Are these Tree paeonies grafted or not?

Hello all. I'm just about to plant some newly bought tree paeonies. They are P suffruticosa varieties which are usually grafted. However I can't see any sign of this, they appear to me to be on their own roots, but please would someone more experienced have a look for me? @Spruce ? Or anyone else of course. Thanks

 

Hi

I wasnt expecting you to take the compost off the roots , they look like about 3/4 year old plants so will be own roots so plant just a inch deeper than the pot @shiney agree / disagree ?
I would say they have been freshly dug in the Autumn 2014 and potted up from last year.

You can always increase the depth with a mulch every year in the Autumn.

They are tough plants, but loamy soil is best for them to grow properly otherwise they struggle and you are off to a good start with so many branches , I have seen them for sale with one branch just don't bother they very rarely come to anything.

Spruce

 

thanks Shiney , do you think they have been potted on late last year ?

 

Thanks so much to both of you!

Yes, they definitely haven't been in those pots very long at all. I didn't really intend to lay them bare like that, but when I took them out of their pots the compost just fell off
Fortunately there's fine misty rain and it's about 8C so I'll get them planted tomorrow. No very cold weather forecast for a while...
My soil is heavy clay, but I have bought compost to amend and have gravel/sand to mix in too as well as roasted hoof and home made compost. I shall plant as many as I can at the top of the few slopes in my garden to give the drainage as much help as possible too.
So Oh and for Bowl of Beauty

Funny story to go with that - I picked up a past its sell by date plastic packed Bowl of Beauty last year for a couple of euros. After planting nothing appeared and I assumed it had gone the way of all things. This morning, after buying the one yesterday for a considerably larger sum (but it is a nice one in a pot) I was fiddling about in the bed where I'd put it and noticed some little red leaves. Yeaaay it's alive Tough old beasts paeonies

 

to add , if you have a spare fleece in case of a late frost just to cover over at night, they are one of the 1st plants to show buds.

Dont feed any more this year , just make sure a good water once a week.

Spruce

 

Thanks shiney, and that sounds promising then
I'm working on boundary windbreaks, so hopefully by the time they're flowering it will be under control. It wasn't too much of a problem until they bulldozed the 3m high brambles next to me in January. Sun is not a problem, plenty of that in the summertime Though stronger than in the uk, so have to be careful not to give plants sunburn

Thanks Spruce, that's helpful, I'll do that. Our last frost date is 1 May, whereas in Kent it was the 12th. I'll keep an eye on the forecasts.
Out of interest when is yours. Being in the west is it earlier than Kent? My father was from Bridgend and we used to go there every August in my childhood. I have very fond memories of Southerndown and Ogmore and the Gower. Are you near there or further west?

 

Yes more Southerndown and Ogmore about 10 mins in the car , yes very pretty and amazing rugged coastline , in a weird spot can have a late frost from 2nd week of May but not that often , and its the front of the house not the back thats gets it worse .

 

Oh such lovely photos!! And Witch's Point
My great grandfather migrated from Gloucestershire to be gamekeeper for Lord Dunraven at Southerndown. That was how my family came to be in Bridgend. No one left there now though ....
We used to walk down to the fields and over the dipping bridge. Merthyr Mawr with the cottage with the outside staircase and the sand dunes. Mushrooming in the meadows near Ewenny Pottery with the cats on the chimney pots. An aunt lived next to Kenfig Pool. But Southerndown beach was just so wonderful! Proper sea with rockpools to explore and a stream coming down the beach from the cliffs which was such fun to dam
Thanks for the beautiful photos!!

 

I thought Witches point would get you going .... the river at the back of my house joins the estuary further down from me....
Merthyr Mawr is very special , also they are the highest sandunes in Europe , I go horse ridding in the summer all round that area and on the beach

The pottery in Ewenny is still up and running

Glad you liked the photos they must bring back so many happy memories


Spruce

 

Yes indeed, wonderful memories - thanks so much
Would it be alright to copy your lovely photos please, just so I can keep them to look at?
It must be fabulous riding country, I never did that.

When we first used to visit, the river Ogmore was black with coal dust which was left as tide marks all round the estuary and at Ogmore beach, but fortunately it's all clean now. I remember the ford over the Allun (sp) with the stepping stones, I caught elvers in a saucepan there and let them go again
I still have a few little pots from Ewenny

Thanks again @Spruce

 

Now the rain is easing and I'm off out to get those paeonies in the ground! And thanks to @Spruce and @shiney I know how deep to plant them

 

yes of course you can , the stepping stones are still there, I have carried my bike across them also crossed that river on horseback with the water inches away from my feet

sand is more golden but you can still see patches of black , they need to stop dredging all the sand out for building purposes also big storms just take all the sand away.

Spruce