The fern leaf foliage is usually dead by August. I just cut it off about an inch high for location markers the same as any other peony.

Jerry,
I didn't know they liked to be planted like that.
Mine die down in July, I think.

How are your peonies today, Jerry? Do your fernleafs flowers make it through the cold OK?

It appears as though we dodged the bullet. We dropped to 29° only for a short time. All my regular peonies are standing upright so they made it through the chill. The fernies show no damage to the foliage but it remains to be seen if the buds made it without damage.

Two small doubles planted side by side.





Rosea still looking healthy.

I always feel like everything around here bodes pretty well with below freezing temps until I see the 18-20 (Fahrenheit) degree temps, that's when things get damaged for the year.

That is good news, Tracey. I can attest to what you said. Eventhough my area got down to 22 last night, I am glad to report my peonies are doing fine after my check today.

Here is my P. t. rosea, barely out of the ground but showing buds!


P. t. Plena

Trust me, I used to constantly worry about my plants in the early spring and the various fluctuations in Spring temperatures. At some point I began to realize that panicking got me nowhere. Our peonies break ground and can really take quite a hit with the weather. Lots of times you'll see them look a bit droopy after colder temperatures but once it warms up, having done nothing special, they rebound. They really are meant to take a whole lot in regards to weather. Overall, hail damage is one of those things you can't reverse that and a really hard freeze.... Below 20, at least that has been my experience here in the frozen tundra .

Your Rosea look about the same as mine. Is this its first year as mine was planted last Fall?

I bought it from Adelman Peonies last year and planted it last fall. You got Rosea from them too right, Jerry? I think many of us on the forum bought the Rosea from Adelman Peonies last year.

I bought mine last year also. The price for such a rarely found fern leaf was too good to pass. Adelman was the only major nursery offering it. I think HSFF has them occasionally but not this year.

I was inspired to buy some peony seeds from APS of the fern variety, with chances of pink

I almost bought rosea from another source the year before but talked myself out of it. It was from a place I hadn't ordered from before and they wanted $150, so glad I waited!

Looks like we made it through the cold nights. We had 1.5 inches of rain last night so they look a bit droopy. First two are of the species single planted in 2009.

Jerry, I'm glad your plants did well, despite the cold weather, and I'm really enjoying seeing your blooms you posted. How long do the fern leafs usually bloom for?

This has been a strange Spring for me. Usually, the singles bloom first by about a few days then the doubles. This year, the doubles bloomed first and the singles are just straggling along, many stems with no buds. To answer your question, the combined normal bloom cycle would be about 3 weeks until the flowers die. We have about 10 days of warm weather forecasted so all the remaining peonies should show some rapid growth. Next bloomers should be Early Scout and Roselette.

Thanks for letting me know! That a nice amount of time over which the FL peonies bloom. Looking forward to seeing your Roselett and Early Scout blooms!

This is P.tenuifolia ssp.lithophile purchased in 2012. Very slow to increase. Note the leaves are more finely cut than a regular fern leaf. I will try to take a better pic tomorrow if we have more sun.

I have mentioned previously but, to repeat, any pictures which I post are completely free to anyone wishing to use them for personal use or catalog. I have no personal attachment to them and seldom keep them longer than the next season.

I had some early double fl buds frostbitten when the temps were up and down .

Jerry, would you remind me what your soil formula is? I finally purchased some species and fernleafs and know I need to amend my soil for success. I have had a hybrid fernleaf for five or so years but it doesn't have the fine leaves. More like a regular peony. I got it from Adelman's and it was simply called "fern leaf hybrid.' We have two at the botanical garden that I think are mislabeled. I will take pics this spring and post. Perhaps you can help us get the right labels on them.

I do not have an exact recipe but typically I would mix 2 or 3 bags of "compost with cow manure", a bag of either plain sand or potting soil with a high sand content, and a bag of fine mulch "hardwood fines" and add about a pint of fertilizer. This is mixed in a wheelbarrow as evenly as possible. The hardwood fines mulch which is stocked by Lowe's in my area is probably 75% rotted which makes the mix sort of light and fluffy. All this goes into a raised bed at least 8 inches deep. It does settle rather quickly so it needs to be compacted as well as mounded before planting. Hope this helps.

My rosea this morning. The blossom is a true rose color and looks great alongside the red fern leafs.