Our first peony opened today, followed almost immediately by the second. I am not sure of their names, although one came many years ago marked as Paeonia lagodeschiana, but I see that that name has now been changed to Paeonia daurica subsp lagodeschiana. I am pretty sure that a couple of them have bred over the years with the yellow Molly the Witch (mlokosewitschii) so I get interesting pinks and picotées. Always a bit of a surprise when they begin to bloom. I wait for this day all year, and here it is! The second time during the pandemic crisis. Hope it is the last!!!
I was asked the other day if peonies last long, and my answer, as always (and not what the other person wanted to hear), is about six weeks of bloom if you choose cultivars carefully. Of course, they meant how long do they last in the garden, or in a vase indoors, or something along those lines. Well, to answer those questions is almost impossible as it depends where they are planted, what the soil is like, whether there was a late frost or not enough rain..etc, etc...
So I always revert back to the six weeks of bloom answer. There used to be an on line list of bloom dates put together by two prominent members of the Canadian Peony Society, Michael Denny and Lindsay D'Aoust, but I cannot find it anymore. I will be in touch with Lindsay soon to see if she still has a copy which I could share with you. Using that list, you can easily pick peonies for 6 weeks of bloom...a new one each week. You can still rely on some reputable sites which list them as: very early, early, mid, late, but it is not quite as precise.
Anyway, the parade of peonies has begun for 2021. Stay tuned!
Mlokosewitschi hybrid. Photo Credit: Mary Pratte
Mlokosewitschi hybrid in bloom. Photo Credit: Mary Pratte
Paeonia daurica subsp lagodeschiana. Photo Credit: Mary Pratte (