Paeonies

[McDonough]

Trond, all those paeonies are beautiful, but the unnamed Chinese one really captures my attention.  Did you grow it from seed?  What's the source?  Have you tried keying to the Flora of China, if you believe it to be a wild plant and not a cultivated hybrid?

[Lori S.]

And, for Panayoti... while you consider which movie star beauty with which to compare its "billowy charms" (great description!   from Panayoti's blog: http://www.botanicgardensblog.com/2010/05/29/let-us-now-praise-peonies),  here's another P. tenuifolia.  The fact that this one is a buxom, double-flowered form must be taken into account... (Hmmm, I'm tempted to suggest Jane Russell - loved her in the role as the smart, wise-cracking pal in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.  Or, if we're going for more refinement, Rosalind Russell - not so buxom but absolutely brilliant and hilarious in His Girl Friday.  Is it obvious that I grew up in the movie theatre that Dad ran?  But I digress... back to peonies!   )  

[Hoy]

Trond, all those paeonies are beautiful, but the unnamed Chinese one really captures my attention.  Did you grow it from seed?  What's the source?  Have you tried keying to the Flora of China, if you believe it to be a wild plant and not a cultivated hybrid?

I have not yet tried keying the plants. It is the first year with such well developed flowers. Last year the flowers were small and rudimentary.
If I remember right (I have told you before, Mark, that I am not good in keeping records of my plants!) I bought the plants as small roots from a Chinese nursery (Chen Yi, you probably have heard of it) some years ago.

[McDonough]

If I remember right (I have told you before, Mark, that I am not good in keeping records of my plants!) I bought the plants as small roots from a Chinese nursery (Chen Yi, you probably have heard of it) some years ago.

Well then, buying from Chen Yi says something and rules out certain possibilities... your Paeony is almost certainly of wild origin (all her stuff is wild collected >) thus your Paeony being a nursery hybrid or cultivar can be ruled out, and nearly 100% of stuff she sends out is misidentified... the only thing to count on is... it is indeed a "species from China", and as such, one needs to go through the keys and check the identification regardless of what name it was sent under.  Or, just enjoy it as Paeonia sp. China.

[Hoy]

[Well then, buying from Chen Yi says something and rules out certain possibilities... your Paeony is almost certainly of wild origin (all her stuff is wild collected >) thus your Paeony being a nursery hybrid or cultivar can be ruled out, and nearly 100% of stuff she sends out is misidentified... the only thing to count on is... it is indeed a "species from China", and as such, one needs to go through the keys and check the identification regardless of what name it was sent under.  Or, just enjoy it as Paeonia sp. China.

I read about her wild collected plants in our bulletin last year (?)  after buying twice and have not bought from her since. I do not think the peonies had a name either, just a description.
But thinking of it, it is a (small) possibility that the plants are from seed gotten from HPS (Great Britain). Have some other plants from that source.

Even being a little disappointed about the plants origin, I enjoy the plants!

[Lori S.]

Hey, it's still peony season here in the northern hinterlands!  I've got a couple that haven't even bloomed yet.

[Hoy]

My last peony has still two flowers but I think they won't last the week out.

[Hoy]

I have 15 seeds of Paeonia mlokosewitschii (picture). Too few to sent to seedex. Anybody who wants them?

[Todd Boland]

Peonies have lovely flowers but I wish they would last longer...such large plants for so little bloom time makes them unsuitable in my small garden. However, I have grown some from seed at work.  Paeonia mlokosewitschii does well (I also have seed but too few for the seedex's) and P. mollis bloomed for the first time this year.  I have yet to see blooms on P. veitchii.

[McDonough]

Peonies have lovely flowers but I wish they would last longer...such large plants for so little bloom time makes them unsuitable in my small garden. However, I have grown some from seed at work.  Paeonia mlokosewitschii does well (I also have seed but too few for the seedex's) and P. mollis bloomed for the first time this year.  I have yet to see blooms on P. veitchii.

Todd, I see your point, particularly with species such as P. japonica that have flowers that last only a day or two.

In addition to flowers, many species have fanciful seed pods, opening late in the season to reveal showy clusters of fleshy seed, bright red infertile ones and plumped up blackish fertile ones. I was touring a garden recently, and the "fruits" on several paonies stopped visitors dead in their tracks.  Some paonies do indeed look quite ordinary in foliage, others are gorgeous in foliage.  And lastly, some have attractive fall foliar color.  I have a couple common P. lactiflora hybrids that turn a warm orange color in late summer, lasting for a couple months in this stage.

[RickR]

Fall color for a couple months!? 
If that happened here, I would think there was something wrong with the plant... 

[McDonough]

Fall color for a couple months!? 
If that happened here, I would think there was something wrong with the plant... 

Yup, with this particular variety, named 'Koningin Wilhelmina', the foliage turns light orange in the summer, especially when it is hot and dry... it has looked this way since mid summer.  Just ran out to check my label, I planted this in 2004, and this one always colors up this way.

[Hoy]

Interesting color, Mark, of 'Königin Wilhelmina'! Does it get real fall colors?
Anyway, it is an interesting plant. Most peonies are dull when out of flower.

[Todd Boland]

Here are the pseudo-seeds on Paeonia mlokosewitschii..the real seeds blew off during the hurricane.

[Fermi]

Peony season is in full swing here in the Southern hemisphere.
The first is one we've grown (in Australia) as Paeonia mascula ssp russii but there is a suggestion that it's actually P. kesrouanensis. Not looking the best this year, but that rose may have to go!

The next is Paeonia cambessedesii which I grew from seed.
cheers
fermi