Winter Gardening – What to do in January

It’s the new year!

And it’s the middle of winter!

It’s tough to feel excited about that when it’s frosty and wet outside. You look over at your garden and think there’s not much going on out there.

But the grey winteriness of January is actually a fine time to prepare for a busy spring and summer.

Here’s some suggestions.

In general

  • Keep the birds going. Winter can be hard for them as their water sources freeze and food is more scarce so keep those feeders full and leave some of the garden a little untidy (read: wild) so they and other creatures can enjoy a bit of shelter
  • Compost/re-purpose your Christmas tree
  • Make a bug hotel and help keep your gardens eco system healthy
  • Tidy up the shed/greenhouse and sharpen your tools

 

Peonies

  • As you may know, come frost or snow, peonies really revel in the winter as it’s a time for them to rest and digest and get ready for spring. If you’ve cut them back in autumn once the leaves had wilted and put a little mulch around them (not in the middle) you can leave them be. They are hardy to about -20C and usually flower better than ever after a cold winter
  • If you didn’t cut the leaves back it’s best to do so as soon as possible to prevent the wet from bringing on the mould. And if there’s already some mould on the remains, don’t compost this foliage, rather put it straight in the bin. That’s the kind of love you don’t want to spread

 

Other Plants

  • Plan what you want to plant in spring and order the seeds, bulbs and tubers now
  • Check any supports or protection you put around your plants are still enduring
  • Look out for weeds and remove from the root
  • Get those bare root plants in now such as fruit trees, shrubs, hedges, peonies, roses and hardy geraniums
  • If you have already have fruit trees, shrubs, bushes and roses, now’s a good time to prune them
  • Dahlia can be uprooted, dried out and stored inside now to protect them from the harsh winter conditions. See how to overwinter them here
  • Harvest winter veg such as parsnips, kale, brussel sprouts and leek
  • Grow some microgreens or sprout some sprouts in your kitchen

 

After Heavy Snow

  • Remove snow from greenhouses and hedges to prevent damage
  • Try not to walk on the grass after heavy snow or frost as it will damage it. But if you must make a snowman, the fun is worth the risk

 

Indoor Container Plants

  • Make sure indoor plants are well hydrated and misted often as central heating can dry the air out and damage them

 

Outdoor Container Plants

  • Make sure your outside plants are getting enough water especially if partly sheltered. The soil should be damp by at least a hand’s depth
  • At the same time, you don’t want them too wet. Raise outdoor container plants onto feet or bricks to avoid them having soggy “feet”

 

As you can see, there’s plenty to do so we better get going!

Peony of the Month and Gifts!

What would Christmas be without red?

We picked this one as our peony of the month for that very reason - its rich red Christmassy hue.

‘Scarlet Heaven’ is an unusual, rare and highly collectable intersectional peony with large, single, bright crimson red flowers. This is a mid season bloomer with golden-yellow anthers and finely cut divided green foliage turning red in spring and autumn. The stems are sturdy, so no staking is required.

Red Itoh peonies are rare and ‘Scarlet Heaven’ is known to be one of the best of the reds as it performs very well.

Reminisce

Although they won’t be flowering at this time of year, when you do see them flowering from May - June next year you will have an opportunity to reminisce about all things Christmas and how much life has changed.

Or simply just enjoy the burst of red in the garden.

And as we were speaking about in our previous post about gratitude – it could be an opportunity to reflect on the wonders of nature. How grateful we are for all those juicy underground processes that produce these fantastic flowers.

Gift Ideas

However, if you’re looking for ways to get into the blooming season spirit right now, there are other ways to give the gift of a peony.

For instance, with our giftware range!

And if you have a few friends and family with different talents, there are options for every flare:

For the Plantsman/woman:

A beautiful British Bloom collection of gardening tools (manufactured by Burgon & Ball and RHS endorsed) with a Peony and Dahlia design. The Trowel and Fork are made from hardened and tempered stainless steel for superior strength and durability (years of rust resistance) and engraved with a quote from Gertrude Jekyll:

“The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies”

There are Beech Wood handled options too.

Also in this range:

 

For the Tea Lover:

An English fine bone ‘Breakfast Tea Gift Set’ belongs in every tea lovers home. Made in England together with a British artist, this collection of teapot, milk jug and printed tea towel has a delicate peony blooms, buds and bee illustration in soft light rose pink and a deeper warm pink.

