Mieko2 said:Well, this is certainly a disappointment. This is an Itoh ' Momotara Peach Boy' from Fina Gardens. Nice eyes, but only that one root to support all that crown!

Wow, that is not good! I really like Fina Peonies so it breaks my heart to say this. But you are not going to see blooms for at least 2 years with that root eventhough the eyes are huge. It takes alot of energy to get the itoh flowers to bloom and there is just not enough stored energy there to bring the buds to maturation. You will get buds but I doubt they will make to blooming. They should give you 50% credit for that.

Thanks Karen. I planted it. We shall see what happens. And I am like Jerry- I dig a $100 hole for each of my peonies. I really have noticed a difference since I have started adding Azomite to my planting holes.
I am getting excited about the next Spring's blooms.

Fina normally has such nice roots, that's disappointing, LG. I'd contact them about it since they should send a piece big enough to support the number of eyes on the root. I ordered Langley from Pure Peonies, too, haven't gotten that box yet. Only 2 peonies from them, got Addie Tischler as well. Hidden Springs and I think I'm done for the year, yeah! I added Azomite and BulbTone to the newly planted roots this year, hope it makes a difference as well. It certainly did when I added it in the spring.

In good, loose soil, the size of the hole is not as important as it would be in poor clay soil. Just keep away from the crown when top dressing with fertilizer or other additives. Visualize where the drip line would be with a mature plant which, as a good guess, would be about a 3 foot circle and add the various nutrients there. This will promote good root growth in time.

All good information to re-hear. I didn't put anything in the holes with new peonies or transplanted ones. I have almost 50 pounds of azomite coming and figured I could top dress and work into the soil several inches from the crown. Not as good as putting in the bottom of the hole but oh well. I was just desperate to get them in the ground. Still have to bag up about 30 dahlias and move to crawl space. Then deal with a gazillion lily bulbs and iris and daylily tubers/roots. Weather is really cooperating. DH ground up a ton of mulch for me and put it on the new bed. I will rototill it in today then plant my bushes. Need to get more heavy metal posts to start my moose fence. They are coming down from the hills already. A mama and baby moose causes a huge pileup on the road into Anchorage from Palmer. People driving really fast then wham into the moose. Not sure why that happens. Hard to miss seeing two moose up ahead. Guess they try to slow up quickly and then get rear ended.

My Adelman's (Peonyparadise) order came today. Here is the Itoh/Intersectional ' Sonoma Amethyst' they sent me. I counted 16 eyes on it. The I am ecstatic.

That's a nice root, LG! Are you leaving it in one piece or dividing before planting?

Mary, I still have weeks to go before deciding if any of my dahlias are worth keeping for next year. Good thing, too, because I have to paint a room before carpet is laid this weekend, then I'm hoping to have the rest of my peonies to plant, and still have one of the beds and a bit of another to put edging on.....getting tired thinking of it!

Wowzer LG! Adelman's never disappoint. I am very happy with the quality of roots they sent me. All of them has more than the number of eyes they advertised.

My Solaris Farms order.
Group pic.
Hot Chocolate-thanks Jerry for sharing beautiful pics of your HC. Saw it on Solaris's site and has to have it. :)
Cora Stubbs
Double Fern Leaf
Carnation Bouquet

I need to read Jerry's post about fern leaf soil requirements.

Nancy Nora got trimmed and she looked so cute. She fits right in my palm. And I am a petite person.

Wow, they all look fantastic! I bet you are going to get blooms from these roots next spring.

Thanks Karen! Yes, I think so. I will be a repeat customer of Solaris for sure.

Indeed they are all great looking. Especially Sonoma Amethyst. That is a real beauty.

All dahlias are bagged and in the basement and for now I don't care if I never see another one, in bloom or not. They take as much work as everything else put together. And then in spring, it starts all over. Unlike the lovely peony that just gets planted and keeps on giving year to year with little to no help.

The garage is cleaned up and just has buckets of stuff that need replanting. Tons of lily bulbs. I am still of a mind to simply lay out rows and stuff them in so I can pitch the ones I don't want next year as they bloom. and tag the others as to what they are, how tall, color, etc. Then next fall I can rearrange into something more visually appealing. Although a flower in bloom, no matter the configuration is beautiful so that's okay.

Thanks to all who commented. I have already planted that 'Sonoma Amethyst' intact. I am hoping for blooms next year if we have a decent Spring.
Lily, your Solaris order is fabulous.
Mary Stella, I have several pots of dahlias and I just bring them in and out each year. I am getting lots of blooms right now. Do you grow yours for cutflower bouquets?

