Mid-Atlantic Gardening: What are you planting in the autumn?, 1 by dayli

dayli wrote:
Hello,luna and lady--This fall I am planting peonies again. I started years ago with Festiva Maxima, a fragrant, early, white double with flecks of red. It originated in France in the middle of the 1800s and in early 1980s it was still one of White Flower Farm's top sellers. My flowers multiply when I move them from place to place as they are enveloped by deepening shade.

I know this is a terrible thing to do to peonies! They hate to be moved, but Festiva Maxima takes this abuse better than most. The upside is that no matter how careful I try to be, each plant that I move turns into three or four plants. Peonies have been my best investment in the garden. The dwarf asian pear trees that I bought have turned out to be not so dwarf as one might have thought. So the last of the peonies are going to have to be moved onto a sunny slope in front of the house.

Here is a Festiva Maxima just beginning to open last May.