This tree peony was grafted onto a herbaceous peony root stock. I did not know this when I bought it. Apparently, it is a common practice that allows the tree peony root to get a healthy start. Once the tree peony is established, the herbaceous root is supposed to die. Well, in this case, the herbaceous peony was out growing the tree peony. At any rate, this year I pulled out all shoots from the herbaceous root. This seems to have worked. I am much smarter now:)

Beautiful and looks just like the one I lost to mice infestation. Good idea on clipping the herbaceous if you are sure that is what it is I would be afraid to although if there is growth from the woody stem, then you are assured of the tree plant's survival and can risk cutting one or two of the trees shoots to eliminate the herbaceous. Sounds good.

This past spring, I got really aggravated with two of my TPs that were 2 to 3 years old. The herbaceous roots are obvious when they occur. But I waited patiently to differentiate the two. When it was obviously a herbaceous root sprouting, in April, I dug up both TPs, rinsed the roots off with water, and used a saw to cut the majority of the herbaceous root off in one piece. Then replanted the TP and replanted the herbaceous root. Both TP and herbaceous roots survived and bloomed this spring. I guess I am just lucky.

I have a tree peony, Hoki, that I've had in the ground for at least 10 years and now it's decided to send up shoots from the herbaceous part? I'm not sure what's going on with it, the nurse root should have been dead and gone a long time ago. I'm going to watch it and see what it looks like when it blooms. I do have peonies that self-seed themselves all over the place and I want to see if maybe that happened. If I can't tell, then I'll have to do some exploratory surgery... This is Hoki.

Ticker, Frank - absolutely stunning flowers. Once I have a budget again for gardening, I'm getting them. Too bad there isn't a swoon smiley. Thank you for posting.