Tag Archives: #itohpeony

Peony of the Month – ‘Morning Lilac’

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Does your garden need some purple in its life?

Do you want to add an intersectional and/or a midseason bloomer to your peony collection to compliment your early and late flowering varieties?

Well, this unusual and rare purple princess– Paeonia ‘Morning Lilac’ – may just be the perfect addition.

With its huge, semi-double, strong purple flowers with a darker purple edging it’s no wonder it nabbed that RHS Award of Garden Merit. And that finely cut divided green foliage provides excellent Autumn colour and interest, turning a beautiful red in both Spring and Autumn.

‘Morning Lilac’ was created by crossing extremely rare Lactiflora ‘Martha Washington’ and Lutea Hybrid ‘Golden Era’ in 1990 by Anderson and registered in 1999. It is a fragrant and floriferous variety that produces myriads of large blooms – up to 15cm across - all over its top and sides.

Sound like a welcome guest? We thought so too.

Intersectionals really are the best of both worlds with their massive flowerheads, richly coloured foliage and compact growth habit. They can grow up to 90cm tall and are tough – more tolerant of cold weather than tree peonies and also not bothered by the heat. On mature plants you can expect to see between 40 and 50 flowers over flowering season. And the flowers last twice as long as other peonies – going on for four to five weeks with lots of small side buds.

So if you’re set on adding some of this purple peony love to your garden to perhaps compliment your ‘Coral Charm’ and lovely yellow ‘Bartzella’, this one would fit in rather nicely.

Nothing like a pop of purple to jazz things up a bit!

Just make sure to implement these top tips for growing your intersectional successfully:

  • Buy a well-established, mature peony plant
  • Plant in a sunny or part-shaded sheltered position in any free-draining soil
  • Don’t plant your intersectional peony too deep – ensure the crown is no more than 25mm below the surface
  • Feed your peony once a year in the Spring, Summer or Autumn
  • Cut back intersectional peonies in the Autumn
  • Water your peony consistently while buds are forming in the Spring but take care not to over water as peonies don’t like having wet ‘feet’ or roots

With this little bit of care you can expect to enjoy gazing at these beauties in your garden for many years to come.

And that’s what we love about peonies – they just keep giving back so much more than we put in.

Enjoy your gardening and let us know how it goes!

Growth Cycle of the Peony

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Excited to introduce a peony to your garden this year for the first time or perhaps adding another one to your growing collection?

What can you expect when you order a peony from us?

All of our peonies are nurtured until they are at least 5 years old. This means they are well established Paeonia plants at flowering maturity when they go to their new homes. This means that your Primrose Hall Peony should flower from its very first season in your garden.

We grow all our peony plants in 100% peat free compost which is what your potted peonies will be in when they rock up at your door.

EARLY SEASON GROWTH

If you have already ordered a peony from us or are thinking about ordering one, the images to the right is what you can expect it to look like now in its early season growth, according to the 3 main types.

You can spot the early foliage easily with its bright reddish colour and this will change to green as it develops into leaves.

PLANTING

When planting your peonies out into your garden, the depth of planting is very important. If they are planted too deeply the roots will grow and produce foliage but flower production won't be as prolific or at all.

Ideally, for intersectional peonies, the buds, or growing points, should be 2-5cm below soil level – for tree or woody peonies, these should be plant about with the graft union about 15cm below the surface. Space them 60-90cm apart so they have room to spread out as they mature.

Make sure the soil is well-drained and has plenty of organic matter.

Water immediately after planting, being quite generous with the water to help settle the roots in.

WHEN WILL I SEE FLOWERS?

Typically, tree peonies are the first to bloom followed by herbaceous and intersectional. Intersectional or Itoh peonies often flower twice as long as tree peonies.

The following is a general guideline of the flowering season for peonies in the UK.

Weather conditions and your specific location will affect the timing - cooler areas will be a week or 2 later and warmer areas a week or 2 earlier. The length of time the flowers are produced is dependent on the variety chosen.

Very Early - flowering begins late April

Early - flowering begins early May

Mid - flowering begins mid-late May

Late - flowering begins early June

You can expect your Primrose Hall Peony to last for decades in the garden, producing more and more blooms each year. Primrose Hall Peonies can flower from April until July so make sure to look at the flowering times of each variety to ensure you have a continuous flower in the garden!

BUT WHICH ONE TO PICK?

Here are some examples of varieties to pick to enjoy flowers throughout the season:

Tree

Paeonia suffruticosa ‘Hana-kisoi’ (Floral Rivalry) (Japanese Tree Peony) (Early-Mid Season Flowering)

Unusual, rare and highly collectable; tree peonies are highly prized. Hana-kisoi (Floral Rivalry) has stunningly large single flowers that are a silky pink with a raspberry basal flare.

 

 

 

 

Paeonia suffruticosa ‘Okan’ (Japanese Tree Peony) (Mid-Late Season Flowering)

Unusual, rare and highly collectable; tree peonies are highly prized. Okan has large, soft yellow semi-double flowers with sturdy, stiff erect stems.

 

 

 

 

Herbaceous

Paeonia peregrina ‘Fire King’ (Peony ‘Fire King’) (Early Season Flowering)

Herbaceous perennial with glossy green divided leaves and single bright red flowers with striking yellow stamens. Relatively compact.

 

 

 

 

Paeonia 'Miss Mary' (Mid Season Flowering)

Sumptuous deep, rich red single flowers with golden stamens on floriferous herbaceous peony.

 

 

 

 

 

Or for the patio:

Paeonia ‘London’ (Patio Peony ‘London’)

Compact and free-flowering herbaceous perennial. Double deep pink flowers.

 

 

 

 

Intersectional

Paeonia ‘Pastel Splendor’ (Intersectional ‘Itoh’ Peony) (Mid Season Flowering)

Unusual and rare peony. Finely cut green foliage on sturdy framework and single to semi-double flowers that are shades of lilac, pink, cream with a deep red/purple flare at the base. The seed head is amazing for late season interest.

 

 

 

 

 

Paeonia ‘Sonoma Apricot’ (Intersectional ‘Itoh’ Peony) (Mid Season Flowering)

Unusual and rare. Finely cut green foliage on sturdy framework with large, smooth apricot fading to lemon flowers.

 

Hopefully this clears up a few of the magical mysteries of peony planting.

Please let us know if you have any questions!