Annette, what do you use for a ground cover? Pine needles?

Thanks you all for your kind comments.

Mary, I do use pine straw as mulch here, we put down 80 bales once per year. However, I don't mulch on top of the peonies

Thanks Annette. I don't think I have ever seen pine straw here in bales. I do have a pine tree that has a ton of needles around the base. Was thinking about starting to spread them as mulch in the rest of my garden. Preen, then pine needles. I also grind up the garden detritus each fall trying to mix green and brown but it comes out pretty heavy. I spread it hoping it will decompose over time and add to the nutrients of the beds.

Mary, I have never used Preen. If the mulch is thick enough, it keeps the weeds away for the most part. What kind of plants can Preen be used around? I'm afraid of killing off my plants.

Preen is a pre emergent which means it stops seeds from germinating. You would not want to place in areas that you are hoping for peony seeds to sprout because it would prevent that from happening.

Growers of peonies that I know do use pre emergents. On Preen label, it says you can use with peonies. Preen also has a more natural pre emergent that is essentially corn gluten, which works pretty well too.

We live next to a weed infested field and have struggled with invasives for years. Trying some of these things has helped a bit.

My Paeonia 'Scarlet Heaven' did good in 2017.

Oh Frank. It is gorgeous. Love that deep rich red.

Very nice 'Scarlet Heaven', Frank! Maybe I should have bought this one instead of 'Unique' last fall... Was it a fast grower for you as I read in a description?

Paeonia x (Itoh) 'Scarlet Heaven'

Purchased from Swenson, fall 2013. No blooms in 2014 ( at least no photo)

did good in 2015

Purchased Peony 'Unique' from Swenson 2 years later in 2015.

Progress is just like Scarlet Heaven. No blooms in 2016. Looks good in 2017.

Oh My! That's a gorgeous red! Didn't think I need another red peony until I see your pic of Scarlet Heaven. Have to find a good space for this one.

Gorgeous pics Frank!

I have 2 Scarlet Heavens in a front bed. I'm going to have to move them, they sit in an area where a large amount of water flows through, and they keep getting covered by yard debris.

I checked on them this evening, and they've both started emerging from the ground. Here's a pic of one of them.

The color is definitely beautiful, however, many shrinked and untidy flowers of Itoh make me disappointing.

I agree Littlebin. Some itoh varieties do show this characteristic. Another shortcoming to the itoh is that they don't make good cut flowers. Their petals can shatter very fast when cut even at newly opened stage.

Frank, your Scarlet Heaven is gorgeous!!

Here is my first Itoh Peony! It started blooming last week and it's called Julia Rose. It starts out deep pink and blooms into raspberry pink then fully opens to this pale peach!

Nice! Sorry, I did not catch the name the first time! The pics threw me off because I thought Julia Rose was a semidouble bloom and this appears to be single.

Peonillian! I also have Julia Rose and hope it will bloom this season. It looks really nice!

Welcome Peonillian!
That is beautiful! Itohs are addictive because they are so easy to grow!

Here is a new one. Caroline Constabel.

Gorgeous! And very unusual!

Please remind me who was originator of this variety and where you bought it, I cannot find it in the APS registry.