It makes a pretty cut flower, Alex. Not as much hail this year so far, at least not large sized hail. Mary Gretchen was a very slow starter, seemed to stay small for quite a bit longer than the peonies surrounding it. It's a short peony anyway but it seemed to stay just a few inches tall for weeks. Next thing I knew it had around 10 small buds on it! Pinched off all except 3, all opened but faded very quickly. The blooms were absolutely perfect but small. Can certainly see Salmon Dream in it. A lot of my foliage was damaged by the big snow we had the first weekend in May, Mary Gretchen was up late enough not to be impacted.
I've been taking lots of pics, just haven't had time to get them uploaded. I think you'll all experience my bloom season and the majority of the pics I took at the peony convention over the next few months, just traveling too much this spring and summer to get them organized. I have had more first time blooms this year than ever before, some disappointments as well, though. Have several Itohs that are starting to open, hopefully I can catch them tomorrow or Friday before it gets dark because I'm flying out yet again on Saturday....hate travel during peony season!
