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| Tree peonies in bloom |
A bit later than usual this year, due to the cool spring I suppose. This is Luoyang Hong (Luoyang Red), a very reliable magenta tree peony.
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| Tree peony 'Luoyang Hong' |
It is only 5-6 years old this year, but is blooming quite well for a young'un. I believe it had 7 flowers this year.
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| Tree peony 'Luoyang Hong' |
I adore this white tree peony called Xiang Yu (Fragrant Jade). It is fragrant indeed - sweet and strong yet delicate in texture. It is the most fragrant tree peony I have ever encountered.
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| Tree peony 'Xiang Yu' |
It is a tall, slender peony with large flowers that get tousled by the wind. It is 5-6 years old this year and had 7 blooms.
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| Tree peony 'Xiang Yu' |
I love its striking red carpels and filaments.
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| Tree peony 'Xiang Yu' |
My so-called "black" (really dark maroon-red) tree peony blooms a bit later than the other two in this area. It usually overlaps with them but starts in later. It has not yet opened all its blooms.
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| Tree peony 'Wu Jin Yao Hui' |
The petals of this one have a unique shiny luster. It is difficult to photograph because the color is so dark. "Black" tree peonies are generally slow growing. This one is about 9 years old and has 10 flowers this year. It has an intriguing, musky-sweet fragrance, very "peony" like. This variety has some flowers at the top of the plant, but some buried inside the bush.
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| Tree peony 'Wu Jin Yao Hui' with Rue, Candytuft, and Lamb's Ears |
I'm very excited that my new Rockii peony bloomed this year. This is its first spring in my garden, so it's a treat to have even one bloom.
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| Paeonia rockii 'Rock's Variety' |
Rockii peonies can grow quite large and have many blooms. It has a pleasant, sweet fragrance (although not nearly as strong as Xiang Yu). Aren't those purple blotches fabulous?
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| Paeonia rockii 'Rock's Variety' |
My one small disappointment is that my fifth tree peony (a coral-pink variety called Shan Hu Tai, or Coral Terrace) has no buds this year. Bummer! This is its second spring in my garden, and the plant is probably about 4 years old, so I was hoping for a sample flower. But this is not unusual for tree peonies - some do not bloom until they are 5-6 years old. The foliage looks healthy and the plant is growing well, so we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed for next year...
Xiang Yu is stunning, Rebecca!
ReplyDeleteMine is two years old and is smaller than yours and has no buds :((
You're lucky to have such wonderful tree peony!
Yours will bloom soon Nadezda! We need a lot of patience to grow peonies, especially tree peonies - but it is very worth it.
DeleteMy comments disappeared so if they appear twice, I apologise!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful selection you have - A tree peony is one thing I don't have in the garden. I really should. My local nursery is an award winning grower. The Rock is a very popular tree peony over here. Popped over to have a look on the nursery's website and they have both P Yu Jin Yao Hui and Xiang Yu and are more in my budget unlike some of the ones he grows which can be rather expensive!
Hi Angie, they can be pretty pricey for sure. But on the other hand they will live forever basically, so if you compare that to the amount spent on ditzy annuals every year... really a good bargain in the long run in my opinion!
DeleteSo beautiful! I wouldn't be able to pick a favorite, Rebecca. I suffer from peony envy - sadly, even my Itoh peony failed to bloom this year, probably due to our unseasonable heat and the lack of water.
ReplyDeleteSo disappointing when the weather won't cooperate... last year we had a lot of rain around peony bloom time, and the flowers were spoiled very quickly (even more quickly than usual, that is :-) But then there's always next to look forward to - the best thing about gardening!
DeleteI was so excited to come across your blog and find that you have Peony rockii. It is fabulous. I have grown it from seed but of the two plants that succeeded, one was magenta and the other was pink. The real thing is exquisite.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised at how lovely it is - simple yet fancy at the same time, somehow. I would think a magenta or pink one would be stunning too! And how neat to have grown them yourself from seed!
DeleteYour tree peony is beautiful. Where did you buy the Paeonia rockii? can you post more picture of the leaves of the Paeonia rockii?
ReplyDeleteHi Bin, I purchased my rockii from Klehm's Song Sparrow, a local nursery to me here in Wisconsin that specializes in peonies. It's a bit hard to find in the U.S., but it seems to be increasing in popularity as I see rockii peonies appearing on peony lists more and more recently. I hear there is a lot of breeding work going on in China with them now. So exciting to peony fans like myself!
DeleteAbsolutely beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI love the 'Wu Jin Yao Hui' and 'Rock's Variety', would have loved to have them both if I could have managed to find a space for them.
Hi Helene - if anyone can squeeze in just one more plant, it would be you! I can't believe you don't have a tree peony... :-)
DeleteI’ve got a huge, old Paeonia lactiflora 'Sarah Bernhardt', it takes about a square meter of one bed, and I have two other baby Paeonia lactiflora in pots, waiting to become big enough to flower. I really don’t know where I would plant a tree peony, even though I would love to have one :-)
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