That old fluffy white one with the red petals here and there near the center.

Karl Rosenfeld is right up there. I love it but don't have one.

Klehm's has the most beautiful green bordered peony, they bred it themselves. I'd love one like that and don't normally like green flowers except Bells of Ireland.

My friend snitched these out of a lady's yard (which I frown on), but once they were picked, I put them to good use. The picked blooms didn't last long, maybe they were older ones, we didn't trim the stems, she had them out of water too long, etc.

By the way, those two peonies above, something in that class would be my first choice. They're gorgeous.

I also liked the apricot-colored peonies I saw in somebody's yard, didn't get back soon enough to get but one that hadn't passed its prime, I thought they looked more apricot, but the photo looks more pink. Maybe it was kind of a salmon color, beautiful whatever they were and for a single flower form.

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You accepted flowers that a friend stole out of someone's yard??? Considering that we wait a whole year to see them bloom, and they only last little more than a week, that is a terrible theft! I'm sure that lady felt violated, to grow beautiful plants only to have some greedy neighbor think they could just help themselves because they liked them and should have whatever they want without any of the expense or work involved. You should chastise your friend so that she understands this is stealing something dear to a gardener's heart.

The first snitched ones look like a tree peony. I would be hopping if mad someone steals my peonies since they take at least a year before they begin to bloom. Plus they bloom only once and for only a short period of time. I do offer my plants & flowers very generously if asked, but hate it with passion when some got stolen from my garden.

My favorite ones have no name. They came from friends who very generously offered for me to dig up the plants before they sold the house. Both are very fragrant. I think the white one with red freckles is 'Festiva Maxima'.

I agree with GGG. Peonies are my passion and if someone stole some blooms, I would be really upset. Why couldn't she just ask her neighbor for a few blooms? Stealing plants is so WRONG. It really gets me mad to even think that someone would trespass on my property to steal plants and I would definitely feel violated. How would you feel if someone came over to your yard and stole blooms from one of your plants, especially one that only blooms once a year and for a week, at most? Shame on your friend and you for being part of it.

The double peonies like Festiva Maxima or Shirley Temple are beautiful, but will flop after a rain unless you put peony hoops around them for support. If you don't want to have support, choose the single flowering ones. I got some from Walmart that were named Lavendar Lady & Blue Lagoon. There really are no peonies out there with that name, but these are beautiful. I prefer the doubles, but these singles are the first to bloom & last to finish. There are several single flowering types out there.

Look, I didn't and wouldn't steal them. I learned my lesson about that as a child! I chastised my friend for it, asked her not to bring me any stolen ones again. What was I supposed to do with them, throw them in the garbage? Take them back to the lady after trying to get her to tell me where she lived? The lady would take it out on me, and I can't make my friend (who I've had difficulties with such that I try to keep her at arm's length) go and do it, or at least apologize like I was made to do as a child because how would I know she really did?

I would love to have a peony like that whatever it is.

Yes, if somebody stole my peonies, and I don't have any, I'd be mad, too. I know what it feels like to have stuff you've grown and prize and go out and see it gone. It was a choice branch of apricots, I'd taken a photograph of it, and was waiting until they were just right. I went out and they were all gone. We had to shake mine from the tree. It really hurt because that tree only gives me apricots once every five years if I'm lucky. Sometimes I give my flowers and fruit away, but I like to be asked. The kids are always stealing my apples. My main problem with that is that I don't want them climbing the tree because if they fall and get hurt, their parents might sue me in these litigous times.

Stealing issues aside, I would say that doubles like 'Festiva Maxima' (which I have and love) will flop regardless of whether you stake them. Perhaps there are some super-magical, industrial-strength hoops that would work, but I've yet to find them. If you are concerned about flop, try some of the singles. Many places that sell them will give you info about how strong the stems are, so go for the ones that are said to be the strongest, and then hope for no wind or rain during the week of bloom. Oh, and if wind and rain is predicted, run out and cut them all and fill your house with peonies!

