Species Peonies

                    Once again, I'm writing about early summer flowers while snow is blanketing the ground. And once again I'm looking out at that six to twelve inch deep blanket covering them all with my usual feeling of anxiety. How can those plants under all that ice and snow not lose heart and give up life altogether? Especially after such a winter. It's a plant-empathic thing. I know all about dormancy and the insulation properties of a certain depth of soil. But still, I'm glad I live in a house with a good heater.

The last fifteen years up here in Cache Valley have been relatively mild and I was thinking of perhaps trying some dahlias that I could actually let stay in the ground over winter (I draw the line at digging up bulbs and tubers and roots only to plant them again the next spring). But these last two frigid winters drove all thoughts of mild weather out of my mind. This year, temperatures of ten to twenty below zero roared down from the north into Cache Valley, freezing pipes (once again, after many years) in our entryway bathroom – not once but three times.

But then, species peonies (species anything) are fairly tough plants when living in a growing zone similar to the ones from which they first evolved. Histories of the family, Paeoniaceae, show that it populated land globally all through the temperate zone for more than 100,000 years – this last fact from geological evidence. Their seeds are typical of primitive plants, with the tiny embryo guarded by thick, hard coverings, to which amateur gardeners who attempted growing peony plants from seed would attest. Additionally, the genus Paeonia is taxonomically extremely complex, resulting in amazing diversity.

Paeonia officinalis mollis
            This diversity could be at the bottom of our daughter, Melanie's, difficulty in ordering twice (but receiving something else) a plant of P. officinalis alba plena. It opens as a very pale pink and then fades to its proper white. She first ordered a root of this plant four years ago. What she received turned out to be a rather pretty dwarf plant (~12" high) which emerged with attractive purplish-pink-flushed foliage on a compact plant, later sending up strong, short stems topped by gorgeous magenta single blossoms. These blossoms faded varyingly to pink, and had thick bosses of yellow stamens. Clearly this was not alba plena . Much research by Melanie (she's a librarian, after all) led her to believe that what she received must be Paeonia officinalis mollis.

This unexpected plant, pictured at the head of this page and thriving now in the Brick Herb Garden, is living up to its (mollis) description as a tough, easy to grow member of the genus Paeonia. Martin Page (The Gardener's Peony) points out that the plant, often described as sterile, produces plenty of viable seed, and appears to be self-fertile (we have yet to find out either way). In addition, as we know, peonies live for decades, some plantings still growing and blooming after fifty to one hundred years. Long life, coupled with excellent vigor can't be beat for a garden flower.

As far as Melanie is concerned, she loves the plant. To her, this was a mistake that turned out to be propitious indeed

Memorial Day Peony

                    There were many plants growing here of Paeonia officinalis 'Rubra Plena,' the Memorial Day Peony, when we first bought this farm in 1969. Struggling in shade or under evergreens, I eventually moved them to other areas to show them to better advantage. It was as though they breathed a sigh of relief when they found themselves out in the sun and enjoying the sprinklers nearby, and they thrived. Below is one of the plants that actually came up from some left-behind roots from those transplantings, now blooming its head off in the northwest corner of the brick herb garden right outside the study here. This happened with some of our hybrid types, too, as I mentioned in the previous peony page about transplanting P. lactiflora 'Festiva Maximus', 'Karl Rosenfeld,' and 'Sarah Bernhardt.'

Memorial Day Peony (Melanie Shaw)

Harvey Buchite of the Minnesota Peony Society writes that the Memorial Day Peony is one of many in the group of Paeonia officinalis, and raises the possibility that the plant could very well be a hybrid of officinalis and some other species. He cites this type as a good cut flower, and suggests cutting the flowers when two thirds open. It has a pleasant fragrance and blooms earlier than other peonies which extends the season about 10 days. He goes on, "There has been some speculation that this ancient variety could actually be a hybrid."

