From the Arctic circle to Northern China

A pair of closely related species which have been open for up to 5 days in various locations (and not yet at all in others) opened today in the datum bed.

The first is Paeonia anomala (this is subsp intermedia which has wider leaf segments), the Anomalous Peony, probably the most cold-hardy of the species as it's natural range runs the entire length of the Ural mountains of Siberia and it has been naturalized into the Kola Penninsula since about the end of the 1800's. Easy to grow in normal garden conditions and soils, it is adaptable from full sun to the dappled shade of woodland gardens in mixed cover. Indeed its natural environment is in forests and scrub. The species has some variability in the fineness of the leaf segments, and in the colour of the flowers (there is a white-flowered form which I am anxiously awaiting the flowering of); the form most often seen in book photos is narrowly segmented and has dark magenta flowers.

Second is Paeonia veitchii, Veitch's Peony, of late classified as a subspecies of anomala by some Chinese botanists. It has some overlap with the southern end of the range of anomala and extends further south. Flower colour is variable, most of mine are either slightly paler pink than this plant or a darker pink, but from later seed batches I have been getting plants ranging to dark red. And of course there is a white form which I try to keep the bees from diluting. Leaf variations include shiny smooth leafs to "matte finishes" and veining with an "etched in" appearance. The plant in the photo is from seed from a compact form, but the plant seems about full size in garden conditions.

Veitchii is one of the few species which has more than one flower bud per stem (it has a terminal bud and 1 to 3 pairs of side-buds). Those who seek large flowers can direct more growth energy to the terminal bud by early removal of the sidebuds, whereas those who leave the sidebuds on get to enjoy a succession of smaller flowers over a couple of weeks, extending the bloom period of the plant. This species is equally easy and adaptable as anomala.

These 2 (or 1 if you prefer) were the first species for which I obtained seed and had success with. They used to be my earliest peonies to flower... How naive I was, then. (okay, still am but that's a different story)

Peonies Progress (1)

Veitch's Peony, Paeonia veitchii, finally showing, slightly more advanced in some locations than in others. The first pic shows the leafs starting to deploy, the second shows them just emerged.







Here, the Anomalous Peony, Paeonia anomala, just showing up; no obvious difference from veitchii at this stage. This species used to be my earliest to show up, but the warmer winters this decade have for some reason retarded its emergence. And of course I now grow a lot more species than I used to so I don't know if it would still be earliest following a colder drier winter.

The next 2 pics are of the Golden Peony, Paeonia mlokosewitschii. The first with the notable purple colouration to the leafs and the glaucous tint, is my original plant, purchased as a root division. The second with the greener foliage, is a seed-grown plant (seed bought from Chiltern's of the UK). Other seed-grown plants from different sources show leaf colouration between these two.

Noses, Shoots, and Deploying Leafs (part 5)

This is the last part of this series of pics from 8 May. Whew.

Fern-leaf Peony, Paeonia tenuifolia, at home in a grass swarm. Not planned; the grass came later (as it is tending to do in all my beds. Why oh why do we insist/persist in using creeping grasses in lawns?! (why do we have lawns at all?)

And here, probably a hybrid of tenuifolia, or maybe just a variation on the species. Whichever, it's also enjoying the grass. And while writing that, it has just occured to me that the grass may help to moderate soil moisture in winter here and thus break the plants out of their habit of decline after wet mild winters. Hmmm, time will tell.

Pre-2000 we used to have cold winters with dry snow; back then Paeonia anomala or the Anomalous Peony used to be way ahead of the garden peonies and the other species I was growing back then (which were only a few, and none of the very early ones). These days it choses to sleep in and in fact is not showing yet in most locations around the property. Note the sections of crown and roots sitting proud of the soil. Several plants of this species have adopted the bareback approach to life almost since they were first planted about 12 years ago. I don't bother covering them up.

And finally showing up today, the noses of the traditional Chinese Peony, Paeonia lactiflora, forebear of most of the garden peonies. More slender than any (?) others, and redder. At last something familiar-looking to many! This plant is grown from seed collected in the wilds of Mongolia or northern China (again, the intrepid Halda).

Missing in action (well, inaction really!) is Veitch's Peony Paeonia veitchii, and several tree peony species. They're just not starting yet.

A brief note to those who check this site daily, I have made 3 postings on the evening of 10 May, all dated 8 May: parts 3-5 of this theme. (the reason for messing with the dates is because of the date of the photos)

Noses, Shoots, and Deploying Leafs (part 3)

Paeonia mairei in a pot and with a well-formed bud, a total surprise. Somewhat ahead of what it should be coming out of the ground if I had gotten around to planting the thing. At the lower left, the greener mop-head thing is a Paeonia anomala from one of the Josef Halda collections, probably finer-leafed than the anomala's I've grown to date.

Another subspecies of the Apothecarie's Peony, Paeonia officinalis ssp banatica. Rather a twisty top to it, but that's not necessarily a feature of the subspecies.



The next 2 pics are Paeonia kesrouanensis; the first is the same plant shown with a naked crown on 05 April-- I piled a bit of loose dirt on it about mid-April. This plant is in the woodland bed.

Slightly further along, this one is in the "part sun" display bed by the house.




And the noses of the Largeleaf Peony, Paeonia macrophylla.

A few more Peony seed carpels

Yes, I'm still here off and on between bike rides... One of the pleasures of the countryside at this time of year is the marvelous scent of massed flowers of the biennial Queen Anne's Lace (Wild Carrot) where it has populated ditches or abondoned fields.
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Carpels and the shiny jet-black seed of Paeonia anomala var intermedia. The seed is weakly attached and can be knocked to the ground by a heavy rain; this is not the case with most species.


Carpels and seed of Paeonia veitchii. The seeds are distinctly blueish when fresh but will often change to black when dried for a few months.

More Peony Seedpods- Carpels

For an introductory discussion of these things, see my weblog entry of July 21.
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Today's photos are of the Asian species I have.

Carpels of Paeonia anomala subsp intermedia

Carpels of Paeonia veitchii.






Carpels of Paeonia obovata. Very distinctive.





Carpels of Paeonia lactiflora (plants from wild-collected seed) These are smaller because they are less weeks from flowering.

The hardiest- Paeonia anomala

Paeonia anomala is the widest-ranging species geographically, and probably the hardiest. It's natural range is through the Ural mountains of Russia from the Arctic Circle into Mongolia and northern China and into other parts of Siberia and it has naturalized in Finland. It grows in forest clearings and scrub. It is very closely related to P veitchii, and indeed some botanists consider veitchii to be a subspecies of P anomala. The main differences to the gardener are that anomala has only one flower per stem (usually), the flowers have more of a satiny texture, and veitchii is more nodding (ie flowers facing horizontalish rather than more skywards). Also anomala is probably more cold-hardy, depending on where in its range it originated.

I haven't seen the same sort of flower colour variability in my anomala as in my veitchii, but it is there. Foliage also varies widely in the narrowness of the leaf segment, sometimes being almost as narrow as on P tenuifolia although again I haven't seen this in my plants to date.

This year its first bloom was on 21 May here, but its bloom date relative to any other peonies is widely variable here depending on the winter. The colder and drier (snow rather than rain) the winter, the earlier it will emerge and flower; likewise after wet and or warmer winters it is reluctant to get growing. It also has the habit here of pushing its crown and new growth buds out above the soil line, seeking just a bit more frost please.

I find that this plant does quite nicely in my woodland bed and in the partial shade. It grows well enough in the open field but stays shorter than in the shadier spots. With its attractive foliage it makes a nice textural foil amongst Hostas, as one example.