Monday, May 9, 2011
Hooray, A Peony Bud!
I love peonies. I've written about it before. It's my absolute favorite flower, for the size and the scent. It's amazing. Last October, we received two giant Nancy Nora Peony bareroots as an anniversary gift from the hub's grandma. The bareroots were from White Flower Farm, my absolute favorite nursery. I wasn't sure where to plant the peonies so I planted them in large containers. I was going to plant them in the ground this spring, but then I noticed that flower buds were forming. I didn't want to disturb the roots while buds were forming so I just decided to let it grow. When do you think is a good time to transplant these into the ground??
Check out the bulb now. It has grown significantly since I took the first photo. I am anxiously awaiting for this to bloom. I am so surprised that peony flower buds can grow in containers! Should I leave them in containers? What to do, what to do. I feel like they will do much better in the ground though. What's your opinion on this?
In February, I also had bought a 4-pack of bareroot peonies from Home Depot. I couldn't pass up the amazing price. I also stuck them in containers indoors, because outside was full of snow on the ground.
I finally planted the 4-pack ones in the ground this week. These won't likely flower this year, since these seem to be younger bareroots than the ones sent from White Flower Farm. Let's hope they do next year!
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I love peonies too and recieved one last year at a plant swap. It was around this time when I received it and I transplanted it when I got home so you may be safe. I agree that they'd do much better in the ground.
ReplyDeleteI need to check mine and see if it's budding.
ReplyDeleteOOh!!! I LOVE peonies too! And I'm also a fan of White Flower Farm. If you find yourself developing a peony addiction, Cricket Hill is also supposed to have fantastic peonies (I think that's all they do) as well as "Peonies Envy" - what a great name. I think they're in PA.
ReplyDeleteHow exciting that your peony has such a promising bud already! The photo of it on WFF is so gorgeous - just incredible. Dates back to 1942! And it's fragrant to boot - you picked a great one!
Sometimes those Home Depot deals can be good ones. I've known many people who have found decent plants there, or ones in need of some TLC that have ended up doing fine.
I wish I knew what to tell you about transplanting your WFF peony...
You might find some helpful info on Cricket Hill's site: http://www.treepeony.com/ They have tons of specific care instructions for both tree and herbaceous peonies.
I just got a tree peony at the BBG sale last week - splurge! It was flowering, and I worried about transplanting it now, but they said it would be fine and so far it is...I just need to get a peony stake / round support for it.
Good luck! Can't wait to see pictures of your Nancy Nora when it opens
Peonies are my favorite too! I would suggest planting them in the ground in the fall. Like tulips, they come up in the spring, unless they're are a tiny bulb, then they will come up the year after(happened to me!)
ReplyDeleteI'm with you. I love peonies too! I'm not sure when the best time to transplant is. Glad you have buds on your plant! My plant has several buds and I'm always excited to see it bloom!
ReplyDeleteWe're from the desert and not to sure what to do with plants that grow up where you live. The look to be doin pretty good where you got em. Hope all is well!
ReplyDeletePeonies can be fickle...if you transplant too soon (while it's still in the beginning stages of flowering) it may not reflower for another year, but this isn't always the case either. They're just so fickle. The buds are already there, so even if you were to plant it in the ground now, you wouldn't get any new ones. I would suggest waiting until the flowers are spent before planting it in the ground. If you'd been able to catch it before it produced buds, it probably wouldn't have effected it. Sometimes, it's better safe than sorry, especially with fickle flowers, lol. They'll be much bushier next year living in the ground..you lucked out with buds the first season. Yays for you. After transplanting mine from a pot it had been in during moving over a few years, it took 3 years to bud once in the ground, but they didn't open that season, only buds. But then the following year it had buds and flowered with 7 flowers, and this year I have 14! YAYS!! Peonies are so romantically whimsical! LOVE'em!
ReplyDeleteI hope your peony does well when you plant it. I think Debbie is right that if you plant it now, it would not get more blooms, and the bud may not open. I wonder, though, if it would be good to go ahead and plant it now, and take good care of it so it can settle in and be ready to bloom sooner in the future. I would check the website of the nursery to see when it's best to plant. I know they can take awhile to establish. I would like to add a few more to the 3 I have that were Larry's mom's, but he does not like them. I may anyway, now that there is a little more room for them.
ReplyDeleteI still need to get mine to bloom - last year they didn't. Hopefully they will be mature enough this year so I can see what mystery peonies I have! :D
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