Sound like you have gotten a lot done, Mary! How many dahlias did you dig and store this year? I think I am just going to save about 10 dahlias and forget about all the others. This year dahlias have not been good. There have been just too many issues with them.

Mieko, do you put them in a cool place over winter? I would think they need around 50 to not just dry out or do you sprinkle them a bit like when you store geraniums. I only grow them to enjoy in the garden for the most part. I have been cutting blooms to take to the botanical garden as people seem to like them. And I have started cutting some for my own house.

Karen, I was so disgusted and exhausted with all the work involved that I didn't bother to make an exact count except for the first batch. But I would estimate about 80 at a minimum. Not many compared with others here. I didn't even bother to note which ones I bagged up. It really doesn't matter. Just takes time I don't have. I won't look until next March when they come out of the crawl space. I should at least have some to plant in the ground, hopefully some of those that I particularly like. I am slowly planting my new bed out front. Have the bushes in, the one spruce tree (a little short fat fellow), some purple (setosa) iris, and some white Siberians. Then put some dark ajuga around the back of the hydrangea and two ninebarks. Tomorrow I will eyeball again and try to figure out where some hosta would look good. Plus I have three Christmas Ferns I think might work there. Then the lilies go in. I could fill the entire bed just with those. But I am trying to leave space (good spacing between) for dahlias. Just not as many as I usual plant. I planted my two chunks of Border Charm peony in a front curve. That should look nice in a year or so. Lemon Chiffon is on the other side. All other peonies are in the other bed be the sidewalk.

It wasn't a great dahlia year here either, Karen. None grew as tall as they should've and they bloomed so late....we're supposed to get our first below 30 night on Thursday, chances of snow mixed with rain, so they just never really performed. I'll probably save as many as I have energy for just to see if I can experiment with overwintering but I don't think I'll be a big dahlia collector. They're gorgeous when they bloom well but I don't think they'll really cut it here.

Solaris's roots were great this year! I didn't take pics but they looked a lot like Lily's. Got one tree peony from them, Angel Emily, and several Saunders tree peonies from Adelman's--never thought I'd complain about getting big roots but those were some hard holes to dig! Solaris had some amazing seedlings, both herbaceous and tree, that I'll be looking for when they start selling.

Oh my goodness, Mary! 80 clumps of dahlias dug, cleaned, and stored away! No wonder you are exhausted. That is an amazing feat to accomplish even in a week. But it sounds like you did it in a few days. You are super woman! You deserve an acorn. Hope you have a few days of rest after all that work.

Liz, the dahlias also bloom very late for me this year. Some have not even bloomed. They are still only a foot tall. Don't know what happen with those. For those that are blooming, it is blooming some nice blooms finally. Did you get all your peony roots planted?

Oh, I am a very small dahlia grower. People like Dan and Geof (can't remember though there are others) are 'power growers'. Their pictures go on forever. But I appreciate the compliment and acorn.

I don't understand why your dahlias don't do well. PA should have nice weather. Arlene can grow dahlias in NY and it is hotter than Hades there.

I have all of the peonies that I've received so far planted, Karen. I still have boxes to come from Pure Peonies, Hidden Springs and Peony Shop. I haven't received emails from any of them but HS has been very good about updating their website so I know why the delay. PS shows mine shipped and expected to show up week 40 which is this week. I sent a note to PP but haven't seen a reply from them yet. We're supposed to have our first below freezing night with possibility of snow overnight, then the weather is supposed to warm back up to the 60's tomorrow, not anywhere near ready for winter.

Liz, did you order from the Peony Shop in Holland, Netherlands? I received my order from HS Monday and PS came around the 21st of Sept.

It is strange. When I get up around 5-6, the temp is usually in the mid 40's. Then as it gets on to 7-9 it drops quickly. Now it is 27F (of course). Frost covers the ground. Around noon it is up to the mid 40's or even mid 50's, thank heavens. That is when I plant. But pretty soon it will start dropping consistently. For now the temp in the afternoon is perfect for gardening, at least for me. Better than too hot, and I get pretty warm anyway struggling to get it done. Heavy lifting is pretty much over. Need to dump some pots but other than that it is just crawling around putting bulbs in the ground; oh and edging.

Actually that is about as difficult, maybe more so, than digging and moving pots. I have to sort of 'boom out' to dig the small holes, put in the bulb or tuber, then cover it over. My back really really hates that. There is simply no other way to do it that I have figured out. I am of course sitting but still...