Oooo, very pretty Gardenchloe! Wow, I didn't think the ones from the swap would bloom this year, so excited to see if mine does as well! I have growth on one, but don't remember if it's the one from Liz or from Bannisters nursery. I think I see a shoot starting up from the other one I planted - I'm thinking that's the Razberry Rumba from Liz, since it was smaller than the Abalone Pearl from the nursery. But it will be a surprise to find out when the bloom :)

Marj

Gardenchloe, I think that one is either Early Bird or Merry Mayshine, can't remember which I brought to the swap. Both are fernleaf hybrids, bloom very early and multiply quickly. Can't believe yours are blooming already, mine are barely above the mulch!

Mstywoods, Abalone Pearl will probably bloom much earlier than Raspberry Rumba. The cactus dahlia ones seem to obey the perennial rule--sleep, creep, leap.

It's weird--a lot of the herbaceous peonies that bloom a little later are out of the ground and I see buds on several (still tiny) but my fernleafs are just barely emerging. It's normally the other way around. I took pictures of all the ones that I could see had broken ground today. Seems obsessive but that's the only way I can track which ones didn't survive the winter. I took over 600 pics but I'm sure quite a few were duplicates, it's hard to keep track. I'll slowly go through and label them and get rid of dups then compare them to my written list to see what hasn't come up. Tedious but that way I can watch for any that are late to emerge and correct my list for those that didn't make it.

Mstywoods, thanks! I had several other peonies from Liz in the past. They all do pretty well. I have one tree peony that I got from O'Tools 3 years ago (I still don't remember the name) that gets huge blooms. This year, it has many buds. I am pretty excited. I also got Abalone Pearl. Hopefully both yours and mine will bloom this year.

Liz, I have most of my peonies on the south side of the house. Maybe they just get a lot of sunlight during the day. I did not have a chance to mulch them either. I am just very thankful that the fernleaf peony buds made through the heavy snow. I also have some on the north side of the house and they are showing growth as well. I have always loved peonies. Starting last year, I appreciate peonies even more. They are so elegant and pretty. They are also super easy to take care of. Looking forward for a great peony season!

I just have to throw in another 'thank you' to Liz for her generosity! I always dreamed of having peonies in my garden but waffled between thinking I couldn't afford them or being intimidated at the thought of trying them. Liz, you've made a longtime wish come true for me!

That said - does anyone fertilize or do anything special? I'm a benign neglect gardener and am wondering if I should be fussing more...?

My peony that I got from Liz two years ago already has a couple buds on it. I am the world's worst peony grower, so the fact that this one seems to do well is quite an testimonial.

So glad most of the ones I've traded away are doing well!!! The only ones I know for sure didn't make it were Skybird's. Next time I can divide Circus Circus I'm planting one for her myself!

Amester, I didn't fertilize mine at all until last year. Someone from another forum recommended using an organic bulb fertilizer and Azomite on them late summer and then again in spring when they first start coming out. I did it for the first time last spring and I had some HUGE blooms on established peonies that had never been that big before! She used a product called BulbTone, I got the same type, but any organic one would be fine. I normally just scratch the mulch back a bit in the spring and spread it a bit away from the left over stems and at the water line in the late summer.

Anyone who loves peonies needs to read this article from the Southern Peony Blog. She's doing interviews with peony hybridizers, a new thing on her blog, and the first is with Don Smith. He hybridized most of the ones sold under the Monrovia brand now as well as Singing in the Rain. If you like them take a look at Select Plus online, I'll post it's address 2nd. It's a Canadian company but their shipping is very reasonable and is the only company allowed to sell several of his peonies.

http://www.southernpeony.com/2016/04/2016-hybridizer-interview-don-r-smith.html

http://www.spi.8m.com/peonycat.html

Amster, I don't ever fertilize my plants (only because I am lazy), but the divisions I received from Liz or purchased from a local nursery have been doing pretty well. In the past three years, I bought several bags of roots from Walmart but they have not yet bloomed for me as they are smaller. I think the roots we received from Liz are really big and healthy.

