Flowering now April 2007

[Paul T]

Mark,

The key to Prunus glandulosa is to maximise new growth.  The flowers are only on the previous season's growth, not anything older.  So the "current" growth is to te maximised.  Unless it is grafted it will run slightly, slowly spreading into a little thicket.  With mine I cut them back straight after flowering (as the petals drop) to around 4 to 6 inches tall.  The plant then sends up strong tall growth to about 3 or so feet tall.  Each growth then has flowers from top to bottom, making them look like a giant pipe-cleaner.  It is definitely stunning.  I have seen it grown as a shrub (to about 6 feet) as well, where a height is decided for cuttings and it is then cut back to that height each year (the same as is best for Prunus 'Elvins' to get maximum display).  This results in mature trunks and then straight shoots covered in flowers, bursting out like a fireworks display.  The same result would also be had by grafting the glandulosa onto some sort of upright rootstock.

I trim my 'Elvins' like this and it is amazing when in flower, with shoots up to around 2 metres long with flowers right from the trunks to the tips of the growths.  I grow both the double white P. glandulosa and the double pink one.  Both are just gorgeous.  I have pics of the double pink in full flower, and of P. 'Elvins' in flower if you are interested.

I hope this is of some help.

[Hans J]

Hi Maggi ,

Now special for you some pics of flowering treepeonies 
Some of this are really rare like P. qiui and P. decomposita
and on this pictures from our terasse you will also see our other family member :
the cat "Felix"

Greetings
Hans 

[Maggi Young]

Hans, you have made my day so bright with these lovely flowers! Felix has a fine place to make his sleeping spot, does he not? How luxurious to take your siesta under a P. rockii!!
I am very excited to have seed of these excellent forms: for instance, the form of P. rockii IR... so pink and what wonderful colour in the foliage!  Today I have told my peonies in the garden that their cousins are making flowers in Germany:  here we have only leaves and some buds which show promise for a few weeks' time.

Some of this are really rare like P. qiui and P. decomposita

Super to see these plants, Hans. I have not seen them before in "real life". Beautiful! What a joy your garden must be to you with all these fine plants!

[Joakim B]

Hans lovely peoneas
That used to be my big love and I still love them but now I am starting to go towards magolias as well.
In Portugal I do not see many peoneas but a lot of magnolias.
I have planted some self sown plants here in Portugal that originally came from Sweden. They grow well this year but I think they suffer in the summer unless they get a lot to drink. They are most likely red singles but we will see if/when they flower. 

Now to my dilemma.
I were looking for iris when I realiced that the gardencenter actually had nice (and cheap 10-12€)  magnolias.
I found one marked "nigra" and took that at once. It did not have that many buds 2-3 but they where dark. I also found plants amongst the soulangiana that where with a lot of buds 6-9 in a bush shape but it was not marked. The flowers are 6-10cm. I found a third by the enterence of the gardencenter that had one stem/strunk that can be a tree rather than a bush and that one had big flowers with a slight scent (10-15cm) and I planted that at once and assumed it to be soulangiana as well.

A few days later the "niga flowered and it was not dark inside as I exspected it to be so I presumed it was wrong  . (Now I am no longer sure it should be dark inside) so I am not sure if it is a nigra or not. I have big trouble getting a clear picture of the coulor but I have anderstood that it is not as dark inside as outside.
Please if any one is able to identify the plants or confirm what I belive tham to be I would be gratefull.
Nigra? full view
Nigra? bud
Soulangiana? bush bud
Soulangiana? bush flower after beeing in a warm car for a while
Soulangiana? bush planted together with some irises.
Soulangiana? tree planted tree with some petals lost in the process
Soulangiana? tree flower

Kind regards
Joakim

[Hans J]

Maggi - I know it are a clever person and so you recognize the parents of the seeds .
This plant where Felix sleep is P. rockii "Bing Shan Xue Lian" !
Later I wil send you for your pleasure more pics with treepeonies - they have startet now !
A very good adress for all kind of peonies is the nursery RIVIERE in France - I can really suggest it!

