Not, it is not

All too frequent an occurrence; and at Wild's, you can count on it. Could your peony be Felix Crousse?

I already sent a photo, this same one, last night. I have not heard back yet. I can follow up with an open one if I am home. It was not from Wild's; it was a high end specialist dealer.

Follow up: I have not heard back from the dealer. I will make one more attempt before posting a negative review in DG. I had not wanted to give the name before, in case she did the right thing.

There are several peony growers/sellers online that WILL send the correct root every time--or if they make a mistake they typically notify you and make it right. In my experience those are Hollingsworths, Adelman's Peony Paradise, Hidden Springs, Solaris, Swenson's and Brooks. I have only had 1 mis-id'ed root in the 8 years I've ordered from these growers and that company contacted me before I even had a chance to tell them about it and sent a refund. Wild has an issue with sending the wrong root but they're wonderful about crediting your account for any you discover are wrong--never pressed them for a refund but they probably would. If I were you I'd order it from Adelmans--they currently have it for this fall for $18 and it'll be the right root. http://peonyparadise.com/buckeyebelle.aspx

Thanks! That sounds good. Since you have to wait so long for peonies to bloom, this sounds like the best idea.

Even if the vendor I bought it from wants to replace it, I no longer trust anything she sells. To think I spend $34 on this! The supposed Buckeye Belle was the most I have ever spent on a perennial anywhere. Not to mention the others I bought. But of course selling at an Antiques and Garden Fair relies on impulse purchases.

I have limited space for peonies (my yard is less than a 1/4 acre), so to have a mislabelled one in a prime position is just too frustrating. I will dig up the wrong one and move it to the back with my no-name bomb type peonies from my grandmother.

I'm in Zone 5 Chicago: what would be a good time for this?

Most start sending to colder areas the 2nd or 3rd week of September and go through late October. The big growers are very good about shipping when they're dormant in the fall. I'd water it in sparingly and only water again before winter if you have a long dry spell. I got Buckeye Belle from Pure Peonies 2 years ago and it bloomed for the first time last spring, it's a very pretty peony, well worth the effort and a prime spot!

Thanks again. So, I’ll aim to move the mislabeled
peony in mid-September. Funny, I’ve never paid any attention to what they look
like once they are dormant. But I will pay attention now and watch this one. If
I see the leaves declining I’ll know it’s almost time.

I have not heard back. The vendor is called Peony’s Envy, out of New
Jersey. I will now go post my negative review on DG. Too
bad I had not read the reviews there first, there are plenty of negatives. But as I
said before, at a garden fair, impulse purchases don’t permit research. My bad.
My wasted money.

I've never ordered from them, sorry you had a bad experience. It's one thing when you pay a small price and find out you got a mid-id'ed root, quite another when you pay a premium and it's the wrong plant.

I wished I had not paid cash!

I would second Adelman peonies. I bought my Buckeye Belle from them and not only it was a correct peony but it bloomed beautifully.

Hello, I just bought a bag of bare roots peonies, that has 2 Vestiva Maxima & 1 Buckeye Belle at my local Costco store (I'm in Canada, Toronto, Zone 5). I was so excited to see that they had the buckeye belle :) and the price is right, it 's $15 for the 3 roots!. I had the bag in my garage for now, and wondering if I should plant them as soon as the ground is workable or should I get them in pots indoor? first time to buy bare roots, but have 3 peonies for years already. Here is a link of the the bags at Costco look like: http://www.bulbs-to-blooms.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/products.springPlantedPerennials/index.htm

Thanks and happy Spring!!

I have a box of peonies in my garage waiting to be planted as well,hala2012! I'd get them in the ground when it's workable. If the roots seem dry when you take them out of the bag soak them for a bit before planting.

OK, Great! thanks so much Lizbest1 :)

I took them out of the bag today, and soaking them before planting. It's about 13C today here in Toronto :). They already have shoots on them, specially the 2 Festiva's, and the buckeye - bottom in the picture just got few tiny eyes!

I think it's time for me to tell the name of the vendor I bought the supposed "Buckeye Belle" from, as she does not answer my most recent emails. It's Peony's Envy. Great name, terrible service; 2 of 8 peonies bought were dead, at least one mismarked. Others will finally bloom this year,and I will finally find out of ANY are what they are supposed to be. Reading the reviews on Dave's Garden, I am far from the only one. I could have bought a lot of potted peonies for what these overpriced bare-roots cost me.

Sounds as bad as Gilbert Wild, which is a crap shoot in regard to getting the peony you ordered. Of course, I haven't ordered from them in many, many years.

I've heard that about Gilbert Wild, but at least theirs are inexpensive! I paid $ 34 for this thing.

I buy from Gilbert Wild every year, sometimes spring and fall. You're certainly right about not always getting the variety you ordered--if I really want a specific variety I order it from elsewhere--but I've gotten some amazing plants at a very good price from them. Linnea, if I were you I'd just order Buckeye Belle from Adelman's Peony Paradise for this fall, they have it for $18. The only time I've gotten a mis-id from Adelman's they realized it first and sent out a check refunding the purchase price. Everyone makes mistakes, you measure the quality of a company by how they correct them.