Also in this range:

 

For the Chef/Baker Extraordinaire:

With the same lovely design described above, the oven gloves and apron set bring Spring back into the kitchen, no matter what the season.

For the Interior Decorator:

How about a cotton cushion cover with peony art printed on both sides?

Or beautiful works of art available as mounted prints or as framed pictures?

Both designed by Carolyn Carter who has used our award-winning peonies as inspiration to create a unique and exclusive fine art collection.

 

And if you can’t decide, perhaps a gift voucher is best.

We’re all for simplifying what can sometimes feel like a season of silliness.

May it be more merry than mad!

 

Peony Myths Debunked – Part 1

With all the fake news we find online these days it’s no wonder that peonies also have some “interesting” ideas floating around about them.

In this two-part series we’ll be debunking some of these myths.

Peonies Are Difficult to Grow

Peonies are actually quite easy to grow if a few simple rules are followed:

  • buy a well-established, mature plant
  • plant in a sunny/part-shaded and sheltered position
  • make sure whatever type of soil it is that it is free-draining
  • plant herbaceous and intersectionals with the crown no more 2.5cm below the surface
  • water consistently while buds are forming in spring
  • don’t over-water as peonies don’t like to have soggy ‘feet’ or roots
  • mulch, but not too much
  • feed once a year in the spring/autumn/summer
  • cut back herbaceous and intersectional peonies in autumn
  • prune tree peonies

 

Peonies Don't Like Cold Weather

Will your peony endure a snowy winter? Even though they may look delicate, they are hardy down to -25C and have been growing for many generations in parts of China, Japan, North America, Europe and Alaska where it is very cold.

Peonies need the colder weather to hibernate and get to work on new buds for Spring time. In fact, many growers have said that the colder the winter the better the blooms will be the following season.

The only time your peony may take a bit of strain is if there is a late frost, as it can damage the leaves. However, your peony won’t be beyond repair and will likely be back to its old self by the next season.

Peonies Only Grow in Certain Types of Soil

Peonies will be happy in any type of soil. The only necessity, no matter what soil you have, is that it is free draining.

Even if it is clay! Yes, clay!

That said, it can be a bit tricky to ensure clay soil drains well. If it is very hard-packed clay you’ll want to mix in some sand or stones before planting.

Specialist peony fertiliser will be a welcome addition to the soil when planting a peony in your garden for the first time. This will enrich the root growth in the first season.

Peonies Hate Moving

Who likes change? Ok, ok, some of us do. But most human, animal and plant beings are creatures of habit (or habitat) and will protest at being uprooted from their homes.

However, contrary to popular opinion peonies really don’t mind being moved. They just need to be handled correctly.

Here are some tips:

  • autumn after cutting back/pruning is the best time to move
  • ensure eyes (pink buds) on the roots are not damaged in the process
  • don’t over-mulch/cover them with too much soil
  • herbaceous and intersectional – crown (top of the plant) no more than about 2.5-5cm below surface
  • grafted tree peonies – graft union no more than about 10-15cm below surface

 

Peonies Don't Last Long

Absolutely untrue! In fact, you may need to leave them in your will as some have been known to live on happily for more than 90 years!

Because peonies take a while to mature, flowering from around 3-5 years old, some may have dug up their peonies prematurely thinking they’re dead.

This is why it’s best to buy your peony at flowering maturity from a reputable nursery so you can enjoy flowers every year from year one.

 

And that’s all for now! We hope this has helped you come around to the idea of adopting a peony.

Look out for part 2 of this series for more peony myth debunking...

Peony of the Month – ‘Cytherea’

What’s love got to do with it?

Staying true to the Greek origins of the word paeonia, this peony with its perfection of form is aptly named. In Greek mythology Cytherea is another name for Aphrodite – the goddess of love and beauty.

And the goblet shaped form of these deep cherry red petals is enough to make anyone fall in love!

As temperatures rise this semi-double unfolds, becoming a more open bowl shape and fades to a rose colour, then salmon pink and finally pure white as the season progresses.

Cytherea is a herbaceous peony. Herbaceous peonies are a timeless classic perennial plant for the garden. They die down in the winter and come back in spring, each year producing better displays than the one before.

Origins

An early mid season bloomer, Cytherea is rare and highly sought after. It was registered in 1953 by Saunders and awarded the APS Gold Medal in 1980.

Professor Saunders is one of the world’s most well-known peony hybridizer, becoming known as the “Father” of the modern hybrid peony. His scientific breeding program with herbaceous and tree peonies was extensive and done with the help of friends at the New York Botanical Garden.

