Flowers: Weird...Identify Please ?

Replies: 11 Views: 214

Author	Comment
stormcloud Yonkers, NY May 13, 2008 9:21 AM	I have no idea when I bought or planted this but it is down by the road behind the fence and I do not remember buying it at all. I just noticed this gorgeous red flower on it ...I suspect it is a tree peony ? Could it be ? I would love to move to a more desirable location where we could see it from somewhere other than the road. I would appreciate any information on this beauty. :-) View Larger
ecrane3 Dublin, CA (Zone 9a) May 13, 2008 9:59 AM	It does look like a peony, but I don't know the genus well enough to say whether it's a tree peony or a different species.
growgirl59 Saint Louis, MO May 13, 2008 10:00 AM	You're right. It can be moved very easily. I would wait until fall if you can. Make sure you put it somewhere that gets enough sun. A lot of people seem to think peonies are a shade loving plant around here. They need about 6 hours of sun per day. Yours looks like a nice full flower - very pretty!
plantfreak78 Rolesville, NC (Zone 7b) May 13, 2008 2:10 PM	That is definitely a tree peony (Paeonia suffruticosa). It could be 'Houki' like the one pictured here but there's so many it's hard to be sure. View Larger
dale_a_gardener Tampa, FL (Zone 10a) May 14, 2008 7:16 AM	I grew up with peonies and miss them very much. My experience with transplanting peony was to move them very late in the fall, making sure the soil is very cold. They seem to like a lean soil, not too much compost in the planting hole, good drainage, as much sun as they can get and never cut the woody stems back without a real good reason. I would offer a tip to ease the transplant shock (works on any plant). A couple of months before you transplant take a transplant shovel (if you have one) and slice the roots around half the plant about 9-12" out from the trunk (further out if it's a larger plant). This leaves the plant some roots to sustain itself and causes it to grow new, short roots that will ease the shock of transplanting. When you dig for the final move make sure you get the new shorter roots in the root ball. Make sure you have the new hole dug and ready to ease your baby into it's new location. Try and leave the root ball as intact as you can, might need two set of hands and some burlap. I may miss them, but, we have other plants to entertain us> View Larger
stormcloud Yonkers, NY May 14, 2008 4:03 PM	Thank you, everyone. And Dale-a-Gardener that is a great tip for preparing a plant for moving. I will surely do that !
growgirl59 Saint Louis, MO May 14, 2008 4:32 PM	Dale, I know it's disappointing to have to give up growing a favorite plant, but I have to say the variety of gorgeous plants you can now grow in Tampa has to ease the hurt. It seems like every time I see something that really knocks my socks off, I find out it can only be grown in a warm climate. By the way, what would happen if you grew a peony in Tampa? I would think it would still go dormant in the winter and come up again in late winter or early spring. Chris
dale_a_gardener Tampa, FL (Zone 10a) May 14, 2008 5:03 PM	Chris, peony don't go to 'sleep' and so they never 'wake up'. Our day time highs in Dec & Jan can reach 80F and often do. A cold day in Tampa is 70, a freezing cold day is 65. Our nights rarely go below 50 and if we do dip to freezing it is only for 1-2hrs once every 4-5 yrs. Our soil temp (a key factor in dormancy) never drops below 65. I like to grow delphinium (ranunculus family just like peony), but, I have to buy started plants from Colorado. Delph seeds sprout at a soil temp of 50*, we might see the soil surface temp drop to that for a couple days in Jan. Same goes for pansy and other cool weather flowers. We can grow the cool season plants, we just can't sprout the seed> View Larger
growgirl59 Saint Louis, MO May 14, 2008 9:28 PM	OK, that's it....clear out the spare bedroom. My bags are packed and I'll be there late Thursday night. Chris
dale_a_gardener Tampa, FL (Zone 10a) May 14, 2008 10:12 PM	My only spare room is the utility closet, you would have to sleep curled up (unless you are under 3' tall). Bromileads in Sarasota-50 miles south> View Larger
cathy166 Stamford, CT May 18, 2008 7:47 PM	SC, I agree with everyone that the leaves are certainly those of a tree peony. Since you live near me, I think I can add that you should plant it much deeper than herbaceous peonies in order to discourage growth from a graft plant. Does it have a woody stem? My tree peonies bloom much earlier than the herbaceous ones. The blooms are huge and the bloom time is very short and even shorter if it rains.
stormcloud Yonkers, NY May 19, 2008 10:05 PM	Great help....thank you so much everyone ! I will wait until Fall for moving and hopefully that will be safe ! :-)