It really isn't necessary to fertilize peonies at all, they'll do just fine and increase once they're established without fail. And the experts say it is possible to overfertilize them and do harm. Treat them as bulbs and fertilize when you'd do so for bulbs if you choose to fertilize at all. I will say the bloom size is bigger when fertilized, the only difference I've seen.

Another thing that I haven't done yet is use Milorganite on them. Milorganite is an organic fertilizer produced in Milwaukee from the brewery and sludge from other sources. I've used it on my lawn before and it greens up nicely--not as fast as Scotts but without some of the unfortunate side effects of Scotts as well. I've read several accounts of people using it broadcast spread in the garden just as a general booster with the benefit that it makes the deer and rabbits think twice before snacking. We don't have a huge rabbit problem anymore, assume our resident coyotes and foxes are to thank, but we have lots of deer. Think I'll do a test garden with Milorganite and see if it actually works. I normally use fishing line but it's kinda a pain to get around myself when weeding and working and, while it's not as unattractive as chicken wire, is a distraction from the pretty flowers.

One thing I swear by with peonies, especially if you like to cut flowers and bring them inside, is to use your leftover coffee grounds spread around the garden to deter ants. I very rarely have to shake them or any non-flying insects off the blooms that I cut. Only if you use non-flavored coffee, though! I just collect it inside until I have a jar full then just toss handfuls in the general area of the peonies, no need to dig it in or anything.

Thanks for the comment, Gardenchloe! I do try to make sure the roots I bring to the swaps are healthy, anyway! I hope everyone that has gotten roots from me has had flowers to show from it. Some of those roots came from bagged roots that I originally got from Walmart, though! One of my favorite scarlet doubles is from one of those bags....

Sure am glad I covered my Peonies before this storm! Especially the Raspberry Rumba - it's one small shoot that started would surely have been squashed by all the initial slushy snow, and now we have several inches of real snow this morning (and it's still coming down)!

I'm going to try your coffee ground trick Liz!

Marj

Think you'll like it, Marj! So simple and a way to re-use what you'd normally throw away and the peonies like it while the ants don't. Win, Win, Win, Win!

Raspberry Rumba is one of the herbaceous that seems to resent being divided. Mine hasn't bloomed since then, either. The cactus dahlia bloom type seems to take longer to come back robust than most other herbaceous. That one might be a 3rd spring after planting bloomer, sorry. It's such a cheery bloom once it starts that it'll be worth it! And very pretty in the vase with dark pink varieties if you cut yours, Marj.

I am missing a trick?

Marj, I think the peony plants will be fine even if they are not covered but I am sure the baby stalks will appreciate the love. :). In China, they always grow in weather like Colorado but bloom just fine. I have never covered them in the past either. The only thing I am worried about this year is that I have so many buds already. I know some of them are fine but some might not bloom. The bloom I posted above were buried in the snow storm in March for three days and still ended cup blooming for me. I managed to cover some of my favorite ones last night. For the rest, I have gone out many times to shake off the snow. I guess we will find out soon.

I normally don't bother doing anything except for the few that are advertised as frost sensitive but I lot all growth on several with the Mother's Day weekend blizzard last year, trying not to have a repeat. I covered most that were showing buds but didn't get to all of them. Hopefully it' won't be a repeat of last year....

My tree peony is trying to bloom on such a gloomy day.

Softball sized blooms! Those are incredible! Too bad this isn't a scratch 'n sniff picture so I could smell too.

The buds are huge, going to be gorgeous when they open, and I like the foliage color, too. Like the red edges....

Some finally bloomed. I wish they will stay open for a long long time.

Beautiful! I think several of the tree peonies I purchased over the last few years should bloom for the first time this spring, looking forward to seeing them! The ones I purchased on our shopping trip are completely open now, I'll try to get a pic of them tomorrow to share. I don't have a single peony open yet although several of the very earlies are showing a bit of color. Had our 1st hail storm of the year yesterday but was not too bad, hopefully we'll have an lighter than normal season....