Although he was not the first to cross peony species, he was the first to bring a large variety of species together. He systematically crossed each one with the other, most of which hadn’t been used in crossing before. This resulted in the creation of a huge number of hybrid races and varieties, bringing new colours in and lengthening the flowering time.

An Albiflora x lobata hybrid, Cytherea is just one of those very many beautiful results of Saunders' work. It makes a great cut flower and has a light, sweet scent that makes it even more welcome in a vase on the table.

In the Garden

Cytherea was awarded the APS Award of Landscape Merit in 2009. This award is for peonies that have outstanding landscape and growth characteristics. Some of these characteristics are their disease resistance and the ability to withstand adverse weather. They protect themselves by closing up in unfavourable conditions and open up again when the coast is clear.

Do you have a spot in the garden you’re looking to fill? Although it is quite an intense shade of red initially, it is a remarkably easy colour to pair with other colours in the garden such as yellows, purples and blues.

Let your imagination go wild!

Otherwise you could combine Cytherea with a few other red peonies in different tones such as ‘Buckeye Belle’ with its deep red blooms, ‘Riches and Fame’ in all its fuschia/pink red glory and 'Miss Mary' with its rich red single flowers and golden stamens.

So much choice.

Which ones will you pick?

Peony of the Month – ‘Bowl of Beauty’

These fantastical pink flowers remind me of something that might feature in a Dr Seuss movie. I expect a whole family of microscopic people to be living within its anemone-like centre.

‘Bowl of Beauty’ is an early flowering, herbaceous peony. Their blooms are massive, measuring up to 20cm across, and have a lovely fragrance. And you’ll be making the bees very happy having this one in your garden with its open, Japanese form.

Registered in 1949 by Hoogendoorn, this Chinese peony is also the recipient of an RHS AGM (Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit).

But what’s an AGM all about?

What’s an AGM?

The Award of Garden Merit is based on assessment of the plants performance under UK growing conditions and the Royal Horticultural Society’s seal of approval for consistent performance. Beginning in 1922, this has been an award for quality to garden plants (including trees, vegetables and decorative plants) by the RHS.

What does it take to nab that AGM?

Before being awarded, the plants go through trials that are often done at Wisley and judged by experts. The plant has to be proven reliable in the garden and the AGM is the RHS’ seal of approval for consistent performance.

The award winning plants must:

  • Be available horticulturally
  • Be of outstanding excellence for garden decoration or use
  • Be of good constitution
  • Not require highly specialist growing conditions or care
  • Not be particularly susceptible to any pest or disease
  • Not be subject to an unreasonable degree of reversion

 

You will find this and more information on the AGM here – RHS AGM

This award is applied to a limited amount of plants each year so if a plant doesn’t have the stamp of approval it doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t a good choice for you.

However, if you see the AGM stamp of approval you can be sure that plant is suitable for most British gardens. And it will most probably do well in yours.

Reviews of the awarded plants are done regularly to ensure that the list stays up to date. This is because some plants may no longer meet this criteria or have been replaced by better cultivars.

After a recent peony trial, the RHS awarded an Award of Garden Merit  to 45 varieties of peony, 39 of which we are currently growing!

Some of these are mentioned here (thanks Country Living!)

Have you got any AGM holders going and growing in your garden already?

If not, maybe you’ll want to start with this beauty…

Growing Peonies for Cut Flowers

Keen on growing your own peonies specifically for cut flower?

Some varieties are better suited to cut flower production than others. We are looking for stems that are long and strong with striking, large blooms.

Herbaceous peonies are a great option as they perform well in both the vase and garden. There are many varieties to choose from, in a range of colours, and many peonies are fragrant so there's the added bonus there!

But where to start?

Let’s have a look at some of the things you’ll want to bear in mind when planting peonies for cut flower.

Location

Any position in the garden will be fine, in either full sun or part shade preferably in a more sheltered place away from strong wind.

Soil Conditions

Any type of soil will be fine as long as it has excellent drainage. If you do have lighter, sandy soil, remember to add a generous amount of organic matter to the bottom of your planting hole and perhaps feed a little more regularly.

Best time to Plant

In cooler climates like we have here in the UK, peonies can be planted in either Spring or Autumn.

Planting Depth and Spacing

  • Don’t plant them too deeply. The eyes should be no more than 2.5-5cm below the surface
  • When you order from us your peony will be in a pot already planted at the correct depth which makes it easy to plant it straight in the ground at same depth
  • Make sure there is enough space between plants – at least 60cm – as peonies benefit from good air circulation. This also makes them easier to pick

How long until Harvest Time?

