Date: Fri 19-Jun-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: CAROLL

Quick Words:

peony-peonies-Suburban-Bleach

Full Text:

SUBURBAN GARDENER: Tree Peonies: The King Of Flowers

"All day long we've questioned the flowers, but the flowers do not speak.

For whom will they shed their petals and leaves, for whom do they bloom?"

--The Emperor Yang of Sui,

590-618 BC

By Anthony C. Bleach

For over 2,000 years the Chinese have regarded tree peony as "The King of

Flowers." There are about 600 varieties.

Some have names which are the most curious in horticulture. They are sometimes

descriptive as in `Blue Sea-Green Waves,' or ornately poetic like `Coiled

Dragon in the Mist Grasping/Purple Pearl,' `Heaven Scented with Dew,' some are

mystical, like `Fire That Makes the Pills of Immortality,' or satirical:

`Tipsy Imperial Concubine.' That last one is named after one of the most

famous women in Chinese history, Yang Gui Fei. Yes, there is a mischievous

delight in the description: the petals are casually disheveled.

We had a fascinating tour recently of Cricket Hill Garden, in Thomaston, in

the good company of David Furman, who runs it with his wife Kasha. David

admits he wooed Kasha with a tree peony blossom in the early 1980s. It may

have been the perfume that did it.

Most of us would agree with the 9th Century writer who wrote: "Surely such a

flower never existed before among humans." And, surely, never such a garden.

Tree Peonies are woody shrubs that can grow as tall as ten feet. Their flowers

come in many shapes, colors and fragrances, are much larger, and usually bloom

two weeks earlier than herbaceous peonies.

Although they lose their leaves in the fall, they are interesting in winter.

The branches are arching and the bark is often gnarly.

Unlike herbaceous peonies, which bloom best in full sun, tree peonies prefer

partial shade, with just three or four hours of sun. They grow better in the

sun, but the flowers burn off in just two days.

They need a well drained spot; standing water will kill them. It is very

important that you plant in the fall, by October at the latest. Tree peonies

develop their new roots just before going dormant. Spring planting does not

allow time for roots to develop. These are big plants with a lot of leaves and

large flowers.

The Furmans do not fertilize at planting, but feed with compost in subsequent

years. They dig a one-foot-deep and one-foot-wide trench along the drip line

of the plant, then fill it with the compost. In a year or two, roots will have

grown into the trench, and they repeat the technique, but further out.

Each spring, they also feed with a foliar spray, such as seaweed or fish

emulsion. After blooming, the plants are watered again with the same solution.

Tree peonies are very tough plants. Even if you shear them to the ground with

a lawn mower, they will come back. After blooming, deadhead the flowers, and

in the fall, clear up the leaves. This will help prevent gray mold from

infecting the plants in the spring.

Apparently there is only one insect pest that is known on tree peonies: the

rose borer. It works its way into the pith of older plants and deposits its

eggs from spring to fall. If you can spot a hole in the bark or a wilted

branch, cut the infected wood.

There is no question that our tree peony is the most cherished plant in the

garden. Every year it grows bigger and carries more of those heavenly flowers.

This spring we had 12. Do order early. They always sell out some varieties.

Cricket Hill Garden is at 670 Walnut Hill Road, Thomaston; telephone:

860/238-5508. The essay by David Furman which was the source for the piece is

in Fine Gardening (Jan-Feb 1967).

(Anthony C. Bleach coordinates the horticulture degree program at Naugatuck

Valley College in Waterbury.)