I left all of the spent flowers on my peonies this year just to see what would produce likely looking seeds, got some from Okinawa and a single white, not sure if its Crinkled Linens or Krinkled White, they look too much alike! I also had mine in the fridge, took them out and am looking for another good place for them. Our hot water heaters are too well insulated, not warm on the top at all! I do have a heating pad, though, will have to dig it out!
Dorab, glad to hear your woodland peony is doing well near the spruce tree! I planted mine under the outer edge of some huge pines. The soil there is mainly made up of rotted pine needles, I dug a big hole and mixed planter's mix in with the stuff that was there to add nutrients and to help retain some moisture. The pines suck up most of the water in that spot so I'm expecting to have to add drip heads to the existing line. It'll probably be several years before it blooms but I just want it to survive the winter and start growing next year!
Alana, the picture on the webpage where I bought my p. japonica showed a small shrub, didn't have a tree appearance at all. I'm hoping what grows will be a shrub/herbaceous peony, a tree, even a small one, would look out of place in that spot. Thanks for the explanation, I'll be watching what grows there and won't be too surprised if it's not what I thought it would be. I'll keep an eye out for the p. obavata, too--really wanted a herbaceous that could take the shade and dry spot (with some supplemental water, of course!).