Yes, please share the picture. Can't wait to see them!

Lovely pictures! I really do need to get some more peonies - I only have about 6 of them and the only one that I know the name of is a President Lincoln, but I sure do like them. ( I had seven, but one of them inexplicably died last spring - started coming up and then just...died. No idea what happened; two others in the same area were fine. It was in an area in my backyard that flooded last spring; perhaps it was more susceptible to failing due to having "wet feet" than the other cultivars.)

I don't do a lot of fertilizing here, except for vegetables. Apparently I am not into pampering my plants (or maybe I am just plain too lazy, lol) and try to grow plants that do well here and can somehow manage to get all the nutrition they need from our fertile soil; the fact that the soil is clay makes it more difficult for the plant, but it really is fertile.... I have never fertilized any of my peonies, can't even remember if I put any in/or around the planting hole when I first planted them. They seem to do just fine without it , but I might just try a bit of the organic bulb fertilizer Liz mentioned just to give them a boost - or to see if it makes a difference.

I grew up in Rhode Island and remember the peonies that grew all along one of our stone walls. My brother actually dug up some before my parents left the house years ago and gave me one of them; a lovely fragrant white peony with crimson markings. No idea what cultivar it is, but the peonies were already established when we moved in to the house back in the 1960's so it isn't a "modern" one, lol. I will have to take some pictures to see if anyone here can identify it....but none of my peonies are ready to bloom yet.

Holly

Holly, it's possible that your white fragrant peony could be Festiva Maxima. That was the most commonly available white here in the states for a very long time. It's a gorgeous peony, makes a huge shrub when mature and smells great. The only problem it has is the blooms are so heavy it tends to fall over. I've seen a picture of an amazingly large one where the lady who owned it used a large peony ring in the middle and just let the outer limbs droop, looked absolutely beautiful.

My first peony opened yesterday, Gardenchloe, but I'm not posting that pic! It was a 3 year old Molly seedling with a deformed bloom, about the only good it did was show me the color the bloom will be. It was a pretty shade of dusty pink, hopefully it'll be a gorgeous plant in a few years! I have 3 more of them, 1 purchased at the same time as the one that bloomed and 2 grown from seed I purchased. Hopefully at least 1 of them will be the typical Molly yellow like this one https://www.brooksgardens.com/products/mlokosewitschii

This is my second tree peony. I've had it for three years. This is the first time it ever bloomed for me.

Happy long weekend! My peonies have been blooming well. Some of them were hailed and lost some petals but are still happy.

Some Japanese breed herbaceous

An itoh yumi

One of the first two peonies I got from Liz.

I've only had a few bloom so far, yours look beautiful, gardenchloe!

Here is the one I got from Liz two years ago. It is the only peony I have that actually blooms. Yes, that's a tomato cage around it. I use it in the Fall to be able to cover the peony in case of snow, but it ends up just staying there and does help keep the blooms from drooping. I really need to work on a prettier way to do that!

Here is the Abalone Pearl I ordered from Banniesters last season. I remember several of us ordered this. I have several buds on the Circus Circus from the same order. So excited!

I'm in WI now for the APS cnnvention! Hopefully I won't miss many of my own blooms...will have lots of convention pics to share when I get home!

I'm certainly enjoying this thread. So many of the plants I grew up with are very unhappy here with the lack of moisture and humidity and with the alkaline clay soil that, like many of us, I have been blessed with; what a lovely plant the peony is and I am so happy that it seems to thrive here, despite the environmental conditions and weather extremes we have here in Colorado.

None of my peonies are blooming as yet, but they have nice big buds on them! Thank you for the possible name of my white "heirloom" peony, Liz. I looked as some photos of the Festiva Maxima; looks close though the red markings on my peony's blooms seem a bit more random, if you know what I mean. When it blooms this year I will take some pictures and post them here so that perhaps you can give me a positive (semi-positive?) identification.

