Paeonies

[Hoy]

I have several paeonies, mostly started from seed. One of the first to flower is P. mairei, obtained from Glendoick Garden, Scotland (better known for their rhodos). This spring  P. mairei is unusual late.
Pictures show two different plants one more red in the leaves and the flower buds are more globular.

[Todd Boland]

Not familiar with that species.  Our peony are only about 2-3" tall at this stage....June-July is our peony time.

[McDonough]

I'm not familiar with P. mairei either... not sure how large the genus is but it seems there are many more species that I know about, I'm a newbie when it comes to Paeonia and I only have a few types.

Two Paeonia species opened recently, adter two days of warm sunny weather (82-86 F, or 28-30 C), P. japonica, and P. wittmanniana.  The general appearance of the flowers is similar, but P. japonica is a smallish delicate plant with white flowers, growing in an open shady location, and P. wittmanniana is an imposing tall brute with cream flowers, which is growing in full sun.

[Hoy]

At last! Here are the flower of P. mairei! Some weeks later than last years.

[Lori S.]

I had one flower open today on P. anomala, which is a week earlier than last year (which was, however, a late spring) - will follow up with a pic when more open. 
I'm excited that P. mlokosewitschii (bought as a 2-year old seedling in '07, if my records are correct) has really bulked up this year and will have 3 blooms!

[McDonough]

At last! Here are the flower of P. mairei! Some weeks later than last years.

Trond, now that the buds on P. mairei have finally opened, they are indeed beautiful.  A number of folks on SRGC Forum showed blooms of this species weeks ago, but you are obviously in a late-spring area... looks like they were certainly worth the wait.

[Hoy]

Trond, now that the buds on P. mairei have finally opened, they are indeed beautiful.  A number of folks on SRGC Forum showed blooms of this species weeks ago, but you are obviously in a late-spring area... looks like they were certainly worth the wait.

I know, but I had to show that they finally opened! And the spring is much later than normal due to extraordinary cold nights for weeks.

[Hoy]

I had one flower open today on P. anomala, which is a week earlier than last year (which was, however, a late spring) - will follow up with a pic when more open. 
I'm excited that P. mlokosewitschii (bought as a 2-year old seedling in '07, if my records are correct) has really bulked up this year and will have 3 blooms!

I have both species and they are as advanced as yours!

[Todd Boland]

I have that peony too Lori...grown from seed.  Took 4 years to reach blooming size.  5 buds this year but not as far advanced as yours...my leaves are still quite purple...probably from the cold!

I have two other species grown from seed, but the tags blew away.  One will bloom this year for the first time, the other still has no bud after 6 years!

[Hoy]

Today P. suffruticosa rockii (from seed several years ago, now more than 40 buds!) opened.

[Peter George]

Over the past few weeks I've had most of my peonies open. First came P. mascula, the blooms of which were truly  ephemeral. The buds opened, the winds came, then the rain, then the petals became history. 1 beautiful day. Following that was the bloom of P. veitchii, which I have had for 13 years and which is almost 4 feet in diameter. The blooms have been opening for almost 4 weeks, and today the final few are done. I got 1 bloom from my P. suffruticosa rockii, which is 4 years old. This was the first bloom, but it was beautiful! And now I've got two P. lactifolias in bloom, which I purchased from Harvey Wrightman 2 years ago, which he grew from Halda seed. This had been a particularly good year for my peonies, and it portends well for the next few years as they grow and mature.

[Lori S.]

Today P. suffruticosa rockii (from seed several years ago, now more than 40 buds!) opened.

Wow, what an amazing bud count, Trond!  It must have been spectacular to see all through the bloom!

And now I've got two P. lactifolias in bloom, which I purchased from Harvey Wrightman 2 years ago, which he grew from Halda seed. This had been a particularly good year for my peonies, and it portends well for the next few years as they grow and mature.

George, both are gorgeous but the first P.lactiflora is especially stunning!  I've never seen a peony with that sort of substance to the petals.

Well, I never did get a good picture of P. anomala, which is finishing its bloom now.  Getting snowed on a couple of times did not help the its form, or that of any of the peonies, which are all somewhat splayed out now!
But anyway, here are a few to date:
1) P. anomala
2) P. officinalis 'Anemoniflora'
3) This plant, which I've assumed is a P. tenuifolia hybrid since the leaves are somewhat wider than my other P. tenuifolia, is starting to bloom.  Any thoughts as to its ID?  Edit:  P. intermedia?
4) A freebie out in the front yard, which came along with a daylily we ordered... guess I should be able to figure out its lineage from the leaves.

[Lori S.]

And... P. mlokosewitchii, starting to bloom:

[Kelaidis]

Your Paeonia anomala, Lori, looks very much like what I saw last June in Kazakhstan, although the form in the Altai is usually a bright magenta. My form is also a softer pink: it has a huge range and I suspect varies quite a bit over that range.

Your mlokosewitchii looks even brighter yellow than mine. I blogged recently about our peonies (at the Gardens and my house):

http://www.botanicgardensblog.com/2010/05/29/let-us-now-praise-peonies/

[Hoy]

P. mlokosewitschii flowers are history but here are some others: (The name of the Chinese plants are unknown)