LAST and will be one of the last to bloom. I was worried it wasn't gonna come back at all until one day I saw the shoots coming up. Has flowerbuds on it but behind most of my peonies....strange.
Marti - congrats on your peony conquest. Wow, to get beautidul mature plants like that for free, and right across the street....now that's a find!
I just need to fix a place for them here. I need to get a big, big load of topsoil as I have to mix it with my red clay and try to have better soil.
