I got a small Paeonia mlokosewitschii (or Paeonia daurica subsp. mlokosewitschii ) from Seneca Hills about 5 years ago and while she generally looks healthy she’s never gotten much bigger and has never flowered.   Meanwhile her location has gotten more crowded and shady so I decided it was time to move her. 

I looked up cultivation requirements and found “needs especially good drainage. Best in full sun to light shade.”, well that could be part of the problem.  The location had always been very moist. It was moist to wet when I dug her up. I also found “Avoid sites which are waterlogged, too arid or too shady. A shady site will result in lush foliage but few flowers, while an arid site will cause scorched leaves. Good drainage is beneficial but although an ideal situation will produce the finest plant, in reality Mollie the witch will tolerate most normal garden conditions quite happily. “

So I was all set to reposition Molly in the bright southern border when I found the original tag from Seneca Hills “Grow in part shade in deep fertile soil.”   So, maybe not the sunny border?

I’ve always wanted to grow this plant; I lost the first one I got from another nursery.  So I was wondering if any of you have experience with her.  Any suggestions?  Should she go with the sunny peonies or the woodland peonies?   What would Ludwik Mlokosiewicz  do?

Kitty