My heart belongs to Festiva Maxima. Hard to improve on this old classic, it has stood the test of time.

I don't have too much trouble with flooping, I use the peony support hoops.

Here is a link that might be useful: here's a photo from White Flower Farm

Thank you everyone. I went out yesterday and bought one not even mentioned! lol It's called Bowl of Beauty. I've read good reviews about it, and it's not really a double, so I hope it doesnt flop over. I'm going to put a hoop around it anyways. The bush itself is really nice, and it has 3 flower buds. I'm going to wait and plant after it's done blooming. Or should I wait til Fall? What are your opinions on this Peony? Thanks for all the suggestions, the pics are gorgeous. Didnt want white because the garage behind it is white.

Jen

Please, please, please, someone identify that beautiful red one. I want it!

I have 'Philippe Rivoire,' an antique double dark crimson with a lovely strong fragrance. 'Port Royale' is a dark purplish-crimson Japanese form flower - very striking. And 'Amalia Olson' is a wonderful double white with strong stems. I've received wonderful plants from Klehm's Song Sparrow nursery, and from the Hollingsworth Peony Nursery.
Hollingsworth gives good information about how their plants perform in the garden (stem strength/need for staking or not, foliage, bloom time, etc.).

Laurel

Here is a link that might be useful: Hollingsworth Peony website

OT, aliska, what software program did you use to get the black and white with the one pink accent?

bean counter, at that time I was using Paint Shop Pro 5 and Photoshop 6 and passed my work back and forth between the two in .bmp format. I didn't know how to use photoshop very well yet. I got the clean edges with either the selection wand or the blur>smart blur>edge only in PS, then painted in the jaggies and the rest with a brush to make a mask. It was the first one like that I did, and it was easier than some because there was no other contiguous color anywhere near the blossom, everything else was green until you got to the next blossom, and the center was easy enough to mask over once I had all the other color. I hope that makes sense. I'm sure there are other programs that will let you do the exact same thing, it just takes time and patience with a fine brush on the edges that the edge finder or selection wand didn't pick up.

sharon, I am working on finding out what that peony is. I have a call in to Aunt Rhodie's Nursery in Davenport, Iowa, where I believe it was purchased. As you might guess, they are frantically busy, but the plant specialist is supposed to call me back. The lady said she thought that one they had not been able to get the last couple years, I think she said it also comes in pink and white, but she wasn't sure, tried to be helpful.

Now I did a lot of searches on the web, the closest I came was a Japanese tree peony, but the one in my picture has that indefineable something that doesn't quite cut it. It is truly special and unique. They have a couple specimen plants growing at that small nursery, it's not far, so maybe when I get a chance I'll go down there, take a printout, and compare it to what they have growing. Then maybe I can at least get a name for it. They don't ship. I don't know if there is a patent absent which they could propagate it. I'll ask. I doubt they will propagate, but it's worth a shot.

The linked one is the closest I can find, very, very similar, but doesn't look quite like IT! I don't know to this day which house it is where it is growing, if I did, I would at least like to look at it. I would NOT snitch anything from that beautiful thing.

And to the original poster, so glad you got started and found a peony you like!

Here is a link that might be useful: Roberta's 2 pc Red Japanese Tree Peony

I like 'Nick Shaylor' and my paeonia tenuifolia (fernleaf peony). I also like a lot of the other older varieties like 'Mrs Franklin D Roosevelt' and 'Sarah Bernhardt.'

One of the best things about herbaceous peonies is that they flop in the rain - you don't need to feel guilty about cutting them for the house, the office, your neighbors, your friends and everyone else!

My absolute favorite is another old one, Mons. Jules Elie. Huge double pink flowers with an unbelievable fragrance. I wish I had a thousand of them.

