Tree peony

Yesterday:-

Today :-

Tomorrow?????

 

Lovely blooms there Palustris
Are they long lived...or will we have to wait for tomorrows pic to know??

 

Hi Nick, I have just bought a Tree Paeony but have not planted it yet, do you have any tips on position and planting?

I visited a garden today that had three beautiful ones, can you prune them because the ones I saw today were only about 4' high and seemed to be sprouting new shoots where the stems had been cut.

Sue

 

Suedobie..I wish I knew!...I was hoping Palustris would take pity on me and offer me a cutting and info too :D

 

Dunno it it will help - but I bought a 12 year old tree peony a couple of years back. Planted it in partial shade, cos all my peonies seem to do OK in partial shade. This one too has done very well - but I find the stems need to be supported cos the blooms are heavy, and any rain!! - well you know peonies and rain.

I haven't pruned it yet - just let it do its thing. Sticks in the winter and then the leaf buds appear from the top and sides of the stems. Then a profusion of leaf and flower Sadly the flowers don't last all that long - as all peonies.

I remember being told that they can take a few years to flower - prolly why garden centres sell them quite mature.

Mine is a deep reddy/purple with yellow stamens.

 

Tree paeonies like a dappled shade sort of position in good soil. They are mostly grafted plants so you need to watch out for suckers from below the graft union. They can be pruned if necessary, will let you know what happens when mine get big enough to need it, say about 5 years time?
The flowers are well scented, but sadly they do not last all that long, say about a week (depending on the rain!) from fully open to mush.
On a good big mature shrub you would get a succession of flowers, but they are not really long enough flowering to justify a place in a small garden.
I have read a description of how to grow from cuttings, but it seems that the person doing the writing is the only one ever to manage it!
Anything else?

 

Hi Palustris, Thanks for the info, I have had mine in a pot since March as it was bought for my birthday and I have not planted it yet as I wanted to get the "right spot".

I noticed that it had two buds on it but one seems to have gone brown, do you think it's because it's still in the pot? hope it does not die :eek: