Show us your peonies!

[WellTidy]

I remember a lovely thread a couple of years ago, maybe, where everyone shared photos of their peonies as they flowered. I realised from that that mine was late flowering, and that the flowering season for it was fairly short, even by peony standards.

Mine is still in bud. I think its a Sarah Everard. I've also bought a Shirley Temple this year, but not expecting much from it yet. I would love a Duchesse de Nemours.

Would anyone be willing to start us off with their photos?

No idea what it is, it was here when I moved in 11 years ago! Its always gorgeous, but could do with moving. I've put it off as I don't want to kill it!

That’s beautiful! And doesn’t seem at all bedraggled by the wind and rain, as so many of my plants are right now.

Mine are no where near flowering yet, tight buds.

One of mine is showing a little colour, the other still tight shut.

Mine are all still in tight bud.
But let's resurrect this thread in a couple of weeks. I love paeonies.

Here's mine, I don't know what type it is! Recently moved so I was happy to see it. It was very bedraggled yesterday.

@MrsJamin that looks just like mine! Mine is a tree peony, it is a stupid plant that can't really support the weight of it's own flowers so every year I construct an increasingly elaborate frame for it! Anyway the flowers are huge, about 4 inches diameter, and are a bit blown now. Here's a photo taken after an impromptu hailstorm yesterday.

Due to all the rain I was too late getting a good photo sadly.

Mine are still in tight bud.

I'm very disappointed with my Sarah Bernhardt. It only has 1 bud, despite having grown big and bushy and having loads of leaves.

The Bowl of Beauty that I only planted a few weeks ago has managed to produce 2 buds!

I don’t know what variety they are, but I love them!

Here we go

I think I'll have to enjoy yours vicariously as mine are still tiny babies - I have a Pink Hawaiian Coral, an Eden's Perfume and a Karl Rosenfield. The KR has one teeny weeny bud which is very exciting! My neighbour has an established plant in his front garden which always has loads of luscious flowers about now. I fantasise about going out in the night and pinching them but I won't of course

We have four well established and eight young Sarah Bernhardt peonies. We planted the original four during our first spring after buying this house (2018) and the others over the past two years. The more mature ones have tight buds at the moment. Last year they opened around 31st May.

I'd really like to get some different types and saw some stunners on a plant nursery website the other day that were £50+ each 😮

I loved mine in feb 😱 didn't think they'd forgive me, but they are both budding up nicely. And there's a tiny offshoot growing from the old place so I must have left a bit behind

I also have a stupid tree peony which can't support its massive flowers and needs lots of help every spring :D It's all flowered out now, during the worst of the wind and rain so destroyed immediately. I was delighted to see flowers though, it didn't flower at all last year (I think because it was so dry and I forgot to water it in the stress of lockdown).

I have a Felix Crousse which is still in tight bud, hopefully the warmth next week will trigger the flowers. It does feel late.

Can anyone recommend a really dark red double peony? I've seen one in a neighbour's front garden but she doesn't know what it is.

@Tangledtresses any tips on moving them? Mine us just where I'm going to be extending the chicken run too so it needs to move but I don't want to kill it!

@ImFree2doasiwant
I did it back in February when they were dormant.... forked them out and replanted quite shallow in a nearby bed..... They seemed quite happy! It's a sunny bed with v good drainage.

@ImFree2doasiwant Yours looks like a Peonia officinalis 'Rubra Plena'. It's one of the oldest cultivars. When I was growing up our house had a clump on either side of the front door, they were lovely and so reliable!

It's best to move them when they're dormant really, but if you have to, the rule for transplanting is the same as other plants - water, water, water! Make sure the site where they're going is nicely well-draining soil, and add organic matter and compost where they are going to be. Sunny aspects are preferred over shady ones.

The rootball will be roughly the same size as the width of the crown, so try to dig outside the range of the plant's leaves. Give it a good soak before you start, and fill the planting hole with water and allow to drain before you place the rootball in. Make sure it isn't deeper than it was originally, that the junction of stems and roots are at the level they were. Once it's tucked in, water it again (preferably with a soluble feed in the water). If there are flower buds on them, the plant might stop developing the buds, but if this happens it should resume normal service next year.

Peonies have thick taproots, I've found if you don't get all of these then you end up with small, hopeful looking peonies popping up where they were. They are temperamental but quite tough!

I have no luck with Peonies, I’ve planted them according to instructions in various parts of the garden. All I get is leaves.
But Peony trees are a different matter, self seed happily..

@Tangledtresses and @TheNoodlesIncident thank you! Is it ok to try and split it at the same time?

Mine are in quite a sunny place which they seem to love

When I dug mine up I left a bit behind.... it's growing on quite well

Peonies not quite ready here either.

Two with buds but the newer two have no buds

@ImFree2doasiwant Yes, you can split it, like TangledTresses says, any bits left behind tend to sprout again, they can be quite robust.

Generally, if I was moving one that wasn't dormant, I'd try to disturb it as little as possible, but it's probably better to do it while it's out of the ground, rather than disturbing it again at a later date. Use a bread knife down the middle if you don't have two garden forks.

Hope it goes well for you

My peonies are all still buds, but people further down the road have some that are much further on than mine! The rubra plena ones tend to be the earliest, don't they?

These are mine! Still in bud. I need some sort of support for them though. I thought they got well and truly fucked over by the frost we had last year but apparently they came back!