Liz, I have never ordered from them before so I am curious if anyone else has or is familiar with their site. I have ordered from Pure Peonies before and have always been pleased with their roots. I am still waiting for a bloom from their shipments as this has only been the second year. I just want to try another vendor.

Their featured peonies' prices certainly caught my attention, I'll be checking them out when their list comes out for fall 2017. If anyone orders from them we'll have to make sure to post pics of the roots, could be a very good thing!

Well check them out on Facebook. They are resellers. So they are only as good as the company they are buying from.

Yeah, they actually say that on their webpage as an explanation of why they started their business. It'd be interesting to see their set-up; to see if they're getting shipments in bulk and just repackaging them for individual sale or if they get them in bulk then grow them up....Makes me wish the APS convention was in Oregon this next spring instead of the following one.

Sounds much like K. van Bourgondien, a broker selling plants purchased from various growers. Usually these operations are not as reliable as the top nurseries.

I don't know, they advertise 3-5 eye divisions, have several videos on their website and have a fairly active Facebook page with peony pics. They have a post in Oct about a shipment from the Netherlands. I plan to check their website to see what they're selling and what the price is this spring and I'll order at least once from them if they have any unusual varieties. I don't have a problem with being the test subject!

Thank you all for your input, very much appreciated.
I'm with you Liz, I will try them out with a small order and see what they send. If the photos on their Facebook page are true, then it's worth a gamble.

Let's agree now to post pics of the roots, good or bad, so we'll all know what they send. I think we'll do well.

If they offer 'Ballerina ', I'm buying it. It has moved to the top of my wishlist.
I don't understand why no one in the US offers it when it is a Saunders bred peony.
It looks gorgeous.

I agree, LG, Ballerina is beautiful and I WANT it! There go those green tints again, huh? Rare Peonies showed another Saunders that I'd not seen before, Audrey, that's right up there for me as well, hoping that one will be available when their catalog opens.

Since people are talking about roots, I got two Garden Treasures from Hollingsworth Peonies (http://www.hollingsworthpeonie...) that I won in the NARR. They came so well packed, and are just beautiful so I thought I'd share them here. I had previously purchased roots at White Flower Farm and American Meadows and they were well packed and looked healthy, but neither the packaging nor the roots could hold a candle to Hollingsworth's.

Any roots or tubers from a respectable nursery should be clean and packed in a non-soil medium. I remember purchasing tulips from a Holland grower and they had a national certification that stated no native soil was contained in the packaging. I have always made it a practice to thoroughly wash and sometimes sterilize any roots or rhizomes which I shipped to any out of state location. Soil should never be sent out of one's state.

Oldgardenrose said:Any roots or tubers from a respectable nursery should be clean and packed in a non-soil medium. I remember purchasing tulips from a Holland grower and they had a national certification that stated no native soil was contained in the packaging. I have always made it a practice to thoroughly wash and sometimes sterilize any roots or rhizomes which I shipped to any out of state location. Soil should never be sent out of one's state.

I'm guessing that's so that you wouldn't transfer diseases or bugs into a non-native environment?

Just to be clear, I've never received a speck of soil with any of the bulbs or roots I've purchased. The packaging in my photos from Hollingsworth is not soil. The others were also not.

Also, I think any grower shipping out of state must be inspected by their ag department for sanitation practices. I always blame some of my strange weeds on buying top soil or mulch which came from various states.

Joey, WFF and American Meadows are both resellers which means they bought roots from growers.
If you buy from APS growers, you are getting peonies from folks who care about their reputation. The peonies from them will be well cared for and will do better in your garden.
Hollingsworth is one of the best.

Jerry, they are packing the peonies in peat moss to make sure they are not loose in the shipping box. I got an order this year from a reputable peony grower and the roots were broken from being shipped loose in the box.

I agree, LG, love Hollingsworth's. I know there was a lot of concern with the sale of the farm but so far I haven't seen anything negative in their product or service as a result. Was actually contacted last fall by Lars, one of the new owners, to let me know a root that I wanted was in a flooded field and that all were lost and to suggest some alternatives if I wanted a different root rather than a refund. I think that says a lot about how hands on the new owners are.

Mieko2 said:Joey, WFF and American Meadows are both resellers which means they bought roots from growers.
If you buy from APS growers, you are getting peonies from folks who care about their reputation. The peonies from them will be well cared for and will do better in your garden.
Hollingsworth is one of the best.

Jerry, they are packing the peonies in peat moss to make sure they are not loose in the shipping box. I got an order this year from a reputable peony grower and the roots were broken from being shipped loose in the box.

@Mieko2, judging by what I received, what you wrote seems to definitely be true! The ones I got from WFF and AM were more like carrots than the roots I got from Hollingsworth! But I did my best to treat them really well, and I really hope to see some of that beautiful new growth in the spring. I know you're not supposed to expect flowers the first year, but I'll be keeping my fingers crossed!

I don't want to beat a dead horse but the quality of their shipping and handling is a major part of their reputation or of being reputable. I would not make a second purchase from a grower like that. A box of broken roots would really chafe my a__.

I agree, it's not fun to find roots in pieces, especially when the tag is attached to the broken off bit! Most of the time roots make it just fine, I've had a few here and there arrive damaged. If the peony is a hybrid I plant the broken bit and hope for the best. So far I've not had one so damaged that I felt I needed a replacement.

I have not purchased nearly as many peonies as most of the group but Klehm, Adelman, and Hidden Springs pack their roots in a bag of peat moss mix. I don't recall ever having an issue with them. The packing medium is usually recommended to be mixed with the backfill soil.