If your peony plants are still less than 3 years old you won’t see many (if any) flowers yet. Peony cutting gardens take a little while to get going as the plants develop relatively slowly and need time to establish well before flowers can be picked.

Not having any flowers is not a bad thing as it means all the energy and nutrients are going in to the roots and building a strong foundation. You want a strong plant that will keep on going for decades so you can reap the gorgeous rewards for as long as possible.

From 4 years and up you will see a marked difference in flower production.  At Primrose Hall we nurture all of our plants until they are at least 5 years old ensuring they are mature flowering Paeonia plants. So you are much more likely to see it flowering from its very first season in your garden. Little patience required.

When to Pick?

The best time to pick peonies is when the bud is quite soft but not yet opened. A gentle pinch between your forefinger and thumb should reveal that the bud is as soft as a marshmallow. Pick them at this point, rinse them in cold water (especially if they are covered in ants!) and put them straight in a bucket of water or vase.

Within in a day or two the flowers will have opened and you should have beautiful peonies in a vase for at least a week.

Which Varieties are best?

Varieties such as ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ seem to do best as cut flowers, as do other soft coloured double varieties such as:

Paeonia lactiflora 'Boule de Neige' (Peony 'Boule de Neige')

Beautiful double white flowers, highly scented, with crimson flecks on the outer part of the petals on dark green foliage. Flowers mid-season. 

Paeonia lactiflora ‘Vogue’ (Peony ‘Vogue’) (Fragrant)

Excellent herbaceous perennial with dark green foliage and huge white double flowers with a crimson edge and inner petals with a silvery reflex. Absolutely stunning. 

Paeonia lactiflora ‘Madame Calot’ (Peony ‘Madame Calot’) (Fragrant)

Herbaceous perennial with dark green divided leaves and large, double pale pink and cream flowers. Highly scented, floriferous.

 

These ones make great cut flowers too:

Paeonia lactiflora ‘Honey Gold’ (Peony ‘Honey Gold’) (Fragrant) (Mid Season Flowering)

Fragrant semi-double creamy white flowers with a pale yellow centre on long strong stems.

Paeonia ‘Claire de Lune’ AGM (Peony ‘Claire de Lune’) Fragrant (Mid-Season Flowering)

Claire de Lune is a very special peony because of its unusual lemon coloured flowers and gorgeous scent; it also makes an excellent cut flower. Claire de Lune has distinctive broad mid-green leaves and stunning lemon coloured single, cup-shaped flowers with golden centres. Floriferous, impressive and reliable peony.

Paeonia lactiflora ‘Doreen’ AGM (Peony ‘Doreen’) (Fragrant)

A herbaceous perennial with finely cut green foliage and lightly scented, HUGE, single flowers of pink guard petals and yellow centres. Fragrant, large flowers.

Paeonia lactiflora ‘Victoire de la Marne’ (Peony ‘Victoire de la Marne’) (Fragrant) (Mid-Late Season Flowering)

Mid-sized burgundy purplish red double flowers with lighter edges. A striking flower with a distinctive colour.

 

Happy gardening! May the peonies be with you!

Peony of the Month – ‘Red Charm’

What about a bit of red to spice your Spring garden up a bit?

It’s not every day you come across a red as true as the one worn by ‘Red Charm’. Like that Little Red Riding Hood in the dark forest, ‘Red Charm’ stands out in the garden and is very attractive to visitors.

Be they wolf, butterfly or human…

A cross of the well-known P. ‘Rubra Plena’ it was registered by Glasscock in 1944 and became an APS Gold Medal winner in 1956.

And 65 years later it’s still going strong... The wonder of peonies! We can’t gush enough about these plants. They really are our favourite.

‘Red Charm’ is an indulgent, herbaceous perennial that is early flowering and sturdy. It produces lots of deep, ruby red cup-shaped flowers with ruffled centres that keep expanding as the flower opens. The flowers are bomb-shaped and very large, sometimes reaching up to 20cm across. Although it opens a scarlet red colour, as the flower matures it becomes darker and darker ending up a deep plum or purple.

Once established it can reach up to 90cm in height and its bushy growth habit and fine, dark green leaves remain lovely into Autumn. This makes ‘Red Charm’ a great choice if you would like to create a small hedge or need some structure along a pathway. You could also pop it in a flower bed with a mix of other perennials for a striking display.

