http://www.ottawahort.org
The VIPs (Very Impressive Peonies) or Skimming Off the Cream
Yearbook 1989 By: Clarence M. Brown Back to the web versionPeonies are indeed impressive; their size and colour often render them flamboyant - a sight to behold! Add to this a delectable fragrance in many varieties and the peerless sculpting of their varied intriguing forms, then start thumbing the nursery catalogues for your selections. If size were the sole criterion, they would seem at home on the Carlsberg wagon behind its six or eight Clydesdales, but superb grace and charm make them equally appropriate for the sparkling, shiny, new buggy hitched behind the high stepping hackney with all its glitter and trappings.
Peonies rank among the most rewarding, most adaptable, yet least demanding of all perennials. They grow and thrive to some degree even under adverse conditions and are reliable and hardy under all the vagaries of weather to which we are periodically subjected. This is not to suggest they won't thrive better with a little TLC. (Tender Loving Care). The plants grow big, burly and aggressive with a root system to match. But energy expended must be replaced; hence, as with most rugged specimens, the peony ends up with a voracious appetite, requiring generous helpings of food and drink in due season. Early spring though July, fertilizer can be dug or raked loosely into the top soil layer, three to six inches from the growing stalks but never over the crown itself. Planted from September 1 to October 31, the crown should not be more than two inches below ground level or the result may be complete failure to bloom.
Greedy peonies steal nutrients from weaker perennials in range but cannot compete with the roots of trees or shrubs; so plant away from these. Short-term or filtered shade is tolerated, but open sun is ideal. Do not crowd close to walls or under eaves or canopies. Peonies need water but not soggy location or "wet feet". Sprinkling is a waste; soaking deep into soil with good drainage is ideal.
Each peony stem, as it emerges from the ground. Has a main or terminal flower bud wrapped in the still folded leaves but, as it grows and the leaves unwrap, all side buds should be removed by pinching or cutting out with fine shears or a razor blade as early as they can be reasonably taken. When cutting blooms for show, cut a good stem with foliage but leave as much foliage as you can. Do not cut stems to the ground - to do so removes a vital part of the plant's body and, unlike most plants, no new growth will appear to replace the lost. Cut blooms very early in the day or late in the evening. For show, cut the previous evening and immerse stems overnight in cool water in a cool room.
By far the oldest and greatest number of peonies are classified as Chinese. They vary through many shades of white, blush, pink and red and are mainly double, with a few good singles and even fewer semi-doubles. It would be arrogant and irresponsible to suggest that I could name the best varieties in every class. Performance varies in different latitudes, soils and climatic conditions. I have grown many varieties and have no compunction about recommending some. as superior, even "among the best".
In reds, do try Kansas. It is outstanding and upstanding - it takes a lot to knock it down. Paul M. Wild is also good. For a very dark (black) red try Mons. Marten Cahuzac, while Sinbad provides the novelty of a silver picotee edge around each purple red petal. For sheer beauty in whites, I favour Mother's Choice but Mary Nicholls is a prime exhibitor. EIsa Sass is a fine-formed late and Festiva Maxima is one of the oldest and most reliable, with some red flecks near its centre.
Pinks and blushes are not my favourite colours, but Doris Cooper is a light pink of exceptionally good form. If you favour the rare or unusual, give a look to Painted Desert which is covered with a netting or web of minute, deeper flecks and veins as in a variegated dahlia. Similar but smaller and more refined is Peppermint - larger, brighter flecks but minus the netting. There are some great deep pinks but I didn't find any to top Princess Margaret, although Ensign Moriarity and Mme. Emile Debatene are both tops. Gorgeous lustrous rose pink is reflected by John Howard Wigell, Armistice and others. Chippewa is a very dark, semi-double red. Krinkled White an imposing big single and President Lincoln a good single red.
A very intriguing group of peonies is the Japanese but, regrettably, many people cannot distinguish single from Japanese peonies.
Both have a saucer-shaped single row of petals, but while the singles have only a pistil in the centre, surrounded by stamens with anthers bearing pollen dust, usually yellow, Japanese varieties have a mound or dome or puffed cushion of feathery staminodes without the prominent anthers or pollen. Often, though not always, this cushion is in direct contrast of colour with the petals, as in my favourite White Cap whose snow-white cushion sits on a rose-red background really showy! Dainty and great in arrangements is Gay Paree, also with a white cushion but on a cerise pink background. Dignity is a good dark red self with staminode tips showing a gold lacing. Also a great dark is Mrs. Wilder Bancroft. Do Tell has a hint of orchid colouring and Lotus Queen is a white self.
Last, but far from least, are the hybrid peonies, generally much earlier and including gorgeous colours not found elsewhere in peonies - scarlet, peach, coral, flame, yellow, cream, etc. Doubtless the greatest hybrid is the huge double Red Charm, of football size.
Please contact the OHS or the author if you wish to republish these articles.