Save the Peonies! Rescuing the Treasures of a Century-Old Nursery

        When I first started collecting heirloom plants in the 1970s, I was elated to discover a small, family-owned nursery in Iowa with an enormous list of peonies. Founded in 1887, Sherman Nursery was especially rich in peonies from the nineteenth century, many of which were no longer available anywhere else. Unfortunately they were wholesale-only and wouldn’t sell to me then, but soon after mailing my first catalog in 1993 I started thinking about someday offering their rare heirlooms.
        It took a while, but in 2008 we added peonies to our catalog, and since then all but two of the 18 we’ve offered have come from the Sherman collection. (See them all here and here.) Unfortunately, like many nurseries Sherman’s was hard hit by the economic downturn, and in 2009 it was sold to a much larger Midwestern grower. When I heard the news I was worried about their peonies, because wholesalers typically make their money by selling large volumes of relatively few varieties, but I was busy and . . . before I knew it, instead of the 111 peonies that Sherman’s was growing in 2001, only 56 were still available – and last month we learned that 17 more will be dropped next year.
        Although there’s no way Old House Gardens can save all of those peonies, we’re doing what we can. We alerted our friends at the University of Michigan’s historic Peony Garden and they spread the word to some of the country’s leading peony specialists. We also joined forces with the Iowa farmer we get ‘Festiva Maxima’ from, buying the last available roots of several rare peonies from the Sherman ark and turning them over to him to preserve and multiply for us. If all goes well, we’ll see the first fruits of this partnership as early as next year when we hope to offer the fragrant Midwestern classic, ‘Frances Willard’. With your support, there will be more good news. Stay tuned. (Dec. 2011)

Try This at Home: Fresh Peonies Months from Now

        In the early 1900s, peonies reigned as one of the country’s leading cut-flowers, in part because they can be stored in bud for months. Yes, months! And it’s easy. Here’s how you can do it yourself, in an article adapted from The American Cottage Gardener magazine by our good friend Nancy McDonald.
        “Choose perfect buds of semi-double to double varieties (the heaviest ‘bomb’ types and singles don’t work as well). In the cool of early morning or late evening, cut buds on six-inch stems, just as the petals begin to loosen but are not yet open. Place in gallon-size, zip-lock freezer bags. I put ten to twelve buds per bag, with half the heads facing one way and half the other. Wet a small, new, cellulose sponge or clean dishcloth, wring it out so it’s just barely damp, and put it in the bag. Gently work as much air as possible out of the bag and seal it. Store flat in your refrigerator. You may wish to put the bag in a plastic storage box, so the buds don’t get bruised by people rummaging for that last chicken leg. Make sure everyone in the house knows that they are not to be eaten.
        “After the peonies outdoors are just a fragrant memory, start enjoying your stored ones. Cut an inch of stem (underwater is best) and put the peony in water all the way up to the bud. Within half an hour it will begin to open. Arrange in a vase or float in a bowl of water (a charming way to display peonies anytime). Floating ones seem to last longest. Trim stems an inch shorter each day, if needed. Using this simple technique, I have stored buds for as long as three months, and dazzled everyone with bouquets in early September.” (May 2011)

From North to South, Experts Say “Plant This Peony!”

        For a peony that never flops and blooms happily from zone 4 to 8 (yes, 8!), experts recommend the 1920s classic, ‘Krinkled White’. Elizabeth Lawrence, patron saint of Southern gardening, called it “the king of the singles.” Tony Avent of Plant Delights Nursery in zone-8a North Carolina says it’s “one of the finest, especially for gardeners in the South,” explaining that it’s “proven to be one of the top low-chill, heat-tolerant, deer-resistant peonies in our trials.” And Joan Severa of zone-4 Wisconsin, Master Gardener and author of Creating a Perennial Garden in the Midwest, says she prefers single peonies because they “hold themselves up and stay fresh-looking better,” adding that “last year I counted 75 blooms on . . . ‘Krinkled White’ which has gorgeous yellow centers and parchment-white petals, charmingly wrinkled.” Why not order one to plant in your garden right now? (Oct. 2010)

Peonies in 1901: “A Well-Gloved Girl Who Can Swim and Ride”

        While the magnificence of peony season is still fresh in our mind’s eye, here’s some praise of that enduringly popular flower from Alice Morse Earle’s classic Old Time Gardens, Newly Set Forth. Published in 1901, Earle’s book became enormously popular – a reminder today that we’re not the first gardeners to appreciate heirloom plants.
        “The glory of the front yard was the old-fashioned early red ‘piny’, cultivated since the days of Pliny. I hear people speaking of it with contempt as a vulgar flower – ‘flaunting’ is the conventional derogatory adjective – but I glory in its flaunting. The modern varieties, of every tint from white through flesh color, coral, pink, ruby color, salmon, and even yellow, to deep red, are as beautiful as roses. Some are sweet-scented; and they have no thorns, and their foliage is ever perfect, so I am sure the rose is jealous. . . .
        “Not the least of the peony’s charms is its exceeding trimness and cleanliness. The plants always look like a well-dressed, well-shod, well-gloved girl of birth, breeding, and of equal good taste and good health; a girl who can swim, and skate, and ride, and play golf. Every inch has a well-set, neat, cared for look which the shape and growth of the plant keeps from seeming artificial or finicky. . . .
        “No flower can be set in our garden of more distinct antiquity than the peony; the Greeks believed it to be of divine origin. A green arbor of the fourteenth century in England is described as set around with gillyflower, tansy, gromwell, and ‘pyonys powdered ay betwene’ – just as I like to see peonies set to this day, ‘powdered’ everywhere between all the other flowers of the border.” (June 2010)

Better Together: An Easy Combo for Your Spring Garden

        The wine-red, newly-sprouting foliage of peonies is always a treat, but our friend Tom Fischer’s Perennial Companions: 100 Dazzling Plant Combinations will show you how to make it look even better. As he writes, “The emerging foliage of peonies can be as spectacular as the flowers. . . . Planted among the vivid blue of glory-of-the-snow, it practically glows.” For the inspiring full-page photo, go to http://books.google.com/books?id=VxXh56ql0BAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=perennial+companions+100&cd=1#v=snippet&q=santa%20fe&f=false, click on page 16, and scroll down to page 17.
        And while you’re thinking of it, why not order these two fall-planted treasures from us right now – at LAST year’s prices. (Feb. 2010)

Peeking at Peonies, Part 2

        Take a refreshing walk in the University of Michigan’s historic peony garden by viewing a two-minute slide-show of this year’s Peony Peaking Party: http://michigantoday.umich.edu/2009/07/slideshow/index.html?tr=y&auid=5077812. Then to order a bit of this beauty for your own garden, click here. (July 2009)

Peonies: Tips for Cut-Flowers and Where to See Hundreds in Bloom

Peony season is here! Peonies are long-lived but slow to establish, so if you planted them last fall, you can expect a few stalks of foliage this first spring, a few blooms next year, and more every year after that for a century or more.
        For tips on cutting peonies so they last longer in bouquets (and so you don’t damage your plants), visit oldhousegardens.com/Bulbs-As-Cut-Flowers.asp.
        To see hundreds on display, visit the national show of the American Peony Society, June 6-7, at the historic Kingwood Center in north-central Ohio. It’s all free and sure to be amazing! To learn more, visit the APS website.
        That same weekend, one of the world’s oldest and largest peony gardens welcomes visitors to its annual Peony Peaking Party right here in Ann Arbor. Located in a sunlit glade in the University of Michigan’s Nichols Arboretum, the garden dates to the 1920s and exciting new efforts are underway to revitalize it and make it a model for historic plant preservation across the country. The free celebration runs from noon to 4:00 on Sunday, June 7, and lemonade and watermelon will be served. See you there! (May 2009)

For articles on other topics, see our main Newsletter Archives page.