Joakim - in Portugal grows P. broteroi - I will later send a picture .
I have not visit Portugal for Paeonia -I know this plants from Spain - they should grow without problems.
To Magnolia -I grow not any ....no room....wrong soil ...to hot in summer.....
One of the famost nurseries for this plants ( and collection ) has EISENHUT on the Lago Maggiore - it is breathless .
Did you know that in Finland grows many Paeonies ( P. anomala)? -they grows natural on on the Kola Peninsula.

Greetings
Hans

[Joakim B]

Hans I have never been to Finland
I am in the southern part of Sweden where we have closer to Denmark and Germany.
It would be nice to see peoneas in the wild especially in Finland.

I have not been around so much in the wild in Portugal only along roads and then I do not see as much as I want. I have tried to find a Portuguese Flora but they do not have one that is available

So all the lovely iris, narcisuss, orchids, (well I have seen some 2) and now peonea are a mystery to me. Atleast in the wild 

I do not expect (or thought) magnolias to have any problem with warmth. It can be warm here in Portugal and since they also grow in Hungary they can take a lot of cold as well even if the flowers sometimes get damaged.  But after seeing the pics of our garden I understand that it is full of other things and might not fit any magnolia.
I would love to visit a real nursery where they grow these plants in mass numbers. We even have one in Sweden that I have not visited . Maybe I will happen this year. He works mostly with "non tree" peoneas and has done some nice garden hybrids.

Kind regards
Joakim

[Maggi Young]

I will tell you a sad, but beautiful story about P. rockii.... a friend of ours who loved flowers and had a most beautiful garden, was dying and was in hospital, every day her husband brought her a bloom of P. rockii to give her pleasure and memories of the garden she loved, on the day of her funeral there were only two blooms left on the plant. It was so  sad, but a tale of great love.

[Hans J]

Joakim ,

I know in Sweden a big nursery for paeonia :
The owner is Hermann Krupke ( born german )
Guldmedsgarden
SE - 52495 LJUNG

A other wellknowing peonycollector is Prof. Harald Fawkner .

I hope it helps you a bit .

Best wishes
Hans

[Joakim B]

Hans it was Krupke that I was thinking on and also hope to visit some day.
His page is in Swedish but mabe the pics is something to look at any whay.
http://www.guldsmedsgarden.se/
Maggi that was a lovely story.

[John Forrest]

Lovely Magnolias Joakim.

Quite a number of years I visited a nursery that was closind down and saw a pot with a stick in it labelled Magnolia Pink Ice for 50p. I bought it and planted it and now it is about 20 feet tall. I had to stand on the top of a tall step ladder to take this picture. (it is a little bluer in colour than the real because of some strang thing that happens in Photoshop when the file size is reduced)

[Joakim B]

John
That was a lovely one. I bet that is 50p that You never will regret spending. Maybe that You did not by more??
I have heard that some magnolias bloom only in the top so that one need to be on the second floor or on a ladder to see them.
John does this one have flowers all over or only higher up?
But then it is nice to see them and well worth getting the ladder.
Joakim

[Paul T]

Hans,

Fantastic Paeonia pics.  Lovely to see the species.  It is so rare to see them, so it is a real treat.  I must admit to having never heard of quite a few of the species you have posted.  I'm looking forward to seeing more of them in the future.  Thanks for taking the time to post them.

Joakim,

Great Magnolias.  The bud looks about the right colour for 'Nigra' as far as I know.  It tends to be dark on the outside and light on the inside.  The shrub tends to grow outwards rather than upright like so many of the Magnolias.  It will end up wider than it is tall, if left to grow as it wants to.  There are SO many named Magnolias around now.  I have a bit of a collection of them, but particularly love the dark coloured ones such as 'Vulcan', 'Felix' and 'Black Tulip' (all bred in New Zealand I think?  Have they made their way around the world yet?) and have all 3 of them, although mostly still too small for flowering.  I have other large flowered ones as well, plus normal x soulangeana and a couple of stellata types.  I realy have too many for my little garden, but I just LOVE them.

[razvan chisu]

Malus purpurea

[Maggi Young]

OOH! That IS pink! What a good tree! Does it fruit to that extent, also?

[razvan chisu]

It does fruit profusely, but I don't remeber the fruits being as conspicuous as the flowers. This is also growing at the Botanical Garden in Cluj.