Paeonia 2022

[Gail]

Paeonia peregrina from seeds with the first flower, so it deserves a mention and I have the image at the right size.

Definitely deserves mentioning Gabriela, such a lovely plant and really popular with the honey bees here. Mine has just finished flowering.

[Gabriela]

Definitely deserves mentioning Gabriela, such a lovely plant and really popular with the honey bees here. Mine has just finished flowering.

Thank you Gail. Such pristine red color, it is wonderful. The second one just flowered as well.
I was eagerly awaiting this spring for the first blooms, all other species peonies that I have finished a while ago, so it nice to have peregrina now.

[Guff]

Any USA forum members have yellow single or double Tree Peony seeds(10 seeds each form) come September? Looking for Upright flowers. I have both of the yellows doubles that have hanging flowers upside down.

Would also like rockii, any colors(10 seeds)

Trade, buy or for postage. Thanks.

[Leena]

Summer went by fast and I haven't posted any pictures of my peonies, so here are some pictures from early June.
I sent seeds of some peonies to the exchange so here are first pictures of those peonies.
Paeonia japonica is one of the first to flower, nice white peony for semi-shade.
Peonia arietina ex Turkey grows in full sun. It is not a tall peony and quite similar to P.officinalis types.
Paeonia x chamaeleon is a natural hybrid of P.caucasica and P.mlokosewitschii, or this is what is said. I have grown these from seeds as P x chamaeleon, and some had pinkish shades and one is pure white. Seeds I sent to the exchange were from this pure white plant (no pinkish grew close).
Paeonia veitchii is one of my favourites. These plants were grown from Pilous wild collected seeds from Dege, Sechuan, China, and I labeled the seeds I sent as P.veitchii "Dege".
They open pink but fade to almost white during flowering. Small compact plants.

[Leena]

Some other pictures of my peonies from last summer.
Paeonia anomala is a reliable and big plant.
Paeonia daurica ssp mlokosewitchii
The third picture is of a plant I have grown from Pilous seeds as Paeonia mascula ssp bodurii, Canakkale, W.Turkey.
I read that these should be big plants with big flowers but mine are quite small plants with small flowers. Their leaves look unlike any other of my peonies.
Unfortunately I didn't get any seeds from it.
Fourth peony is a very impressive big plant with big flowers in early season. I have grown it from open pollinated P.macrophylla seeds and it is obviously a hybrid. It has now flowered three times, and never sets seeds, so it is a sterile plant.

[Leena]

Paeonia veitchii is one of my favourites and I have several of them in different beds. It is a small healthy and well flowering plant with never any trouble.
Some are more pink than others, some start to flower pink but fade later to white and some are white. Some have more side buds than others, and there are differences in flower shape.

[Leena]

I bought my first P.obovata ssp willmottiae 15 years ago from Germany, and it flowered well, but didn't produce seeds, until one year I had P.anomala flowering close by at the same time (or actually the flowering time overlapped some, as P.anomala started to flower earlier). That year I got seeds from which I have grown these plants which I think are hybrids of P.obovata ssp willmottiae and P.anomala. They are big plants with very big flowers starting pink but flowers fade during flowering to very pale pink. The stamens are dark like in the mother plant. They seem sterile. First year when they flowered the seed pods were all empty. Last year I got 3 seeds but none have germinated yet. This year I got one good looking seed. Maybe if any of these germinate the second generation would be more fertile.

[Leena]

Later years I got some more seeds from mother P.obovata ssp willmottiae, but about five years ago it died after a very wet winter.
I have a seedling which looks like it (in the first picture) though I can't be sure if it is also a hybrid or not, because it's sister seedlings look like hybrids with something. They are not similar with hybrids with P.anomala. The plant if the second picture flowered last summer for the first time, also very nice, and a hybrid.
Some years ago I got seeds from true P.obovata ssp willmottiae from a forumist, and they flowered for the first time 2021, but sadly they all died last winter. Interesting that none of my hybrids growing in the same bed/area died. Fortunately those true plants were very fertile and I got seeds from them (and they germinated well last spring) and so I will have them growing on now.

[Leena]

I forgot one more picture. P.obovata ssp willmottiae x P.anomala hybrids have very nice autumn colour in their leaves, no other of my peonies is so pretty in autumn. Picture is from late September.
You can see all the empty seedpods, no seeds.

[ashley]

Lovely plants and photos Leena. 
Thank you for showing them, especially at this dark time of year

[Maggi Young]

I echo what Ashley has written, Leena. Also I am envious of your beautiful well flowered paeonies in your garden!

[Gail]

Fabulous Leena, your garden is a real treasure house of peonies.

[Leena]

Thank you all.
I got interested in peonies about 15 years ago, and now most of my flowering peonies are grown from seeds. It seems suddenly I have so many peonies now.
I have bought some lactiflora cultivars, but actually prefer my own seed grown hybrids (quadruple hybrids, I was lucky I was given seeds ten years ago), and of course these early flowering species and hybrids.
I have lost many peonies over the years, and given away some I don't like so much like weak stemmed double lactifloras, and found out that some peonies don't like my soil.
P.officinalis types are difficult in my clay soil, and all but one P.peregrina I have grown have succumbed to rot. P.tenuifolia is another one which doesn't like my soil. It is not the climate, but more winter wetness is clay soil which they don't like and maybe my acid soil, too.
Still, there are many peonies which thrive in the same conditions, and I have learned to grow more them and given up on the ones which don't do so well.  Why try to grow something that is not suitable to your conditions when there are so many which are. Also I'm happy that most of the early peonies grow well also on semishade, as sunny beds are limited in my garden.

[Gabriela]

They are all so beautiful Leena, and very happy looking :-) You can tell they like your garden.
You are right, best to grow the plants that adapt and do well in your particular conditions. There are so many species to choose from.

P. veitchii also does well here, I don't have a white form and now I think I need one

The hybrid with pink, large flowers is a fantastic specimen!

[Leena]

Thank you Gabriela.
I have some extra white veitchii seeds in moist vermiculite..