It’s likely that you will enjoy having this reliable and vigorous beauty in your garden so much that you will come to depend on being dazzled by its beautiful flower and foliage displays year after year.

This exquisite lady in red with its substantial, waxy-textured petals and strong stems makes an excellent, long-lasting cut flower and has a pleasing, subtle fragrance.

If you’d like to add ‘Red Charm’ to your collection, here are some guidelines for planting this herbaceous peony:

  • Plant in full sun or part shade in a sheltered position
  • Any fertile soil will do, as long as it is free draining
  • Plant with the crown (top of the root) no more than 5cm below the ground. With container grown plants, simply plant them at the same level they are in the pot they arrive in
  • Don’t bury it with mulch. Peonies like organic matter but don’t mulch over the crown as it might not flower the next Spring
  • Once you are ready to plant your peony in the garden, start by digging a hole twice as big as the root ball of the plant and put some organic matter or compost at the bottom of the hole. It is often a good idea to mix some fertiliser (such as our Professional Peony Feed) with the compost
  • Place your peony in the centre of the hole, ensuring that the crown is level with or just below the surface level, backfill with compost and soil and firm into place. Water well but don’t over-water; remember that the root will rot if it gets too wet
  • Peonies will also be happily planted in a container so you can follow the same process, just make sure you feed your container grown peonies once a year to make sure they have enough nutrients

 

And there you go!

In this case, red means ‘go’!

Grow peony grow!

Caring for your Tree Peony

Tree peonies.

The loveliness that’s inspired many beautiful art pieces through the ages.

And you can have one of these charming muses living in your very own garden.

They are sure to make a real statement in a sunny garden border, growing up to 2-3 metres, although they respond very well to pruning and can be kept at a more manageable 1-1.5m.

Tree peonies are long-lived, deciduous shrubs with large, sometimes dinner plate size, flamboyant, often fragrant flowers in a variety of colours. They range from white through pink to dark red and purple; yellows are also available, along with the more unusual apricot shades.

They are happiest in a sunny or lightly shaded, location sheltered from strong wind to prevent foliage and flower damage and although they can take up to four years to get settled and start flowering the rewards outweigh the wait!

You can plant containerised tree peonies at any time in the year - just remember to water it well when you plant it.

Planting Pointers

Some planting tips:

  • Tree peonies are often grafted onto herbaceous peony rootstock so the graft union will need to be planted about 15cm below soil level. This encourages it to form its own roots
  • Once in, water generously to settle the soil

 

TLC for the Tree

Technically, tree peonies aren’t trees but rather sub-shrubs so they need much the same care as herbaceous varieties.

This is how you can help your tree peony stand the test of time:

  • It is best to water regularly during the first summer especially during dry spells
  • Mulching well in late Autumn to late winter with organic matter helps keep moisture in but leave a dish around the base of the plant which is clear of any mulch as that can lead to root rot
  • Prune in the Autumn and either take back the top growth by about 1/3 in stages or, if you have a multi-stemmed tree peony, cut back every 3rd stem to about 2cm, removing the oldest stems first
  • After hibernating happily through the winter chill you’ll want to give it a little boost with a feed come Spring time

 

Want one?

So! If you are thinking about adopting a tree peony into your peony family have a look at these lovelies (pictured right):

Paeonia suffruticosa ‘Kokuryu Nishiki’ (Japanese Tree Peony) (Early-Mid Season Flowering)

Japanese tree peony with large semi-double incredible dark burgundy/purple flowers with white veins/flashes on the outer petals

Paeonia ‘High Noon’ AGM (Japanese Tree Peony) Fragrant (Early-Mid Season Flowering)

Stunning semi-double to double, large yellow lemon scented flowers with a red basal flare. Will often flower again in the autumn. Awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit so it is a very reliable tree peony

Paeonia suffruticosa ‘Shichi Fukujin’ (Japanese Tree Peony) (Early-Mid Season Flowering)

Japanese tree peony with large papery thin striking double pink flowers with a raspberry basal flare. Often with a crinkled edge

Paeonia suffruticosa ‘Kuro-Ageha’ (Japanese Tree Peony) (Mid Season Flowering)

A romantically deep red bloom with large golden stamens in the centre of this semi-double peony

Paeonia suffruticosa ‘Fuso-no-tsukasa’ (Japanese Tree Peony) (Mid-Late Season Flowering)

An absolutely stunning, elegant Japanese tree peony with large, pure white double flowers

Peony of the Month – ‘Morning Lilac’

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!

