As I mentioned in previous post, was hoping to give you some photos of the peony growth in the fields but rain has kept us inside most of this week. Perhaps you can get a mental picture as I update you on the fields with text only. Most of the early varieties are about 12 to 18 inches high. Mids are 1/2 that height and late varieties are 2 to 4 inches high. With the cooler weather and lack of sun, you can really tell the difference of potential bloom times with the varied growth. The intersectional (Itoh) hybrid peonies are the most perplexing this time of year. Seems like they are stalled at 4 to 6 inches high for the past couple of weeks. Then its almost like they grow overnight. I just love the burgundy red color of their soldiers/stems when they start to grow above the ground. The tree peonies are filling out nicely and some have already developed their massive buds.
No definite dates have been set for Peony Field Days. Will be updating the blog and Facebook when we get closer to bloom time. I’m assuming with all the April showers that May peony flowers are soon to come, especially the intersectional hybrid peonies!