P is for Peony
These are one of those ‘grandma’s flower garden’ flowers. They need a dedicated space for themselves as they get rather ‘large’ and will shade out anything planted with them. My aunt had them in two main spots by her ‘cutting’ garden. She was kind enough to let me take some and bring them to Oklahoma (from Illinois) and they have done remarkably well considering they’ve moved several growing zones. I also got a plant from my mother-in-law’s garden which was at least in the same state if not the same town. I did not get any from my mother’s garden which is an oversight on my part. Her peonies were in a circular bed with a bird bath in the center.
In Illinois it is always a balance between the peonies flowering/budding too early and getting frosted by a late frost or a little too early and ‘over’ by Memorial Day when they could have been used for the graves, or too late and not ready for Memorial Day at all.
Since my mother had a big bed of peonies, cutting them to bring in wasn’t a problem of quantity, but like the lilacs they don’t last long as a cut flower. Mom’s were pink ones and some others were white with a trace of red in them, like this example.
I have pink ones from my aunt and some darker ones that are ‘red’, but really just a very deep pink which I purchased locally, so I’m looking forward to the peonies.
The ‘older’ ones…meaning the heirloom ones from gardeners, who got them from gardeners, who got them…tend to send up flower buds with side buds which means you’re likely to get a flower head that is not as large and has even smaller side flowers. The trick there is to pinch out the side buds early on so the stem puts all the energy into the one main bud. The newer varieties seem to have ‘dealt’ with this problem as I don’t see this issue with the plant I purchased, only with the ‘family’ plants.
Most peonies are the ‘doubles’ with very ruffly, full flower heads. Others are ‘singles’ with only a single layer of petals that allow you to see more of the center of the flower. Both kinds are pretty.
Oh, and I forgot the Japanese peonies. The typical peony’s growth is herbacious meaning it dies back to the ground during winter and sends up new growth each year. The Japanese peonies have ‘woody’ stems and send their growth and flowers from that ‘older/woody’ stem. If they freeze off they may come back, but you won’t have flowers that year…bummer. I’m hoping for flowers this year. I had two on my Japanese style peony last year.
So that’s my take on peonies. I just love their blousy, full beauty.
