It is time to start the Tree Peonies Form Series! We will begin with the Singles and Lotus Forms. According to Cricket Hill descriptions which are based on the Chinese Classification System, the Singles and Lotus Forms are described as,

" Single: 1-3 layers of petals that are large, wide and flat. Stamens and pistils are exposed. These flowers are normally fertile."
"Lotus: Large and close fitting petals in 4-5 slightly overlapping layers forming the shape of a lotus flower. Both stamens and pistils are exposed

For anyone interested in reading the descriptions and seeing examples of the forms, this is their website:
https://www.treepeony.com/page...

Please feel free to post pics from past years! The more the better!

Noid Single Form


Joseph Rocks Single Form


Noid #2 I think this fits the Lotus Form.

I had one potted woody peony bloom last summer, I hope it will continue to grow for me. Center Stage

Lovely pictures as usual Karen and Anya Here are some of my single tree peonies with comments;
Black Panther; still going but short on blooms. Strangely attacked by slugs for first two years so I initially thought it just wasn't blooming




Gauguin; hardy here and a late bloomer. Picked up the courage to move it last year - needed a backhoe after 15 years





Nike; one bloom then it died





Spring Carnival - single to semi-double; tough one here with many stems that need support for me



Delavayi (lutea var. ludlowii) - OK, no blooms here (ever!) but had it been growing in a few Zones higher it would have had lovely single blooms; however, the 5ft - 6 ft foliage ever year is stunning

Beautiful, Anya and Valerie!

Anya, Center Stage has very pretty foliage and flowers. I am so glad that you can grow tree peonies in pots.

Valerie, I am sorry that Black Panther was subject to slug damage. Its flower color is so striking. I hope that you will get more blooms from BP and no slug damage this year. that Delavayi has really nice foliage. Maybe you will get some blooms this year. First time that I see Gaugin! It has a really pretty color.

I've had Black Panther for 15 years now and paid more attention after the first few years so I am always on the lookout for slugs there every Spring (none since) It still doesn't give me many blooms but the foliage is interesting - it's the one in the bottom right corner of p. delavai.
And talking of which - this species won't flower in Zones colder that 7 so no chance of blooms here.
Here's a p. Rockii (white form) that I grew many years ago.


It ultimately died but two years ago I bought Lydia Foote from Solaris - a UK rockii X white suffruticosa - which I'm hoping will be hardier here

Valerie, good luck with your woody peonies! Nate is focused on growing hardy ones so you have a good chance to get good growing and blooming peonies from him.

Valerie, I am glad that you disclose to me that the p. delavai won't bloom in cold zones. I remember sometimes back, an NGA member asked about why her tree peony had not bloomed since she planted it 7 years ago. I believe that her tree peony was also p. delavai. Now, she's in the Pacific Northwest. I think her zone is 7. I guess she's on the borderline. Maybe it is still cold for her p. delavai to bloom.

Anya, that's good to know that Nate is hybridizing for cold hardiness. Not that I need it but it will be nice for people in the north to be able to grow some tree peonies on the ground. Valerie, I hope your new purchase will prove to be hardier than the above Rockii. I have always thought that the Rockii is very hardy, but I suppose it is not hardy to zone 4 or lower.

This article might be of interest for those who grow woody peonies:
https://solarisfarms.com/2021/...

for the link Anya. It was interesting to compare my growing conditions with those of certain woody species listed by Nate. My p. delavayi subsp. Ludlowii (seed from the RHS and described by Nate as separate species) seems to be most like his p. Ludlowii, especially in height. It has always grown on the east side of what is now a huge cedar hedge that has been limbed up. The annual drop of dead cedar foliage has made a wonderful growing medium despite the very invasive cedar roots. My plant does grow many new basal shoots every year as all previous growth is lost each winter.
Three years ago I planted many ostii seeds as Feng Dan Bai is very hardy here -

I still cannot nail down the difference between "single" and "lotus" bloom types For example, this is "Snow Lotus" below, but it does not have 4-6 rows of petals. However, it does never open flat (like a single type), but it keeps its "lotus" shape



Again, the Cup of Shining Night also keeps the lotus form till the end:




Furthermore, I would include Guardian of the Monastery in the same "lotus" group:



Technically speaking, even Hoki can be included in the "lotus" group because it has less than 6 rows of petals, although its inner petals are a bit shorter than the outer ones.




This is my favourite bloom type I like the way they "sit" on the whole plant, and I like how they close at night and in cloudy weather. Do single "flat" blooms close? I think I don't have anything that may be classified as "single flat". Sapphire Blue might be in that group, but mine was planted last fall (2021), so Saphire Blue has not bloomed for me yet.

However, if we follow the Cricket Hill picture:
https://www.treepeony.com/page...

Snow Lotus, Cup of Shining Night and Guardian of the Monastery may be classified as "lotus, semi-double". but Hoki might be "Chrysanthemum, semi-double". This is a bit confusing for me.

Absolutely gorgeous photos, Jasmin. The one with the kitty is my favorite 😻

Agree with LG! Your garden is so lush and gorgeous, Jasmin! Can't wait to see it with the millstones integrated with the rest of your changes!

with LG and Liz! Stunning blooms, Jasmin! Love the closeup pics! I am glad to see your Snow Lotus. The first photo of it really caught my eye today - such a pure white color; nice clean and crisp delineation of the flares against the whiteness of the petals makes for a gorgeous effect. Can't wait for my GotM to get going in my garden. I hope to see such a beautiful bloom in my garden this spring.

Beautiful garden pictures Jasmin!

Jasmin, Anya, Karen & Valerie, what beautiful pictures.
Jasmin your garden photos really capture your space well, so serene and peaceful.

Here are some of my singles

P Ostii



Teni- it was completely smashed during the floods. No sign of life yet



Two photos of Nike. It was two feet tall and smashed during the flood . I do see some red pips coming up.





Fading



Themis.


Charon



Trendy

LG - love your p.ostii and the colour of Charon is so intensely awesome. So sad your peonies were trashed in the floods - not too late surely to see the noses appearing this year?

Thank you all for your kind words and acorns. Yes, the lotus flower form is my favourite; I am genuinely attracted to these flowers.

After I posted my pics, I found out that, according to the Cricket Hill blog post, High Noon is classified as lotus. I will edit my post in "Chrysanthemum and Rose Types". Here is High Noon one more time, classified as lotus.



I am still confused with the classification of the peony flower types. For example, Hoki may bloom either as lotus or chrysanthemum, but I prefer when it blooms as lotus.

Thanks Val. I am not going to give up hope on anything until summer. Hopefully they will come up strong from the roots.

Jasmine, I am confused also. I will have to check at the next APS. Convention I attend and see how the show classes are designated.

Wow LG, that purple of Charon is stunning! That flower alone deserves more acorns than I can give. Does that color last through the day? Is this its normal color? I am glad that you were able to capture it at just the right moment.

Jasmin, I think we can classify the flowers how they look like. I think my High Noon fits the Chrysanthemum Form because it has 6 or more layers sometimes.