Re: flopping peonies

Elly:

I looked at photos of several species of peonies in
their natural habitat.  It seems that some species
have flowers that don't face straight up and possibly
even nod a little.  It's their natural morphology. 
But whether or not it's their genetic way of avoiding
raindrops on their pollen, I don't know.

I certainly can't imagine species (and hybrids) that
don't have this natural leaning to do so to avoid
rain. I've grown peonies in several climates (northern
Wisconsin, South Carolina, Pennsyvania, Illinois) and
I don't recall any difference in the leaning
tendencies despite the fact that some areas got more
rain than others.  Of course what I did notice was
that after a heavy rain, the flower stems of the leggy
varieties flopped over from the weight of the rain. 
Didn't matter where the garden was.

Joe


--- William Bade <bade@Math.Berkeley.EDU> wrote:
> Do some peonies flop naturally to protect their
> pollen in rainy climates?
> Elly Bade
> 
> On Sat, 8 Jun 2002, Joe Seals wrote:
> 
> > Peonies may flop for a few reasons:
> >
> > 1.  Too much water
> > 2.  Too much fertilizer (esp. N)
> > 3.  Not enough sun
> > 4.  Floppy variety
> >
> > Those that flopped the most, that I've seen, fall
> into
> > category 4.  That's why so many people use "peony
> > cages" on so many peonies.
> >
> > Joe
> > --- barbara sargent <rsgt@california.com> wrote:
> > > My daughter, in Portland, has peonies which flop
> > > unlike those I've seen in
> > > other gardens while walking around her
> neighborhood.
> > > Is there a way of
> > > remedying this other than staking? That is,
> could
> > > there be a reason like
> > > their needing more or less water or something?
> > >
> > > Barbara
> > >
> >
> >
> > =====
> > Joe Seals
> > Santa Maria, California --
> > where the weather is always perfect
> > and my garden always has something blooming
> > and birds galore
> >
> > __________________________________________________
> > Do You Yahoo!?
> > Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup
> > http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com
> >
> 


=====
Joe Seals
Santa Maria, California --
where the weather is always perfect
and my garden always has something blooming
and birds galore

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