share your peony pics

I wish I would have put labels on some of these peonies...i have no idea what the names are.

Could I have the address of Center Point peonies in Iowa?

Thanks. We are going to Nasuaha [spelling] on the 17th of June.

Maxine

Center Point , Iowa Peony Garden? It's a tiny town & easy to find. Take Interstate 380 to Center Point exit. Drive past all the car dealerships & it will be the first place on your left as you enter the town. Dan has a nice sign by the road. He has rows & rows of peonies. I've gone up 2 different weekends so far to take photos. My friend & I bought 5 new colors each so far.

Two peonies that I inherited when I bought this house last June. They were almost 4' high before the buds opened. Anyone know the variety name?

Julie

Wanda, does Dan have a web site? I'm looking for some late blooming peonies with great fragrance. I might have to take a day trip to Center Point and check it out! LOL! I'd rather see the actual plants in bloom and smell them in person than believe what the catalogs say. Are his peonies reasonably priced?

Yes, Bev. The web site address is www.peonygarden.net - Enjoy!

edited: that didn't work for me but it does from my favorites list. ?!? Took off the period, see if that works...

This message was edited Jun 3, 2004 3:08 PM

The heavy Iowa rains & this year's winds have been tough on Dan's peonies. Lots were in bloom last weekend & still should bloom this week. Come down to CR this weekend & I'll take you over--just 30 miles or so from here.

Juliekane--I have 8 bushes of those tall peonies that have followed me for almost 50 years! I'll actually be digging out at least 6 (oh my aching back) to make room for the new ones I bought at Dan's Center Point Peony Garden. Those bushes are strong & fragrant and OLD....

Can you download the pictures of the peonies you took?

Mine just have buds on now. No blossoms and fern leaf is finishing up. Two of the tree peonies have bloomed. One smelled delicous!!

Maxine

Wanda - That makes sense. This house was built in 1830. I also have several whites that I believe to be Festiva Maxima - just as tall. They ARE fragrant. One whiff, and I was 7 years old, back in the garden of an older neighbor! I had forgotten she had peonies. I had only remembered the giant pansies with the black faces that she let me pick to my heart's content. (Maybe she's why I garden now....)

Julie

I,too, had a garden mentor. Mom was busy washing, cooking & cleaning up after 8 kids. The lady next door would brush & tie up my waist length hair into a ponytail. (My brothers confiscated all the rubber bands in our house for slingshots!)

The neighbor says she bought me my first watering can at 3 years old. I would fill it from her rainbarrel. We moved when I was 7 years old to a large acreage next to a retired gardener. He taught me about flowers for years. He gave me 33 peony roots that I brought home in my wagon. The 4 peony colors I've had all these years are cuts from those roots. Old & fragrant.

Ya'll are killing me! I love peonies and all the pictures are beautiful. How lucky you are to have them grow so easily. I have tried and tried to no avail to get them to grow here so i will just enjoy this thread.
Thanks for all the information and beautiful pics!
Connie (color me green)

Here's mine. I believe it is a Pink Derby.

Oh Wanda! What a beautiful story! The plants that have a history and a mentor behind them are truely cherished and special!

This is paeonia lactiflora "Barrington Belle" -- only the second year I've had it, but I love these single ones with the pouffy centers!

I'm going to go to Dan's and have him confirm the names of the peonies I took photos of. So many colors, so little space....

shudhave, I love your 'Barrington Belle'. What a colour.

I would love to go to Dan's and check out his late blooming peonies! Too many things on my plate right now, hopefully by next week things will slow down. Will that be too late?

Dan's peonies were running about 2 weekd early this week as were mine. His advertised Open House was Memorail weekend, but the peonies were much prettier the weekend before. I'd be really surprised if any blooms were left now...

Darn it! I was so excited to know there was a peony farm here in Iowa that I could go and check them out while in bloom...Next year (hopefully) things will slow down a bit and I can get over there!

My first peony just bloomed.Beautiful, but I lost the nametag.

It's the smell I love... I can close my eyes and almost see my Daddy again picking some for the kitchen table... Isn't it funny how scents & memories hook up so well?

I agree Wanda! The smell of a peony is intoxicating and is one of the many reasons why I love peonies!

Thank you so much for this forum. I had vowed never to spend money on peonies again as have tried and tried. But after watching this forum, I am going to try one more time and think I have learned that the main problem was that I tended them too much - too much water, too much moving and messing with them trying to get them going. This time will just plant and leave alone (except to put up an umbrella when we have heavy storms).

Would love some dried peonies if anyone has any to spare. Will send trade or postage. On my way to Colorado next weekend and hope it is not too late for the peonies.

I need to move north!!! Thank all of you for sharing your pictures.

Ruba, I'll have some extra dark pinks in the fall. They don't like to be disturbed this time of the year. Darn things live forever, but you need to leave them alone in the summer.

Hi, I hear these Peonies are as old as the hills...LOL I'm inclined to believe so! Tubers run to China! I need to get rid of some..I need to make room for other plants. I tilled the ground in one area where they were growing and they came back...LOL! I didn't know about tubers then. I have a few more tubers I can share too...LOL

This is what they looked like before they opened all the way.

This was just when I saw one coming...LOL

When is the best time to divide peonies? Will they bloom next spring?
Teresa

Now is the best time to divide peonies and I'd be delighted if they bloomed for you next spring but the chances are slim. :(

All very pretty pictures. I am a big lover of peonies, starting out with a Sarah Barnhart from Walmart. I've added Festiva Maximus, Bowl of Beauty, Moon over Nippon, Sword Dance, Felix Crousse and Alex Fleming recently to my collection. I'm having trouble with a few of them, getting only one bloom from a rather large bush. This fall I will transplant their unhappy faces and hope they do better. I hope to have some lovely pictures to share next spring.

Hi Bluegrass! It took 3 years for our peonies to bloom. We started with roots that had several eyes on them, bought from a nursery. I did have some bloom this year that I received in trade two years ago. They are slow, but so worth the wait! :)

I have three old peony bushes that I dug up from my MIL house before it was sold. They have all bloomed nicely. Pink and white ones. I would like to spread them around the yard.

Here are 1st year peonies. I've had very bad luck with tree peonies. They never flower for me. Any tips?

Here is Gay Paree.

Here is Isanigidui.

Here is Prairie Moon.

Here is Port Royal (actually redder).

wonderful pictures! You have some very interesting types. I love 'em!

Thanks. Here is one from my former garden which disappeared one year and I miss it. Here's Dazzler.

One last favorite. Otto Froebel.

I love the bicolor ones. I think they are nice. A co-op sounds good.