Show's Over Already :-(

18 years ago

After all the anticipation over a nice crop of flower buds through early spring, my Feng Dan blossoms opened ... and only three days later appear to be finished already! I've never seen such a short season. I'm wondering if it's due to the unseasonably warm spell we had, which ended abruptly with chilly (but not freezing) damp weather and some considerable rain.

Has anyone else seen this? Sure is disappointing, knowing it will be a whole year before it blooms again.

Ah well ... time to turn attention to the dwarf irises until the herbaceous peonies begin to bloom. ADD can be a real asset for a gardener ;-)

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Comments (6)

suel41452
18 years ago
Whoa!!! That IS quick! I'd be sad, too.
I know rain can mess up the blooms, but I would hope it's usually more than three days!
How long do tree peonies usually bloom?
User
18 years ago
Depends on the heat. The original post brought back memories of one year that I waited for a bud to open on a named but no tag peony. It was opening when I left for work but when I looked at the poor thing the ninty degree weather with a strong wind had cause the petals to drop.

In cool 50-60's the flowers can a couple of weeks higher temperatures hurry the blooms. This is why I also look at the foliage and stems to see what the plant will look like the rest of the year.
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User
18 years ago
Sorry your show was so short. Here in Kansas it warmed up early last year, then came terrible winds and 18 degrees for six hours. All the flowers were in bud or blooming. It killed all the peonies in the area as well as fruit, and worst of all, my Japanese Maple of 22 years. Very sad. I cried.

A lady here always clips the stalks that are in buds that are about to bloom then wraps them in newspaper and stores them in her vegetable cooler. She keeps them there until Memorial Day and sells them at the Farmer's Market. I've never tried it, but she does it year after year. The oldtimers say that Peonies used to bloom right around Memorial Day, but for many years now, they bloom well before that around here. Weather has changed substantially, hasn't it?
suel41452
18 years ago
Yes, the weather has changed here the last few years. The USDA changed us from 6b-7a to 7a. I need to change my zone listing, I suppose, but I can't believe those brutal winters are gone for good!
ljrmiller
18 years ago
I generally get a week of flower display from my tree peonies here in Northern Nevada. That's much shorter than the bloom time on the herbaceous varieties, but they are so glorious that I forgive them their short bloom time.
rian
18 years ago
Just curious--how many of you take the flowers off when they fade, so that the tree peony can put its energy into growing roots and stems and how many leave them in place to try to grow seeds (or because deadheading so many blossoms is too much trouble)