Fina has sent some wonderful roots the last few years, haven't they? Looking forward to seeing bloom pics from some of those next year, Annette! I especially like Pink Hawaiian Coral, I haven't had any luck with that one here for some reason, it's the only coral I've had that didn't grow for me.

I have completed planting peonies for the year. I took photos of most of the tubers. I ordered from Brooks, Fina, Jung, Wild and Tree Peony Gardens.

I was happy with all of the tubers. All were of reasonable size and had over 3 eyes showing.

The Itoh peony 'Court Jester' from Tree Peony Gardens (TPG) was so big I had to cut it in two, I hate when that happens:)

The root photos are posted on my flickr account. The vendor is listed with each photo.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/...

Your tree peonies look AMAZING, Frank! So excited for you! I wonder if someone is going to have blooms on his new tree peonies next year??!!!

I ordered from Brooks this year, haven't received my roots yet. Actually got a box from TPG yesterday, kinda' scared to look at them, my expectations are going to be too high after seeing your trees!

@Liz, thanks, I'm loving to tubers sent by Fina Gardens, 5 of them got planted today, I still have 3 left to plant. I'm waiting for Center Stage from Adelman's so that I can plant Candy Heart, Miss America, and Ann Cousins around it.

Today was really productive. I was able to dig and transplant Hillary, Pastel Splendor, Coral Charm and Sorbet into the new bed. In addition, I had Takara in a pot that I bought in the spring that also got planted. I also added lilies Anastasia, Satisfaction, Pearl Jennifer, Sweet Surrender, and Regal Album, that I've been growin in pots, to the new bed with the peonies. I can't wait to see how this bed is going to turn out as it matures.

I ordered Avalanche, Miss Melbourne, Myrtle Tischler, and Pink Princess from GH wild last week. Hopefully, those will come soon. I'm in a peony planting mood


@Frank, thanks for sharing your pictures, your tubers look wonderful!

That bed should be gorgeous. Can hardly wait to see pictures.

Thanks Mary, I'm looking forward to next spring here as well. I'll be sure to post pictures as the plants bloom.

Annette, that bed sounds wonderful! And a great idea to be planting Peonies and Lilies at the same time- they both take a couple of years to reach full height and maturity and can develop nicely together. I've been adding new Peonies to established beds, so I'm keeping a close eye on young plants to make sure they're not overwhelmed by neighboring plants...yes, I do plant too densely, LOL. Having added those and some bearded Irises, it's kept me on top of keeping the beds tidy, which has been nice

I too tend to plant things too close together. It is an art and skill to have everything looks harmoniously and beautiful together. I guess that I am still much a novice and has been trying to learn from others on the forum. Annette, your peony and clematis beds are so beautiful. I look forward to see your pics in the spring.

Karen

Can't wait to see pictures, Annette! Your garden combinations are so beautiful....Would love to see some of yours next spring, too, Neal!

I wonder if there is a gardener alive who can perfectly balance the size of their new beds against all that needs to be divided/transplanted or is purchased/gifted to them that year? If so, I need to take lessons from them! I also plant too closely together. Have the best of intentions but run out of space before all is planted....

Kousa, we both should have some nice Itohs with the roots received from Select Plus! Did you end up dividing yours or did you just plant them? I divided 2 of mine; first went perfectly but wasn't happy with 2nd, didn't get the feeder roots as evenly as I'd have liked.

I only divided one, a Lemon Chiffon, with less than happy results. I believe some of the tubers apparently did well, but the remaining ones I replanted in a bad spot followed by an exceptionally difficult wet spring. They rotted. It might have survived had I not dug it up. I have a greater respect now for peony roots that are established and have deep roots. Two or three that I really thought were dead, and DIDN'T dig up, came back the following year. I really need to reorder Red Charm as it is one that I was particularly vicious in digging up. I was so angry at the top rot and at (thinking) I was going to lose it. It would most surely have survived as it was one of my older ones and I had to dig over a foot to get all the tubers and roots out. Dumb Dumb

I surely hope to never have to dig any more established Peonies, it's like digging up trees!

