I don't know if I really have a problem or if I'm just selecting wimpy peonies! I had to have Sea Shell after seeing it at the Denver Botanical Garden around 10 years ago but it's failed in my garden twice now, Pink Hawaiian Coral the same thing I assume they're susceptible to frost kill with our late spring snows. If either even emerges this spring I think I'll just cover them with a huge clay pot if any adverse weather is predicted. I've done that in the past for those that I've purchased that actually had that warning in the description and it worked; Blonde Vision and Coral Scout have tolerated this climate with the extra care, don't see why the others wouldn't.
I was really concerned about my newest bed when I planted last fall--we had an extremely wet late summer/fall and the bed was sodden when I planted. I actually agonized about whether I should leave them there or shoehorn them in to an older bed before I noticed standing puddles in that one as well. I ended up leaving them where they were and they did fine--none showed enormous 1st year growth but had an acceptable level of blooms, especially when you consider the -10F weather we had for a couple of days after they'd really started growing and the Mother's Day blizzard on top of that.