And the secret to keeping peonies from flopping is this. Stake each flower separately. I have a bunch of stakes that are iron rods with loops at the end. The loops are about two inches in diameter and they have an opening. You stick the rod in the ground next to each stem. Then you poke the stem with the bud thru the space in the loop. It takes about a minute a stem. They never flop, even during a thunderstorm. The stakes are dark green so you can't even see them.

ginny, where do you get stakes like that and how much are they? I think I may have seen some in my Gardener's Supply Catalog.

What's wrong with the regular hoop things? Do they flop anyway or not look as pretty? They sound a lot easier to use.

I've gotten them in better nurseries and garden supply stores, and also in the Kinsman catalog. Be sure to get the ones with loops only about 2" in diameter; there's another kind with much bigger loops that don't really work for peonies. They come in different heights. I get the tallest for peonies.

The advantage of these things over hoops is that, with hoops, the heavy peony flowers still bend over and even break. With the stakes I use, the loop is just under the flower head, holding it completely erect, invisibly. It's much more natural looking.

When the flowers go by, I remove them and use them on other flowers. They last for many years and are quick and easy to use. Two types are on the market. Both are green metal but one is plastic-coated and the other is just painted. I have both kinds but plastic-coated is less likely to rust over time.

Bowl of Beauty is a nice choice. My absolute,hands down favorite is Coral Charm. I know it's not the pink you were looking for but it stops people in their tracks every time. I think it's listed as a semi-double. I never stake it and it stands up well. Love Klehm's catalog, wish I had more room for peonies. I put a couple of shorter varieties in last fall, the names escape me at the moment but can't wait to see them.

I love peonies. I have quite a few I've picked up here and there. Most of them I have no idea what they are. I do have one or two Sarah Bernhardts and I really love them. I just realized most of my pictures are of them in bouquets! We had constant rain this spring and it was really hard on them.

I use peony grids, I highly recommend them!

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Lisa

Jen, good choice with the 'Bowl of Beauty'-it doesn't flop for me.
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However my 'Raspberry Sundae' does flop after rain, but smells so nice:
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Beautiful photos and yard. Thanks for sharing them.

I just noticed there was a peony forum. Saw yesterday that they were blooming nicely, they looked a little peachy, but they come out more pink in the photos. It appears they are shaded most of the day, northern exposure with neighboring trees on east and west, amazing they bloom so well, thought there might be some sun on them this am. I'm tempted to knock on the door sometime and ask the people who live there if they know what they are.

I'm sure these have to be the same ones I did the color accent photo with. How can they be single then get so double like this? Different possibilities for that, I suppose.

Am not making any headway on the red tree peony, went to look at the specimen in front of the cottage, and it's more light pink, bushy, and had finished blooming. They might be able to order some for me for next spring if I take the printout, said they get them bare root, maybe they can't get the same ones or they came from somewhere else after all. Asked at another nursery with my printout, and the lady who might know had just left for the day.

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I have 3 plants - festiva maxima, shirley temple and sarah bernhardt. Frankly not my favorite flowers as they flop and then fall apart so quickly even though staked. I cut them and take them all to the cemetery. Think I'll be transplanting them to the backyard this year.

These photos are pure and simple garden ecstasy. Thanks for sharing.

Buckeye Belle is a nice dark red that seems to be pretty sturdy.It's only in it's third year for me. My favorites in the pinks are Raspberry Sundae and Sarah Bernhardt. Gorgeous, smell heavenly, but do flop. Bowl of Beauty is a great one, too. I've got several that came from my Dad's house. To be honest, I can't think of a peony I don't like, but if I keep buying them, maybe I'll find one, lol!

I like your philosophy flowerluvr!

Well I have Shirley Temple growing and various others. Shirley Temple is exquisite and I've not yet needed to use a peony ring....but, next year I might. Shirley Temple looks somewhat like Festiva Maxima...........but the photo above is like mine and is indeed Shirley Temple. Mine, never bloom pink as some labels show. But isn't she pretty?

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Here's another newer peony I think is lovely - Bowl of Beauty. It will fade to a lighter pink:

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Here is a link that might be useful: My Gardening Blog