I am also impressed with my Adelman's peonies planted last Fall. I will share photos when/if the blooms open. The weather has ruined many of this year's buds.

LG, this is very disappointing! But I always think if there are no blooms this season all energy will go to future blooms next year!!!

Thanks Anya, I am telling myself that, too! The coming 7 days weather looks good, so I hope after all this rain I will get lots of blooms.

gemini_sage said:I've been impressed with the high percentage of first year blooms I see on peonies from Adelman's.

Frank, I'm curious what made you think Athena was a double, was there misinformation in the description? I've only ever seen it listed as a single.

Carol, please take photos when your new plants bloom, I'd love to see them! I have Athena on my list to order this year. Unfortunately it appears to be sold out at Adelman's, but other quality vendors still have it listed.

I was trying to be facetious:) Guess it did not work...

I'm often pretty clueless about these things!

frankrichards16 said:I ordered 'Athena' from Adelman's 14 years ago. Very disappointed. I thought it was a double and it keeps coming up single every year. And, way to early as well. Who needs a flower before all the other peonies show up? And, it has flares? I have tree peonies if I want flares.

• Peony (Paeonia 'Athena')
• Uploaded by frankrichards16

I did not get it either but after given some thought over your post, I can see how this sentiment can come about. The reason is I have a peony that is giving me the exact same problems. I bought Halleigh's Hallelujah peony from the now closed Select Plus in Canada that described it as a double flower. And every year I hope and look forward to a double bloom. But every year that I have had it, it keeps coming up single. It is a huge disappointment for sure but the humor of your post helps alleviate some. Now that I laugh about it, maybe it will give me a double this year!

OK, time to get serious. Peony 'Athena' is one of my all time favorites. It is an exceptional single, comes up early, has great flares and is one of Saunders' best.

Other than that, it sucks. DISAPPOINTMENT!

I got it, Frank. Maybe we have a similar sense of humor, or maybe I just remember your pics of Athena are what made me finally see it's beauty!

Frank.

Chalice began blooming on May 7, but its first bloom lasted only three days.
I would love to know whether the short bloom time is characteristic of the cultivar or is due to something else (e.g., the fact that this is a first year plant, or temperatures have been in the 70s this week).

May 7 morning:



May 7 afternoon;


May 10 afternoon:

3 days is about right. They don't last long but they hold up well in the rain and they bloom earlier before many other peonies bloom. My Roselette will probably be done by tomorrow. The only way for these peonies to last longer is for temps to stay very cool and not humid. When your bush is more established there will be more buds that can open at different times to extend the blooming.

kousa said:3 days is about right. They don't last long but they hold up well in the rain and they bloom earlier before many other peonies bloom. My Roselette will probably be done by tomorrow. The only way for these peonies to last longer is for temps to stay very cool and not humid. When your bush is more established there will be more buds that can open at different times to extend the blooming.

Thanks for this very helpful information, Karen. This is the only time when I have noticed exactly how long a particular peony bloom lasted. Looking forward to more buds next year.