Finally got one of your peonies this weekend at the swap, too, Liz, so looking forward to seeing what it will do. I haven't had a chance to plant it yet but it has recovered from the shock of being dug from the ground and the plant is standing upright and looking ready for the world! I am hoping to plant it today, if the weather cooperates and if the soil isn't already too wet from the rain last night.

Holly

My Abalone Pearl is blooming! Interestingly, mine looks a bit different than yours Gardencloe. Mine must be a single, and yours is a double. Or else they accidentally sent me something different - but it's pretty even if it isn't Abalone Pearl (the colors look the same, though, so I'm sure that's what it is)!

Hmm, yeah, I am not sure. They are so pretty, Marj. Like Liz described about one of her other peony in the past, they look a lot darker when no fully opened. I can't wait until they bloom again next year.

I don't want my peony season to end!!! This might be Louis Cora.

This one above reminds me of something very old-fashioned.

Mstywoods, Abalone Pearl is a semi-double but yours could easily be the right one. Yours had 2 blooms first year, quite often semi-double or even double blooms open with less petals until they're better established. Having more than 1 bud 1st spring make it even more probable that yours just wasn't quite established enough to push out that many petals. Look at the foliage--looks pretty much identical between your and Gardenchloe's pics, I'd say it was the same variety.

It'd probably be a good idea to not let it go to seed, clip off just the flower head once it's no longer blooming to help it conserve and build up energy for next year.

So I've been out of town A LOT this spring and am getting ready to go again next weekend. I've had a few peonies bloom, even had my first Itoh open today, so I have a few pics to share.

P. Mutablis Plena Isn't it a cool bloom?

Paula Fay So bright it almost hurts your eyes!
Commando
Coral Scout--this one was open when I got home from WI, almost missed it. Flower fell apart the day after I took this pic.
Lemon Chiffon--last year's bud was destroyed by hail so this is my first opened flower from this plant.
This was supposed to be Astarte--a Saunder's pink fading to blush single. Not! It's pretty anyway but would be nice to know what it is. I contacted the seller, maybe they'll be able to id it.
My Abalone Pearl. Had a few stormy days after I took this pic, it was well past its prime by the time I looked again.
Salmon Dream. Another that was open when I got home, flower much past its prime before I could take a picture.
Last but not least, my first Itoh of the season, Haleigh's Hallelujah. We're having a bad tree pollen year, the dots on the foliage are pollen, not hail damage for once!

Wow, these are amazing blooms. I find myself more and more in love with peonies. I am ordering few more roots which will be delivered this Fall. One thing I did this year is to plant two types peonies close to each other. They turn out very nice staying together.

Welcome back, Liz! I hope you had a nice and fun trip and get to enjoy some blooms this weekend. The two that I planted together have some overlapping bloom time. It was nice when they both were blooming. It also looked like the bloom time extended when one was blooming and the other one had many buds on it. I just ordered few really showy ones to plant next to some others from Solaris farms. I will be very anxious waiting for them to bloom next spring!

I'm back again, managed to miss the biggest part of peony blooms on this last trip. I'll try to get a few pics this weekend while I'm weeding. On a positive note, I have pink, peach and yellow foxtail lilies this year instead of just yellow! Planted a mixed color variety 3 years ago, only yellow bloomed before this year, though. I think those are some of the coolest looking flowers out there.....

Welcome back! I hope you get some cool pictures to share. Wow, I have not heard of or seen foxtail lilies in the past. I just googled and totally fell in love with them. Can you let me know how long they bloom? I am thinking to get some either this fall or next spring. Thank you!

Ashley

They start blooming from the bottom up, had started blooming when we got back on Sunday and haven't changed much in the last 5 days, Ashley. I'll take pictures tomorrow and will keep track of when they start looking bad.