My very good friend lost her son and I wanted a special peony for her. His name was Raymond but I didn't see any peonies with that name. She loves peonies and we are zone 5. Any suggestions of a beautiful peony (I know they all are) maybe I should say special please let me know your opinions.
She has a couple of peonies a white and pink.
Thank you
Want a special peony for a dear friend
I would think perhaps one that is rather different from her current peonies, and that is really trouble free (no staking, tolerates spring rains). How about Bartzella, an Intersectional hybrid? Mine looks great, foliage really attractive all summer, and never needs staking. Here it is last May. My photos are not the greatest, it is a brighter yellow than shown.
I think Bart sounds cool, but if she doesn't want to go with yellow how about Festiva Maxima? Tried and true, wonderful scent, doesn't require staking and starts out with white with red flecks, which goes with her color scheme. It is also widely available and inexpensive..
Pistil,
Those yellow peonies are GORGEOUS. I am eyeing a coral one myself, but have to get all my spring things planted before I contemplate buying something else :) But the thinking cap is on!
Donna, Festiva is very pretty, but I have one that looks almost similar.
the yellow would be different.... goof idea, should of ask does anyone a good place to purchase it?
I can't argue about the beauty of Bart. I photographed it last year at Raulston Arboretum. It blew me away.
Well, Bartzella is $$$, but now widely available from mail order companies. I got mine from A&D Peonies, a wonderful local nursery that also does mail order. I went there in spring, asking for peonies that would not need staking. It had just rained so they went around and showed me which ones were still standing up. They took my order and mailed me big plants in fall. Two years ago I tried to dig up and divide out some for trades, but I think I would have needed a backhoe. I finally only hacked off some chunks of roots. I had been planning a trade with pfg, but decided to try again in fall when peony dividing is supposed to occur. I put the chunk of root in a 1 gallon pot and it grew! So late summer I went ahead and did the swap. Her plant did not flower last year. I was hoping it would bloom for her this year now it is settled in. If I ever tried this again I would use a Skilsaw on the roots. This is mainly to say I think this is a very vigorous plant and the price should come down in a few years, and you can trade for it on DG!.
Another yellow Intersectional Peony that looks beautiful is 'Garden Treasure'. I have not grown it.
I have Garden Treasure and it is a great bloom. Very large and gorgeous. Would be hard to decide between GT and Bart. Hmmm. Can't remember if it needed supports with those huge blooms. I get some heavy duty circles with one stake from Lee Valley for my larger bushes that need staking. Spendy but would hold up anything.
What about Cora Louise, a lovely lavender itoh that is coming down in price. Would go really well with pink and white peonies.
I will look those up. So far all the suggestions have been amazing.
I want to thank you all for your input and help. I found Bartzella right here in the city and had a 10.00 coupon off!
Other great thing was I had my friend with me so we could talk about it without her knowing what I was up to. So I would say it was destiny...lol
We got back to my house and she kept trying to take the peony out and I kept putting it back. Finally I told her it was for her.
Again thank you all for your help.
I too, like to give a living " memorial " plant. I go to Safari or Yahoo. And enter PLANT NAMED RAMOND. You will find a database for Iris, roses, day lilies etc. bearing the name if possible. I just found a Peony named Lavon for my Mom who just passed away. Then I go to Etsy.com and search for Engraved Rocks. For 6.00 you can order a flat River Rock with the name and place as a marker.
very nice gesture, and a good idea.