Monday, March 23, 2009

Dig It - Banquet Tree Peony

Banquet Tree Peony
I just finished planting the last of our tree peonies for the year. All of the buds on our display and potted tree peonies are really beginning to swell and you can expect to see blooms on tree peonies before their herbaceous relatives begin to flower. Although their bloom time is short lived, they retain their attractiveness throughout the summer due to their interesting foliage.

What fabulous plants to have in your garden. They last for years and get better with age with larger and more abundant flowers. (My wife tells me she is getting better with age---who knows???). Once planted a tree peony often will out live you (something else the wife is planning to do!).

Banquet tree peony is one of the first generation hybrid seedlings from Saunders in 1941. Any plant that is still around that long deserves a place of honor in your garden! Large semi-double flowers of a strawberry red with touches of gold on the undersides of the petals and cut-leaved foliage make this a landscape standout.

Tree peonies are grafted on herbaceous peony roots and need to form their own roots. Therefore, make sure you plant your tree peony deep enough so it will begin to form roots from the top graph.

Centuries ago the Chinese dubbed the tree peony the "King of Flowers" and once you establish one in your garden, I'm certain you will agree.

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