Still featured on the front page: Paeonia broteri. An Iberian (Spain/Portugal) peninsula endemic locally known as Rosa albardeira (Portugal) or Rosa de Alejandria (Spain). My plant is still small and needs some more years to grow to maturity clearly. Rather late flowering for a species, but it does look quite healthy.

Brassy Lady. A lutea hybrid with very beautiful flowers, although at times they are a bit hidden.

P. kesrouanensis and P. cambessedesii have flowered already, but this (as yet) unnamed hybrid one is very early as well, flowering together with its maternal parent P. caucasica. Who the father might be is unknown. It did take some battering from the late snow, wind and frosts this year, but always looking good to my eyes.

I’m always surprised to see how peonies react to late frosts. Early this morning and a few hours later, from terribly looking to standing firmly upright again. P. cambessedesii and P. wittmanniana.

Warm days and cold nights tend to result in deeper red colouring leaves. If one is looking for pretty reddish young foliage, many intersectionals are a good choice with their maple-like foliage at that stage of growth. I don’t necessarily select for it in my seedlings, but it can be an added bonus for sure. Here some of the nicer ones amongst the…Read More

Some images of species peonies as they are growing now. Images 1-2: P. kesrouanensis. 3: P. cambessedesii. 4: P. morisii. 5: P. wittmanniana. 6: P. emodi. 7: P. mascula bodurii. 8: P. mascula hellenica. 9: P. mascula mascula (from Turkey).

The peonies are growing strong, but it seems not all as good as last year. My tunnel with the whte lactiflore Mme. Claude Tain seems to have less stems than previous year and the sunny weather the last days has scorched some leaves, which results in botrytis of course. Fortunately the other varieties seem less susceptible. What caught my eye…Read More