Hi,

I bought this mislabelled peony more than five years ago.
Is it possible to identify this white bomb peony as 'Charlie's White' ?
I haven't noticed a fragrance, though I don't notice fragrances in any of our 15 or so peonies.

Thanks,
Charlie

June 11, 2016

really good-looking, but i have no idea if it is charlie...

Could be 'Charlie's White'. Very nice blooms!

when it comes up this spring take pics as it emerges and every stage along the way. Note whether it has side buds and what the foliage looks like and what named peonies are blooming at the same time. Definitely check for fragrance and post back here. All of us have NOIDs, we should all post the same info to see if we can narrow down possibilities.

Thanks, Frank, Anya, Liz.

Liz, kind suggestion. Will do.
I really don't like not knowing the name of a cultivar. Chronic perfectionist?
I think I bought the peony in question as 'Sword Dance', but do usually try to buy perennials in flower.

Here is my Charlie's White. Others blooming at this same time were Buckeye Belle, Heidi, and Sword Dance!

Here are some photos of my Charlie's White for your comparison.







Side bud bloom


Other white peonies with similar forms that I can think of are Bridal Shower and Eastern Star. You can try to compare yours to those to see if they resemble yours esp following the guideline given by Liz above.

Really appreciate the pictures and info, LG, Karen.
Making comparisons and will certainly follow Liz's advice.

I've been planting and maintaining mixed perennial beds for over 30 years but only came to peonies less than 10 years ago. We now have too many for our own small property but really recognize some of their attraction (not least their hardiness and longevity). Have heard it said that the average longevity of herbaceous perennials, in mixed perennial beds, is 3 or 4 years. Of course, the unruly (prolific runners and seeders) do much better, but are really part of the problem.

And like the garden phlox, everybody notices the peonies when they're in bloom; such lovely colours!

Peonies are long lived-I have several for well over 30 years.
One neighbour has some which are probably 50 years old.

Two of mine were planted by the original home owners in 1962.

Caroline, Arlene, interesting to hear.

As with our hellebores, I'd say their longevity alone would make our peonies very good buys.

Wow. Didn't realize you guys had such long lived peonies. Mine are mere babies then. Guess I won't be around for their 30+ birthdays. lol.

If you did make it for another 30 years we'd probably all be compost by then!

ROTFL. Ya' think.

The old gardeners' adage is "Gardens die with their gardener". Guess we should add "---, except the peonies".

I am afraid that will happen to mine. I want to remember to do as Jerry did and offer my peonies to others here and at home before selling my house. Assuming I cannot dig them and move them to a new home.