"Koningin Wilhelmina" Paeonia lactiflora Anyone? & Question

Does anyone know anything about this one? It will be more than me!!

Also, can someone educate a novice about planting alreading growing plants? If I go to the nursery and buy a gallon potted peony can I plant it now? after it blooms? wait till fall?

Any help is appreciated even pointing me in the right direction!

Thanks - Kim

Hi Kim,

I don't know about 'Koningin Wilhelmina'.

Regarding plants growing in gallon pots, some grow them in pots until the fall, but they can be planted during the growing season and will require regular watering to get established, especially in hot summers. Also, water the soil only to avoid getting the leaves wet (to prevent fungal and bacterial problems).

Make certain to prepare a deep planting hole with organic matter mixed with the surrounding soil at the bottom (compost, peat moss, bonemeal etc.) before taking the peony out of the pot.

Also before removing the gallon pot, check to see where the peony crown begins to make sure it is **no more** than two inches below the soil surface--that is essential for flowering. If they are at the right level in the pot you can sit the pot in the planting hole as necessary to make sure it will be the right level where you plant it (if it is not at the right level in the pot, make sure it is when you put in the ground). Avoid disturbing the roots as much as possible when handling the plant out of the pot.

I planted a potted Karl Rosenfeld from Home Depot last spring and it is growing very well. It has some buds. I'll post pictures when they bloom.

Have fun!
Jason

Oh Thank You Jason! My main concern was whether I had to wait until fall to plant in the ground. The crown seems to be showing in the pot they are in now. They also have lots of buds on them.

Any opinions on transplanting before or after flowering?

Leave it to me to buy a peony that is registered but no one has ever heard of! I did read it is a double bloom - maybe pinkish/white. The other is a 'Sarah Bernhardt' on the other end of the spectrum, everyone knows it!

-Kim

Hi Kim,

Not completely sure, but I would say if it is heavily budding and close to flowering then wait until it finishes. I suppose that will ease the transition from the pot to the ground. Cut off spent blooms to prevent seeding and leave as much foliage as possible.

Please post pictures of the blooms.
Jason

This is all I found in a google search. It English it would be Queen Wilhelmina. She was Queen of the Netherlands for 50 years, ending in 1948.

KOENIGEN WILHELMINA (Krelage, 1912) Spelled KONINGIN WILHELMINA in Manual. Double Rose-pink. Tall. Wassenberg catalog, 1954.

I cannot wait to see my new peonies. In FL they are $5 a stem - WHEN you can get them! so I haven't had the pleasure of my own plants until this year.

-Kim