My first peony to bloom this yr is the Hawaiian Pink Coral. I'm delighted that others are also budding, and surprised since last winter was so mild - at least until March. Lowest temp in my backyard was 3 nights@ 20f. My date palms sailed through the winter with only minor leaf tip damage. Yay!!!
Oh my! I have Peonie Envy! I've tried to grow them here but they always croak in Summer! I love them.
Mine croak by midsummer, too. Last spring several varieties formed nice buds but failed to flower - bummer. Back in 2006, I was advised to grow them in filtered sun - mine were planted underneath tall pines, but they failed to flower. I had nice bushy plants that were defoliated by mid summer. I've learned that they really need at least a few hours of direct sun to produce flowers. It will be interesting to see how many peonies planted last summer bloom in sunnier locations. Also hard to believe this plant is cold hardy to -40f.
When my sister in Ft. Lauderdale retires we're moving to Greenville .. I'm sure I can grow them there! Leaving Summerville because I'm getting too old to deal with hurricanes!
But I always think of you, MmeX, when I think of Summerville. Well Summerville's loss will be Greenville's gain, and I'm certain your yard will be the prettiest in the neighborhood. I just bought a beautiful Rhododendron yesterday that would be much happier in Greenville than Sumter.;-)
Nice! I can't even imagine how miserable peonies would be here. I'll just have to enjoy your pictures.
Barb
I'm with X, definitely peony envy! I was just looking at Tony Avant's bulletin about his upcoming open house at PDN and he mentions some of the plants that will be featured including "heat tolerant peonies." The next open house is May 3, 4 & 5th.
Heat tolerant peonies? I've grown them -- they still croaked. Perhaps they've come up with something new in the last 2 years.
The one I have is coming up nicely. It is in it's first full year so hopefully I'll have a couple of blooms off of it. Time will tell.... but so far it is looking good with plenty of shoots popping up.
I'm surprised mine are doing so well with such a mild zone 9a winter in my location. Leave it to Tony Avent to find a heat tolerant peony.. Hope you coastal folks find some beauties that will grow in your area. I have several patches of the Hawaiian Coral blooming - still waiting for other varieties to bloom. Hope to be posting more pics soon.
This message was edited Apr 25, 2013 6:22 AM
Peony 'Bowl of Plenty'.
Outstanding! Almost makes me want to grow them as annuals.
It's almost unfair that I should get such beautiful flowers w/o doing any maintenance; no pesticides or fertilizer needed. I don't even water them, but I do love them.-)
Peonies do great here in Greenville! (I'm in Greenville county)
That's nice to know!
Just curious, Judy, do you grow your peonies in full sun?
MmeX, do you plan to have a GH in Greenville? If so, your beautiful zone 9+ plants would be lovely mixed with Greenville's gorgeous flowers.
Lol .. well that's a silly question girl - the hard part to finding a house up there will be to find an urban neighborhood with a bit of land that allows 20 foot greenhouses! I've already got the one I want picked out .. but it won't be for a while yet. My Dad, who will be 90 in July has to croak first. I was actually eying Sumter for awhile til my brother told me it was too close to Columbia and we didn't want my sister in-law freaking out. I think what finally made me latch on to Greenville was that they have a super awesome public library.
It is a very good library for a small city like Greenville. I used to live in Buffalo NY and now that was an awesome library.
About my peonies, I grow them where they get morning sun and afternoon shade. After they have their big show in spring I cut back with the heat of summer and the brugs and lantana that are growing nearby fill in for the summer. Since we have such a long growing season I combine plants like that so there aren't bare spots.
Lol! Hope your father has many years left, MmeX. There are some older middle class neighborhoods around Sumter that would allow your GH - just keep that in mine.-) And I could tell you about my sister in law... You could still move to Sumter and we could visit Columbia incognito.
I'm a native S. Carolinian, Judy, but I lived most of my adult life in the Phila region. The library there is huge, historic, state of the art, and an architectural delight inside and out.. It's also located across the street from the new Barnes Art Museum. Sumter's library is adequate, but nothing extraordinary.
I still have 8 peonies to move next fall, and I'll make certain they get morning sun and afternoon shade. Love your idea of growing lantana nearby so it's covered by mid summer. Thanks!
