Branching Out
Deeply Rooted
How unusual to have two different forms on one shrub. Is it possible that a seed of a herbaceous peony might have germinated so close to the base of the tree peony that it appears as one plant, but is in fact two? I have never grown a tree peony, and so have never had a chance to closely examine their root structure. Clearly I have a lot to learn where woody peonies are concerned. Whether it is one plant or two it sounds like you get a beautiful display of flowers each spring. https://americanpeonysociety.org/learn/woody-peonies/Interesting @Branching Out , peonies from seed. I have quite a few this year that have popped up around the yard, surprisingly. Very tiny little plants in odd places; I didn't even know peonies could do that. I have single tree peony, which DH injured a section of a few years ago, and that one section now grows back every year as a herbaceous peony, with totally different flowers and centres. The tree peony blossoms are white, huge with pinkish centres, the part that regrows each year now has now rose pink blossoms with yellow centres, and they're smaller too. I wonder if my mystery peony plants are originating with that altered plant section.
Two of the seed packets that I ordered are of Lutea hybrids, https://solarisfarms.com/2021/11/13109/
In reading about Luteas I realize that when you scratch the surface of peony breeding things seem to become complex rather quickly; it's a tad overwhelming. For now I will just sow the seeds, wish them luck, and wait for gorgeous blooms to emerge in the coming years. Simple is good sometimes.
The ripe black peony seeds look kind of like sunflower seeds, but rounder and hard as a rock. I wonder if birds sometimes take them and then give up on them, scattering them around the garden where they can germinate in unusual places. According to the advice of the sage peony grower who facilitates the seed sale each year it is important to not transplant or move the young plants in spring. He says you will lose them. The time to transplant is September. (And apparently non-members can order seeds from the CPS seed sale, https://peony.ca/wp-content/uploads/Canadian-Peony-Society-2024-Seed-List-v2-May-9-2024.pdf )
When I find new peony plants popping up in spring I mark them with a ring of stones, so I don't weed them out by accident. It can take 3-4 years for them to produce their first bloom. Of all of the peonies that have popped up in my garden only two have been noteworthy in terms of the blossom being unusual and really pretty. For the most part the seedlings have produced flowers that are very similar to the parents that already exist in my garden. I have also not done a good job of labelling my plants, and given that I have a lot of them new ones sneak in unnoticed sometimes. If I could go back and talk to younger me twenty years ago I would have suggested better record keeping, right from the start. If I could turn back time...
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