Hi Kate,

I don't think there is a smaller peony bush, you could google "dwarf peonies" and see if you get any results. I have several peonies, but they typically range in the 2-3 foot tall range. Mine are fairly young plants. What rose do you have,and how tall is it? Would you consider a shrub such as "Little Princess" spirea, they only get about a foot tall, and they have pretty little white flowers on them? I have peonies planted with some of my roses, but the roses get considerably taller. I hope that you can find a fun solution.

Like primgal36, I live in Minnesota. Clearly our growing conditions are wildly different from northern California... but I've never seen a peony get taller than three feet (disregarding the peony-grafted-onto-tree stock, and that sort of thing). If that's the plant you want in front of your roses, I think they'll be fine.

Kate, I will answer your question here this time. I can not comment on 'Shirley Temple's performance because this is the first year I have her. I did make a research before I bought it. It has excellent reviews: shorter habit, prolific bloomer, does not flop (very important quality, IMHO).
Another good white Peony that does not grow tall is well known 'Festiva Maxima'.

Please note that Peonies need cold period of several weeks each winter to bloom. You indicate that you are in zone 7. This should work. The warmer parts of California (zones 8-10) are not suitable for growing Peonies.

Hope it helps.
Alina.

First, let me dispell the notion that peonies do not bloom well in zone 8 - they do just fine here and I am borderline 8/9. And some very large wholesalers located in California grow and offer herbaceous peonies to garden centers across the country. I regularly bring them in from their growing fields in Visalia. There is a large grower located outside of Palo Alto, where winter temperatures seldom drop below 30F. There is also a native California peony, Paeonia californica, that might be worth investigating but I'm not sure of its hardiness in zone 7.

I'd also second the suggestion for 'Festiva Maxima' - this a great plant for milder climates and has a relatively short stature. But I think you should be safe with pretty much any of the herbaceous forms - they are less inclined to put on as much height in milder climates as they do in colder ones.

Good morning folks and thanks for your responses.

Primgal:

I did try the dwarf peony search string to no avail:) I don't think that category really exists like you say as peonies are generally taller than that. I like your idea of the spiraea. I actually tried a little princess last year but left it in the pot with no water too long and killed it. On that note can this spiraea take the amount of water I would be giving my roses?

Deeje:

Appreciate your thoughts. You know I'm starting to think I should plant a couple of peonies mixed in with my roses. And go for something a little more groundcover-esque for the front of the border.

Hey Alina:

Thank you for both responses. I appreeciate your thoughts about those two varieties and will check them out. I know peonies grow well up here in my county. We are in the mountains and it can be quite cold here during the winter. We have pretty traditional four seasons in our area.

kate

Gardengal,
I read a lot of complaints about Peonies that fail to bloom in hot climates. I am glad to know that they perform well for people in warmer zones. I appreciate your expert comments :-) Do you protect your Peonies from afternoon sun? I think that one of the best feature of herbaceous Peonies is their foliage. Do leaves get burned in your zone?
Kate,
Costco has very nice selection of Peonies (and lowest price I've ever seen) late winter/early spring. I've bought both varieties I mentioned there. Our local store had about 20 cultivars.
Alina.

Thank you Gardengal and Alina.

If I do mix peonies in with the roses instead of along the front of the border I will still be looking for ones that are smaller so 'Festiva Maxima' sounds interesting.

At the end of winter next year I will check out Costco's peonies. Yeah! I cannot wait for spring.

Kate

An important thing to remember is that zone designations are only a reflection of average minimum winter temperatures, not summer heat. That's why you can find a zone 8 in Texas or Georgia as well as along the west coast - our winter temperatures are similarly mild although summers may be radically different.

A PNW zone 8 is pretty distinct from most others. Not only are we typically quite mild in winter, but because we are so far north, our summers are pretty mild as well. It never gets very hot here for any length of time and summer sunlight is less intense than it is further south. And we have very low humidity in summer which allows us to grow many plants that suffer in the stifling humidity of the southeast. Peonies here are best grown in full sun and the foliage does not scorch :-) And botrytis, which often affects peonies in hotter, more humid areas, is not much of a problem unless we have a very warm and damp spring.

I should think Kate's northern California zone 7 climate would be pretty much ideal for growing peonies. My only concern would be the dryness that might be present in summer, but that can always be addressed with well-amended and mulched soil and adequate irrigation.

Thanks again gardengal.

I know some friends who have had huge success with growing peonies in my town so I think we're good that way. The roses will be on a drip system with probably some compulsive over-watering from me so that's not a worry. I'm excited about doing some peony shopping next year.

Kate

Hi,
You want to do a Google search for 'Rock Garden Peonies'. They are not called dwarf peonies for some reason.
Also some peonies can get very tall, coming up on 4' tall! My Bowl of Beauty got way too big for my front walk border. I had to move it.
Remy

Here is a link that might be useful: Google search Rock Garden Peonies

Remy is right, the shorter varieties are called Rock Garden Peonies, not dwarf. Klehm-Song Sparrow Nursery has several varieties of Rock Garden Peonies. You may want to check out their website. They also have excellent stock. Good luck.

Kate,
I have about 30 roses currently, and the spireas are mixed among them. They can be watered often. We do have pretty hot summers here, I water mine every other day, early in the morning. We have an underground sprinkler system. My roses do just fine. I do water them on a slow trickle (roses) occasionally when it's very hot here for about 30 minutes per bush. The Spireas' are pretty hardy, they are drought tolerant, but do appreciate a good soaking. They bloom from early summer through the fall. Give them another try, I think you will be thrilled that you did. If you do like the peonies, they do like their water, and they need full sun. You could maybe place them in another area of your yard to enjoy. Good luck.

Several years ago I had peonies and roses planted together and was not pleased with the combination. I removed the peonies to their own area. Maybe if there was more space between them it would have been better but I just did not like the looks of the combination. For the last several years I have under planted my roses with tulips through the winter and dianthus or Sweet William in the summer. This allows me to have access to clean and add compost fall and spring. Al