Re: living with peonies
- Subject: Re: living with peonies
- From: B* C*
- Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 03:51:00 -0400
In my experience, and I have tried every recommended method I could find,
there is nothing to beat a peony hoop. Everything else is ugly, intrusive or
just too darned much work. Although I am not a peony expert I do have 28
herbaceous peonies in my garden, and some need help to stay upright while
others don't. Check Alan Roger's book on peonies, which has lists of
recommended cultivars. Usually if he says it doesn't need staking, it's a
pretty sturdy plant. Alternatively, learn to appreciate the singles (very
nice in a simple sort of way) and Japanese (beloved by many of us
"sophisticated" peony afficianados) which seldom need staking.
Tree peonies do not need staking since they are a woody shrub. Mine form
sturdy looking plants (although I can tell you from experience that if you
hit them with a weed eater they come apart pretty quickly) and have very
large blossoms in all the traditional peony colours plus yellow (yes, you
can get yellow herbaceous peonies if you sell a kidney to finance the deal)
and purple. They are also less demanding than often rumoured and do just
fine in my zone 4 garden in light shade.
Bob Campbell
>From: "Hal Lanktree" <hlanktree@home.com>
>Reply-To: perennials@mallorn.com
>To: <perennials@mallorn.com>
>Subject: living with peonies
>Date: Sun, 10 Jun 2001 13:35:13 -0400
>
>The peonie pictures make me eager to try some new varieties, but I
>have a hard time coping witht he 3 I already have. Can anyone clearly
>explain how to stake the dang things? The blossoms are far too heavy
>to be supported by the stalks dry, and it rains here often. As soon as
>the blossom is wet, the weight breaks the stem over anything I have used
>to stake the plant. Do tree peonies have similar problems? It seems they
>would be an even greater chalange.
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