This one's opening and it's a double! This is its 2nd or 3rd year.
Peonies in Central Texas
Another double - also did not bloom last year
Hi diggerr,
The ones that seem to return best for me are French Lates, like Kingsblood, Menton, etc. I have had some Darwin Hybrids come back but they were small. I also had Negritas return for three years and surprisingly several Rembrandts.
Excuse my ignorance, but are peonies fragrant? I've always loved the flowers, even though I've never actually seen any in person.
maggie,
Some are lightly so - but not powerful like Oriental lilies or hyacinths. I am from Illinois where everyone grew peonies, so I have seen lots of them.
I was told double peonies would not do well in the south, but here some are! They have to be at least a year and a half old, since I planted only singles last fall. This one struggled last year and now has a giant puffy flower on it.
This message was edited Apr 27, 2005 9:04 PM
Another double with three flowers - I don't remeber it doing well last year, but took off this year
Those are gorgeous. My aunt was over today, and we got to talking about our gardens. I found out that she has some peonies, so they do grow here. I read that peonies are slow to get established, but once they do, they'll flower fo many year to come. That just makes me want some so badly, but being a beginner, I feel I should wait until I'm a more experienced gardener before getting something that's tricky. Don't want to be too discouraged, right? But they're just so darn pretty, and they have such a cool name. Is there a variety that you would recommend that would be more suitable for the new gardener?
Hi jdee,
They grow effortlessly in Midwestern states like Illinois and Indiana (I'm from that area) - my brother has five bushes in his back yard and when I was home in May of last year I saw them - probably about 4 ft high and almost as big around and I swear each one had around 200 buds on it - and he is not a gardener and does nothing special for them. I was walking arund my mom's back yard last spring and fund some bushes back there, too. When i was a kid I guess I never thought much about them and didn't notice if people had them or not.
They say singles do better than doubles in the south, and early bloomers are better than late. While they like sun, they should be in an area with an eastern or northern exposure, or something somewhat protected from the direct afternoon sun that is so hot here. Mostly, they need to be in a fairly well drained area with a DEEP soil base, since peonies root deeply and the heavy clay in this area is difficult for them. The eyes should be planted almost even with or just under the soil. Those things and patience appear to be working. I started planting them three falls ago, and I'm finally seeing some fruits of that labor.
I don't think you need to "wait" at all. You did a great job with your Camellia bushes. I tried growing one and it failed - surprising for me since I am usually pretty successful with most things since I've spent a lot of money bringing in soil, raising beds for drainage, and I read a lot on gardening. I think you're ready! Just read up and follow the instructions and don't be discouraged. get the largest roots you can - usually that will come from an online source rather than a chain garden center.
One more thing - don 't be discouraged if you see small buds develop the first year or two that dry up and do not flower. ASt first I took that as a sign that they didn't like this climate and wouldn't work here - but the reason it appears was more that the plants were immature and had not built up enough strength or become established enough for stable flowering. This may not be the ideal climate for them, but my experience like you aunt's suggests they'll work here fine.
Good luck!
Steve
This message was edited Apr 28, 2005 5:22 AM
Thank you for sharing your knowledge, and your gorgeous pictures. It must be wonderful to take a trip home, and see so much beauty.
Well, thanks to all this talk in the last month about Peonies in Texas, I have a new attraction to them. :) I am keeping notes on all the suggestions listed here. Thanks! I have been doing a little research too. One suggestion I found is planting them on the North to Northeast side of a structure though probably not right up against it. There won't be any direct sun in the winter because of the angle but that will be good for keeping the roots cool. You want some sun in the later months, but not a hot southern exposure for sure. Also like others said do not mulch them in the winter and don't plant very deep, but do mulch well in the summer to keep roots cool.
As far as the doubles.... The one's that North Haven Gardens Nursery in Dallas has found to work best up here are 'Festiva Maxima' as Steve said above, also 'Karl Rosenfield, 'Felix Crousse', and 'Sarah Bernhardt. I recently bought Sarah Bernhardt and plan on planting it at the new house when we move. A North Haven Garden's nurseryman teaches a class on Peonies at the Dallas Arboretum (that I want to try to go to) so I trust their choices.
There is more hope for us too. I saw two Peonies blooming in the historical district of McKinney yesterday. They were a deep pinky red that looked like Karl Rosenfeld and there were at least 10 blooms on each plant. We drove by the house pretty fast trying to make it to dinner, but I want to try to go back by there in the next few days and take pictures.
Another (reported to be) good selection is "Duchess de Nemours." I'm currently growing it, my first peony, and it's doing well. Still young, so no bloom yet.
MKJ
Very encouraging stuff!
John, you're so far north, you shouldn't have any trouble at all, especially given all the advice from Steve et al. I wonder if there's a peopny that LOVES hot humidity?
:-)
I wish Maggie!
Thanks all -
Well it is 90 degrees right now and I just took these - they're still hanging in there though both are in a protected spot.
I'm going to look at and try some of those recommended by sweezel and mk. I might just put a dedicated peony bed in! I have Festiva Maxima but it's the first year, and the buds are small - so i don't expect blooms. At least now I know that even doubles will work here!
My neighbor took me into his back yard last weekend to see his big snowball shrub (wow was it incredible) but I looked around a little bit and he has a beautiful peony that had huge buds getting ready to open. It is on the North East side of his back yard but not up against the house. I think it is several years old. Gives me hope that mine will one day bloom!
Another one opened today on nother plant
Beautiful, Steve.
Thanks imway - I think this one and the darker one are my favorites
Oh my goodness...I know what I am purchasing next!!!! Can someone recommend the best parden center to buy from? And, is it too late to plant this Spring....? thnx margeeTx ( I'm in Euless)
Wow, Margee! I grew up on Euless. =) I bought mine f/Gilbert Wild.....5 eye. I think fall is the best time for planting.
MKJ (in Trophy Club now)
Steve,
Thanks for posting the pics. It's really exciting to see that peonies will grow in central TX. I lived in Indiana for 14 years and loved it when the peonies were in bloom. When I lived in Boulder you could buy huge bouquets at the farmer's market. I look forward to getting some plants started here. Did you order from Gilbert Wild, also?
Linda