Monday 2 July 2012

Disappointments

This plant started out strong with 4 buds, but all of the buds died and now there is only one leave left. I am hoping there is enough to keep the plant alive and next year it will bloom. It was a bare root that came in the fall.
Let's talk about the ways to buy peonies. You can buy the bare roots for a fall delivery. This was the first way that I purchased flowers for the garden. This is the best time to transplant peonies. I lost 5 plants due to the early spring when the buds appeared and then the frost killed them off with the entire root. I tried to purchase roots that came in the spring. Unlike the roots that came in the fall, none of the plants bloomed this year and one arrived dead, many were out of stock. I bought plants for the local garden centers. They were weak compare to the bare roots and lots of them were damaged in the high winds we had in the spring. Some of them were planted too deep in the pots. They are guaranteed by the garden center, but you must have the bill and the tag identifying the plant. The garden centers did have more varieties than ever before. The internet has way more to choice from.  Some of the potted plants had a soil that some animal here liked and dug up the newly planted flowers damaging the root and the leaves.  I almost cried when I found the plant in the morning.  It was very discouraging.
I will again be purchasing bare roots in the fall, since this was the best results for plants that were strong and bloomed the first year. Who has time to wait for the plant to grow 3 or 4 years before it blooms? There are many places on the internet to purchase peonies. Placing the order early is the only way to get the plants you are looking for. Now in June many of the plants are already sold out. If you can, visit the grower when the plants are blooming to see the flower up close. I found they all did not look the same as the picture on the internet. I was very surprised with Chocolate Soldier on how close it was to the ground. Surprises are sometimes fun, they can be the spices of life. I would have made some changes if I had know what I was getting. Buy plants that have different blooming times. I had plants blooming from mid May until the end of June.
Happy shopping.

Sunday 1 July 2012

Le Cygne

 This full white flower is also know as the Swan in English. It bloomed on June 10th and has a trace of pink in the middle. It has a very strong stem to hold the flower upright.  The aroma is one of the strong early cultivated peony.  This flower oringinaly was cultivated in France in 1907.  This was again a bare root from a Canadian grower.

Black Swan

  Black Swan bloomed on June 10th.  It has a wonderful aroma.  It is a stunning deep red.  There is a strong stem to hold up the flower.  This plant survived even after the damage to the first leaves in the early spring.  Not sure if it was birds or the rabbit.  This a rare peony and I am very happy to have it in my collection. I love the center with the edges of almost white around the red.  I am looking foward to the future, when there will be more blossoms on the plant.