There are also a double white, P. officinalis 'Alba Plena.' and a double pink, P. officinalis 'Rosea Plena.' Melanie has in her garden, this peony which we'll take a look at next.

P. officinalis 'Rosea Plena'

When Melanie planted yet again a root she'd sent for of P. alba plena (remember this flower was supposed to be white), what came up the next spring was not the alba plena but a very double, P. officinalis 'Rosea Plena.' Well, that was nice – another surprise. When it first opens it's only slightly lighter than the rubra of the Memorial peony, but gradually bleaches over time into true pink. The photo below is the Rosea plant at its lightest pink just before it shatters, with a less open one behind it on the left.

It developed into a bushy plant like the Memorial peony and so there is some question among peony growers as to whether this plant is a hybrid between officinalis and some other species, rather than a pure type. This, again, is not too surprising, given the hybridization that must have occurred naturally over the hundreds of years of the genus' evolution. Both rubra (dark) and rosea (light) plena peonies display a hybrid vigor as well as the species toughness. And they grow taller and have bigger flowers than other forms of officinalis which could indicate hybridization.

Paeonia officinalis, 'Rosea Plena' (Melanie Shaw)

In addition, the plant has thick but short stems that don't flop over from the weight of the heavy flowers, forming a neat and tidy bush that stays attractive throughout the growing season, even without flowers. In our beds here, this peony blooms slightly later than the mollis, and in the mollis photo at the head of this page, we can see a couple of Rosea buds to the right that have, from the looks of them, about a week to go before they open.

Melanie tells me she'll try yet again to send for the P. officinalis alba plena. Her favorite supplier has inexplicably dropped the variety but, patience personified, she'll expand her search, and I know she'll get her white species peony – eventually.

Paeonia officinalis 'Anemoniflora Rubra'

Paeonia officinalis 'Anemoniflora Rubra' (Melanie Shaw)

Now here is a peony that Melanie sent for and actually received as advertised, P. officinalis 'Anemoniflora Rubra.' It's a low-growing plant which would look perfect in a rock garden or where it is now – in Melanie's miniature garden in front of her house, The Granary. The plant is much less vigorous than the other two plenas above, and needs to be planted in a spot where it won't be overwhelmed by larger, more vigorous plants around it. Interestingly, it seems to be much closer to the true species.

As the much-revered peony specialist, Alice Harding, described the anemone boss in the middle of these blossoms, as filaments of the stamens that have broadened, becoming petioles or miniature petals. In this case, the petioles are relatively long in relation to the total blossom.

Paeonia lactiflora 'Edulis Superba'

Back we go now to the lactiflora of January's peony page to pick up one that we'd missed, the 'Edulis Superba.' You'll recall from January that lactiflora is the ancestor of thousands of peony varieties, sometimes called Chinese peonies from the first lactifloras brought to Europe from plant researchers from Asia and the Middle East. The lactiflora revolutionized herbaceous peony culture throughout the world and gave us, among other spectacular flowers, the 'Edulis Superba' below.

Paeonia lactiflora 'Edulis Superba' (Melanie Shaw)

These new varieties, so opulent, richly colored, and often deeply fragrant, were soon in demand for gardens and vases during the late 1800s to the early 1900s. The rose scented and free flowering Edulis was one of the earlist varieties introduced (1824) and still survives in gardens today.

Memorial Day Peonies with Noisbox grooming his claws

Melanie caught one of our hard working vole and mice chasing orchard cats, Noisebox, grooming his all-important claws. This was no doubt after a hard morning's hunt to keep our young apple trees' bark from being girdled by the hungry little beasts. Behind him is the Memorial Day Peony discussed above. It's a favorite resting place for him. The detritus on the ground is not from digging by Noisebox but from the garden's annual spring snow storm of elm seeds. We're slowly replacing the Siberian Elms with lace bark elms and Alberta Spruce, of which more later.

Happy snowy spring, everyone,
Joan

Joan Katherine Shaw

February 2011

Photos - Melanie Shaw
Research assistance = Melanie Shaw

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