Came home from work today to find this bloom from my Xue Ta TP. Beginning of Year 2 in the ground here in NC. Enjoy. Will post more as my TPs bloom.

Wow! Such a large bloom! Is there any fragrance?
I bet you are very excited to have your first bloom
I had to cover everything this evening as they are calling for frost. I still believe I will have s peony bloom by the end of March.

Congrats, Graycrna4u! Any others getting close as well? So cool seeing blooms this early in the season!

Thanks. guys. Liz, all of TPs have shown tremendous new growth above ground and have 7 to 10 buds that should start to open any time. This year is third in the ground. The rule of thumb appears to be true with peonies - first year sleep, second year creep, and third year leap. I will post pictures as they bloom. Meiko, I didn't notice a fragrance, but I am sinus miserable from the pollen currently. I will check again today. Interesting, I got this TP from Chateau Charmarron as a Xue Ta, which is a pure white. The bloom appears to look more like Lu Xiang Qui, or fragrant green ball. If you look closely, the bloom has hints of pink around the outer edges with flecks of green and red interspersed in the flower. That would be a pleasant mix up for me. I will let you know as the bloom evolves.

What a wonderful surprise, to come home to a bloom! Thanks for sharing, and I look forward to seeing the pictures of the fully opened bloom

Here is a picture of the fully opened bloom today. Still pink around the edges, golden stamens, purple in the center. And yes it has a wonderful scent.





Hope you enjoy.

What a wonderful surprise to come home to! Is this a first year bloom? It can only get better from here.

Beautiful, and wonderful that it has a scent!

It's a beautiful bloom! Certainly not the pure white you were expecting, huh? I can see why you weren't disappointed, though!

graycrna4u said:Here is a picture of the fully opened bloom today. Still pink around the edges, golden stamens, purple in the center. And yes it has a wonderful scent.





Hope you enjoy.

Beautiful!!!I think it's close to "Jing Yu" TP
http://www.china-plants.com/wh...

Both are Chinese tree peonies, actually "Jing Yu" has another name " Sai Xue Ta" (赛雪塔), means it is superior to "Xue Ta". But I never see both, don't have a chance to compare these two varieties.

Yan, your "Xiang Yu" is very beautiful too.

huang049 said:

Beautiful!!!I think it's close to "Jing Yu" TP
http://www.china-plants.com/wh...

Thank you! Littlebin
They are so beautiful it really doesn't matter what variety it is, but it's always nice to have a nametag on them.

Ta-da The peony bloom sequence has officially started for me. Here are two opening blooms on my "Martha Stewart" white tree peony bought in 1992 in a box at K-mart.

Congrats, LG! Peony bloom season has finally begun for you! I look forward to see your beautiful peony flowers.

Congrats Meiko. It is beautiful. Keep posting as it opens. Here is the latest pic of my first TP bloom this year.
; the scent is really intoxicating if you are within a few feet of the plant. Here are two other TP blooms I have beginning to open.

Lan Bao Shi, year three and the bud is huge




and a TP that TreePeonyGarden sent me as a bonus that was not labeled.


It is going to get close to freezing here tonight. God help the TPs. Enjoy.

That's funny, LG; I got some of my first peonies from K-Mart as well, Martha Stewart brand! Mine were a BARGAIN, found 5 or 6 in a clearance bin in July or so for $0.25 each. Also bought several $0.50 roses but my dog destroyed them. All except 1 remained at our first house here in CO, I did manage to divide one and brought it with me, a large white single.

Nice, graycrna4u. I'm going to miss Tree Peony Garden.

Thank you all for being excited with me. I do hope I don't overdo it with photos. Peonies are really my favorite flowers and I love taking photos, too.
I hope that we all escape late frosts and have lots of blooms this year.

Here are today's changes. Lan Bao Shi has opened and it is a beauty. No scent, but the bloom is huge.






the unnamed TP



and I think Kousa's favorite pink is just starting to open







I love this time of year! Enjoy

Just Wow! I love all of them but the last one is still my favorite. It appears that the color this year is more of a lavender pink rather than a clear pink of years past. Really gorgeous! for sharing.

I think I mentioned but it bears repeating that one of the tree peonies we planted at the botanical garden last fall as an experiment is growing. Only a small pip but definitely survived the winter. We planted them in pots and lightly mulched. Pot surfaces are holding ice and water but I think the roots are okay. I will check once a week to update my database on growth times and then later on bloom times. They are a full zone colder than I am here just a couple of miles away but I am on the coast and get the benefit of the Japanese current.