Looking at those TPs you are always wondering if you gave them enough space to grow. Some of them are like 10 -12 ft wide.

Wow, Alex Your pictures are amazing

What is the climate like in Moscow that they can have so much success with tree peonies? I thought Moscow is too far north for tree peonies

Those tree peonies are amazing! Do you think they were individual plants or multiples planted close together? I've never seen any that spread that much! Gorgeous!

Moscow is colder than Toronto, but they are protecting TPs in winter. I guess that's why they are so huge. Some winter die back occurs occasionally. Those are separate plants, but some are not too far - comparatively speaking, of course - 6-8 ft apart. You can see the difference in flower colors to understand where one ends. I guess in 20 years time we all have somewhat similar-sized TPs. I am, however, not expecting my Japanese TPs to reach those sizes. To me the biggest ones look more like Rockii-influenced varieties.

Alex, it will be interesting to find out how they protect the tree peonies in Moscow. I am assuming that Moscow's winters are harsher than ours in zone 5. Could Moscow be considered zone 4, or even 3?

Jasmin, I did not go into details, but Marianna Uspenskaya who is curator of TP program in MSU published a book and there are pictures of protected peonies. My understanding there is a frame - some kind of wooden sticks or something similar to keep the shape and material around it. The protective layer could be conifer branches or more advanced breathable plastic like Lutrasil Pro Landscape Fabric. Let me see if I can find any pics online. I am sure with a warming climate it would be quite ok to grow those around Moscow. I think the biggest problem is moisture control in winter and spring freeze/unfreeze temperature fluctuations.

Alex, I could not find the book on the Internet, but I found this long article (see the link). Perhaps these pages are from Uspenskaya's book. I translated the text through Google Translate.

https://coollib.com/b/277368-m...

There are some exciting propagation methods described, especially the old Chinese methods. Interesting! Thank you for sharing

Yep, that is one of her books. I also noticed some new propagation methods there. You can actually see the protection pics there almost at the end.

Yes, I noticed the protection pics. It is how we protect sensitive hydrangea here. It might work. That also means that our friends from zone 4 may have TPs that reliably bloom and don't freeze to the ground every year. Not sure about zone 3 though. It might be too cold even with this method of protection

Interesting book. Again, thanks for sharing. It is even more interesting that Dr. Uspenskaya researches the medical properties of peonies:
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.o...

I know people who grow Rockii varieties in Muskoka, which is colder than Toronto for sure. They mention that snow cover is very important for them. Looking outside and all the snow is gone?
By the way, protecting hydrangea in winter with conifer branches never worked for me in the past.

Sevilla and gardens of Real Alcazar in March 2022

Very nice, Alex! Thanks for sharing!

anyagoro said: Very nice, Alex! Thanks for sharing!

It also looks like you had a great time.

Seville in March is outstanding! Love it! Probably April and beginning of May are also good or even better, but the smell of citrus trees everywhere and wonderful warm weather in March made my stay unforgettable. Originally I wanted to have a trip to Cordoba, but thought why ? looking for perfection ? it is so great here... I have a few gardens left...

Those gardens are magnificent Alex!! I hope you got to spend a lot of time in them. Thanks for sharing.

Magnificent gardens, Alex What are the trees with red flowers in the first photo? Thank you for sharing

I think it is bougainvillea, but I could be wrong. There will be other pics with it blooming in Seville.

Maybe Crepe Myrtle in March forming trees..?

I thought it might be Bougainvillea trained on some sort of pillars, but it could be Crepe Myrtle. I am not sure if I have ever seen a Crepe Myrtle tree in person. Cannot wait to see other pics

Looks like a Bouganvillea Tree.