@Neal, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who tends to plant things closer than recommended. Karen, I like to get a lush effect quickly😁

I did have to dig up Coral Charm, it was easy, and struggling in the back if a bed where the canopy from the trees had over grown, and prevented it from getting watered, the rootball was puny. Sorbet was a little harder, having grown better that Coral Charm.

Pastel Splendor and Hillary were harder to dig out. I did water the areas well before attempting to dig up the peonies. I know tuber pieces of all of them were left behind, maybe those will mature and send up new plants.

We're supposed to get a lot of rain tomorrow, which I'm looking forward to. Cora Louise and Do Tell that have to be moved have good sized rootballs, I'm not looking forward to digging them out.

I also need to remove some of my bearded irises in front of Shimanishiki and Bartzella. The irises have multiplied, and are starting to crowd the base of these peonies.

Here's a picture of the new bed. The Brugs will have to be removed. I plan on putting in 2 of the tree peony Banquet from Adelman's and I have 2 yellow tree peonies in pots that have to be planted as well. I've had the yellow tree peonies since the spring, that I purchased from a local nursery.

The trellis was put together and placed last week over the walkway. It's got DA rose Evelyn on the bed side and DA rose Crown Princess Margherita (CPM) on the opposite side. The base of the trellis has clematis Henryii, that I started in pots from inexpensive roots that I got from from Walmart this past spring. CPM was in the same bed as Coral Charm and Sorbet, and it too was struggling there, but doing better now, since it was transplanted months ago.

Coral Charm, Pink Hawaiian Princess, and Coral Supreme are planted in front if rose Evelyn. I'm working on the color echoes, and Evelyn has apricot/pink color that I thought would oh well with the "Corals".

Looks wonderful Annette! That's the stage of a bed that is dangerous for me, it looks like there's a lot more available space than there really is, LOL.

Can't wait to see the beautiful blooms in your new garden next spring, Annette! Your pictures are always so gorgeous!

Thanks Neal and Liz!

Neal, you are so correct, there's plenty of space for planting, and the Adelman's peonies
arrived today. Thank goodness I'm off tomorrow, so I'll try to dig the rest of the peonies that need to be moved, and get the new arrivals planted. I got home so late from work today, I didn't have the time, energy, or inclination to unpack the box.

We got an amazing amount of rain today, so hopefully the ground will be nice and soft for digging and planting. Except for a few potted plants being blown over, we didn't sustain any damage or loose electricity

Your bed looks so neat, Annette. What do you use as mulch? I think we are going to have some beautiful pics next spring. Can't wait for spring to get here. I know. Winter is not even here yet. It is going to be a long wait. I am really looking forward and hoping that I will get some blooms from the newly planted plants esp. the fernleaf and the new itohs that I planted. I also added some new daffodils to my garden which I also look forward to seeing their blooms.

Thanks Karen😊 We use long needle pine-straw as mulch, except around and over the peonies. I'm looking forward to spring as well, and maybe I'll be lucky if I get some blooms from some of these new plants.

I was browsing one of the peony websites, can't remember which one, and they recommended not allowing the peony to bloom the 1st year after it's planted. I guess that would help the plant focus on developing, instead of blooming. I had heard that about clematis and roses, but not about doing this with peonies.

Strangely, I'm looking forward to winter, and getting the chill time that these plants need to grow and bloom successfully.

I've also got some bulbs coming from Colorblends, that will be planted in the new bed. Hyacinth City of Haarlem will be planted at the front edge, daffodil Winston Churchill in the bed and around the newly planted lilies (which will hopefully keep the rabbits out of the bed), and tulip Akebono at the back, close to the walkway.

When I planted Nellie Saylor in the back bed, close to Carol and Scarlett O'Hara, I accidentally dug up some daffodil Tiritomba, so I planted those in front of Pink Hawaiian Coral in the new bed. It's a split-cup daff with a yellow perianth and orange corona.