An experiment with my tree peony seeds
You may remember reading my blog last June when I showed you photos of my incredible tree peony blossoms. Unlike herbaceous peonies, which die back to the ground every fall, tree peonies are woody-stemmed shrubs that produce large and elegant flowers. I have always loved tree peonies and have a long border planted in the semi-shade of giant maples in varying shades of lavenders and pinks. Many of these specimens were transplanted from my Turkey Hill garden and miraculously, they survived the move extremely well.
This fall, my gardeners and I decided to try a little experiment and grow tree peonies from seed. That sounds easy but the process takes time (about three - five years) and the steps are kind of involved. For example, once the seeds are planted, the containers are placed in sealed plastic bags and set in a warm location, where the plants will begin to grow after about three months. After that happens, the plants are moved to a cold spot, like a refrigerator, where they will rest until spring, when it’s warm enough to plant them in the ground. Then, it’s nurture, nurture, nurture……..when, after four or five years, the plants should begin to produce gorgeous blooms. Oh, I can’t wait!
Here’s an exceptional source for tree peonies:
Klehm's Song Sparrow
800-553-3715
Unbelievable! Just yesterday I watched you and Roy Klehm divide and plant a Princess Bride herbaceous peony he brought to you from a 25 year old clump and you also planted a tree peony, (I think you said it was a Raspberry Sundae Peony), at Turkey Hill. It was from an October 2000 show I have on tape. You also showed his Song Sparrow's Catalog and all I can say right now is, like wow!
It might have been the same show that you made those eye masks filled with flax seed and lavender too. I think I might make a couple of those to give as stocking gifts.
I hope you had a great weekend; we had rain and strong winds so I spent part of Sunday taking leaves out of the pool. Enjoy your day! Trish
Posted by: Trish | December 1st, 2008 at 5:16 am
Peonies trees are lovely and the curved border. Wishing you sucess with the seeds. This is the first time I have seen peonies trees, I love the bush type the comes back every spring. Thanks for the link, I going to check it out. Hope they grow in Mississippi.
Posted by: Katherine Smith | December 1st, 2008 at 5:45 am
14 years ago when I was expecting my first child, I went on my due date to the most wonderful peony show at the Chicago Botanic Garden. We always celebrate my daughter's birthday with beautiful bouquets of peonies.
Posted by: Linda Crispell | December 1st, 2008 at 6:45 am
P. S. to my earlier post - Not to change the subject from peonies, but I'm thrilled the template for the silk Lavender Eye Mask is still on the site. Anyone interested, just type it in the Search box and it takes you to the Body & Soul magazine section and the template link.
I googled and found a different site that sells the golden raw flaxseed and another that is offering 4 bunches of lavender at a very reasonable price.
Sorry Martha but I watched that one tape and got a zillion ideas from it! Just like all of your shows. I'll go now. Trish
Posted by: Trish | December 1st, 2008 at 7:02 am
I've heard it said that (passionate, true) gardeners must be blessed with the virtue of patience, and that is so true! What you're doing indeed will take time to come to fruition, but you're set up superbly to try to accomplish it! Can you envision all these seedlings planted around the forest's edge, there at your farm?!! (OMGoodness!)
I LOVE peonies, especially for their old-fashionedness. The neighboring property next to me has a peony planted right alongside my sidewalk going to my garage at the rear of my property, and since noone is actively living there (the owner is deceased), the last couple summers I've been so tempted to cut a bouquet, but technically, that would be stealing (and the Lord would see me, anyway...) At one time at another property, I had some family heirlooms - peonies that were 50+ years old, but foolishly, I left them behind...sure wish I had them now! (Hindsight!!)
It was absolutely wonderful seeing all the posts regarding your mother's tribute blog!...l-o-n-g posts, with people pouring out their hearts, telling their story, and relating with what was said in your WSJ interview. It's healing to write our innermost thoughts! Thanks again for letting us acknowledge your grief and parallel our own life journeys, but mostly to celebrate the joie de vivre in our beloved memories.
=^..^=
Posted by: Cindy Bricker | December 1st, 2008 at 7:10 am
Hi Martha, Hope you had a delightful, restful Thanksgiving weekend. I love the wonderful variety of subjects that you present in your blog. It's always fun to anticipate what you will talk about each day. This peony blog is fascinating. I have never seen peony seeds before. It's fun to see Jodi working on this project. She sure looks like she is having fun. I like to try growing new things from seed, also. Haven't had any success trying to grow Japanese Maples from seeds. Any suggestions? Jan PS: Hi Mark, How kind of you to be concerned that I hadn't commented on Martha's Thanksgiving Day blog. I did comment that day, but you must have missed it. Have a great day. Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | December 1st, 2008 at 8:48 am
Peonies are stunning, indeed.
Posted by: Isle Dance | December 1st, 2008 at 9:08 am
Sounds like a lot of work. Just divide or go out and buy a plant!
Posted by: Jeanie Curry | December 1st, 2008 at 12:09 pm
I Love Peonies but never tried to plant them. I thought the process to start from seed was very interesting-thank you! And your border of tree peonies is amazing!
~Tam
Posted by: Tam | December 1st, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Thanks for posting the photos of your garden in autumn. I find it just as beautiful then.
Posted by: Rachel | December 1st, 2008 at 8:59 pm
my dad always had interesting seeds on a shelf, especially of rare and unique things, u r the consummate gardener 2 attempt this propagation of tree peonies and I now have ordered some, can't wait 4 glorious spring, many tks M.
Posted by: charmayne | December 2nd, 2008 at 5:41 am
I'm from Sunny So. California, where we can't grow peonies.
We bought a small cabin in upstate New York a few years ago. We are only there 2-4 times a year. I try to keep up with a garden that was started by the previous owners. They had planted some herbaceous peonies. I have never been around to see them bloom... but this will make everyone laugh... The first time I saw the peonies starting to break though the soil I thought they were asparagus!
Posted by: Crunkle | December 3rd, 2008 at 8:33 pm
I saw Martha make toffee on her television show back in '99 or '00. It didn't have chocolate and you wrapped pieces individually. It was the best toffee ever and I have had so many requests for it, but I cannot find the recipe anywhere. Does anyone have it?
Posted by: Scott Collins | December 13th, 2008 at 9:22 am
Hi, Martha,
I remember your June blog about your beautiful tree peonies. Thanks for telling us about this process. Good luck with the plants grown from seeds. I look forward to seeing the full-grown plants in the future.
I like that curving line of tree peonies!
Kathy
Posted by: Kathy | December 27th, 2008 at 11:52 am
Almost three years have elapsed since the last post and I'm wondering if any of the seeds germinated and produced new plants. An update on the experiment would be much appreciated!
Thanks!!
Posted by: Joanne in Virginia | December 12th, 2011 at 10:20 pm