Peonies for Containers

During these interesting times many of us might be feeling like potted plants, waiting for the day we can stretch out our roots again.

Although we may think our peonies feel the same in pots – container-bound and cramped - peonies actually quite like being in a small environment as long as they are taken good care of.

Container growing is a great way to enjoy the beauty of a garden in a small space.

So what does the ideal potted environment look like for peonies and which ones are best for containers?

Here are a few tips for getting the best out of your potted peonies.

Pot size

Firstly, you’ll want to bear in mind how big your peony will get.

You can do this by checking the height and spread of your chosen variety to make sure there will be space for your peony to spread out in its pot and have enough room to grow on your balcony or patio.

The ideal pot size to start off with is 30-50cm.

As your peony grows you can transfer it to a bigger container which will likely be every 3 to 4 years. If you already have a potted peony that’s outgrowing its pot it will be best to wait until October to transplant it to a bigger one.

Variety

Patio and Intersectional varieties make great container plants. Ones such as Paeonia ‘Oslo’ and ‘Singing in the Rain’ are great.

Here are some more suggestions for peonies perfect for pots (pictured right):

Paeonia ‘Dublin’ (Patio Peony ‘Dublin’)

Single white flowers with a golden centre

H: 50cm S: 30cm

Paeonia ‘Moscow’ (Patio Peony ‘Moscow’)

Sumptuous bright red semi-double flowers with yellow centres

H: 60cm S: 40cm

Paeonia ‘Border Charm’ (Intersectional ‘Itoh’ Peony) (Mid Season Flowering)

Large, lightly scented, pale yellow, semi-double flowers with red centre flares

H: 75cm S: 50cm

Paeonia ‘Bartzella’ AGM (Intersectional ‘Itoh’ Peony) (Fragrant) (Mid Season Flowering)

H: 75cm S: 50cm

Paeonia lactiflora ‘Gay Paree’ AGM (Peony ‘Gay Paree’) (Fragrant) (Mid Season Flowering)

Fabulous single flowers with cerise outer petals. In the centre of these flowers are light pink petaloids with cream edges. A slightly shorter variety

H: 75cm S: 50cm

Paeonia ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ (Intersectional ‘Itoh’ Peony) (Fragrant) (Mid Season Flowering)

Beautiful, semi-double scented pale pink flowers edged in cerise/lilac

H: 75cm S: 50cm

How to pot

  • Make sure the soil and container allows for free draining as peonies don’t like having wet feet
  • Plant the crown no more than 2.5-5cm below the soil
  • Fill with peat-free compost and slow release fertiliser
  • Leave a 2.5cm space from the top/rim of pot to allow space for water
  • Give it a good drink
  • Position in a full sun or part shade location that is sheltered from strong wind

Pointers for Pots

  • Although peonies are tolerant of dry periods, the soil in pots tends to dry out quicker than in the ground, so make sure to water regularly
  • Peonies in pots will need to be fed once a year with a fertiliser such as our Professional Fertiliser
  • Tuber plants like peonies that are grown in containers can be more sensitive to freezing than when they are in the ground so it may be best to bring them indoors for winter, positioning them in a cool area

 

But you won’t have to worry about that last point now with Spring upon us.

Enjoy your potted peonies and let us know how yours do!

Unusual, rare and highly collectable. Bartzella has large double intense sulphur yellow flower. Lightly fragrant. Bartzella has been awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit.

H: 75cm S: 50cm

Paeonia lactiflora ‘Gay Paree’ AGM (Peony ‘Gay Paree’) (Fragrant) (Mid Season Flowering)

Fabulous single flowers with cerise outer petals. In the centre of these flowers are light pink petaloids with cream edges. A slightly shorter variety

H: 75cm S: 50cm

Paeonia ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ (Intersectional ‘Itoh’ Peony) (Fragrant) (Mid Season Flowering)

Beautiful, semi-double scented pale pink flowers edged in cerise/lilac

H: 75cm S: 50cm

How to pot

  • Make sure the soil and container allows for free draining as peonies don’t like having wet feet
  • Plant the crown no more than 2.5-5cm below the soil
  • Fill with peat-free compost and slow release fertiliser
  • Leave a 2.5cm space from the top/rim of pot to allow space for water
  • Give it a good drink
  • Position in a full sun or part shade location that is sheltered from strong wind