I would love to trade for some peonies that will grow in zone 8. Email me.
Connie
Peonies
Weeds, hmmmm. I don't know of any peonies that will grow well in Zone 8 - too warm for them I think.
Double hmmmm. After I posted this (because it's what I've ALWAYS heard - basically zone 7 is about the "line of demarcation" for growing peonies - I dug a little deeper.
Here's an excerpt from Song Sparrow Nursery, which is representative of other info I found:
"...Peonies in warmer climates
Herbaceous peonies do best in USDA zones 2-8. However if you live in a warmer climate and would like to grow peonies, here are a few suggestions we've learned from our southern gardeners. Choose earlier blooming types that blossom before the heat of summer. Single and semi double forms also fare better than the double or bomb types. Plant the roots no deeper than 1" below the soil surface, watering only as needed. Your herbaceous peony will begin to die back in August in preparation for a period of needed dormancy. Remove and burn any foliage to avoid further disease problems. Some proven warmer climate varieties include, 'Paula Fay', 'Festiva Maxima' and 'Miss America'."
Here's the link if you want to read the entire article: http://www.klehm.com/includes/plantinfopeonies.cfm
Now, I'm not sure what varieties I have, but I have 7 gallon pots of peonies that I dug from my in-laws garden this fall and have heeled in. They are an "early flowering variety", per my SIL's description. So if you're still interested, I'd be glad to work out a trade with ya!
I thought I couldn't grow them but when I was doing a job down the street the gal told me about her peonies. Shocked I was since mine never do anything but hers were beautiful! The trick she told me was to throw trays of ice on them during the winter months since they need a good chill. Also, dont put them too deep. They need to be planted right at the surface. She said she threw ice cubes on them whenever she thought of it during the cold spell. I'm in the SF bay area with very mild winters. Good luck!!! Shirley Go-Vols---If you have lots I'd be interested! Want a matilla poppy?
What color is Matilla poppy???
Connie ... i was posting ink refills we had on ebay. came across peonies on sale at a great price i would say... see for urself!!! http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&query=peony+tree&categoryid=&ht=1&category4=3185&maxRecordsPerPage=100&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&BasicSearch=++
Those are only one year old plants, usually these are sold at several years old; that would explain reasonable prices.
Thanks, I will take a look!