Cross between a dahlia and a peony?

I am assuming this hasn't been done because it can't be done but it would surely be nice to have dahlia tubers that you could leave in the ground all winter like peonies.

Well, they can, just below zone 8. Of course, the weather has been so wacky, you may have palm trees in Anchorage before long.

I do wonder if certain cultivars are more winter-hardy. Since the tubers "should" be dug and divided for best results, I'm sure the hybridizers are more interested in new colors/forms. Besides, tuber sales are how they make their money (Swan's newest intros are $24.95!!!) they are probably figuring out how they can get tubers to rot so we HAVE to buy them all over again! (So far, they're doing pretty well.)

Peonies are beautiful, but the ant factor gives me the creeps. Can they make a peony that ants don't like?! Or better, dahlias that are fragrant. I saw the fairgoers trying to smell the dahlias during the flower show!

Funny, fall flowers are remarkably un-scented while spring flowers are crazy-fragrant (I can't decide if I love lilac or hyacinth best). Does anyone know the science behind this?

Well, chrysanthemums have fragrance, don't they? Don't know about any others. And I bought one of those 2013 intro's by Swan Island. Stupid I guess. I decided I really loved the colors and ordered it before checking the price. Oh well. If I am lucky it will provide many new tubers next fall and I can share. lol.

So CAN peonies and dahlias be crossed?

I doubt it, they are very distant relations (different orders). I think you would even have trouble crossing a dahlia tree with a regular dahlia, or I would be trying. :)

that's what I thought. I still think it would make a great flower and plant. Look at the crosses between the tree and herbaceous peonies. I love the grey green foliage. But even Julia Rose and Cora Louise stems will bend with rain weight and they are far from bomb type flowers. Which is why I got them.

I went nuts with the peonies this fall, bought more than i had room for. I got so frustrated with the deer eating other things like lilies, and peonies are win-win, aside from the floppiness.

true. I try to stick with peonies that are of a simpler form and sturdier stems. I found some really great metal rings in two pieces with a hinge on one side that attach to 1/4" poles Spendy as alll get out, but they will hold up the world 'given a place to stand.' I tried out two. One on Coral Sunset and one on Cora Louise. They can slide up and down the pole so you can raise them, and thereby the flower and bush as they grow. Seem to work better than the grids I have tried. I ordered my last bunch of peonies this year, planted them the end of last month. I am listing them in my journal although haven't quite finished. Also need to finish adding the last of my dahlias. Some pictures are not mine for those that haven't bloomed this year or are coming next spring. i will replace the pictures as they bloom.

I have become totally captured by the dahlias blooms. They are a lot of work but so worth it. Peonies are, as you say, win-win. Little to no work and lovely besides.

Plus, you have a full seasons of blossoms. If you can start a few dahlias early, you'll have them pick up where the peonies leave off! What the hybridizers need to work on is a peony that re-blooms all summer.

Ah, but then would they be so special. Plus, as you say, when the peonies leave off (allowing for a slight lag) we have dahlias into winter.