I'm in the Tulsa area but I didn't have much luck with the one I tried. I researched a bit about them as I'd never grown one before either and found out that certain varieties do better in zone 7 climates then others. Reading about how precise you have to be when you plant Peonies convinced me that I needed to buy one already potted and growing. So I bought the old recommended variety called Kansas. AFTER I planted it a gardening friend of mine in Ft. Smith said she didn't like Peonies because their foliage looked so ratty by August! No where had I read about that in the pretty peony catalogs. I grew this pup for 3 years. Every spring the foliage would shoot up and look fresh and green and lovely but never a bloom. By August the foliage was all ratty looking as mentioned by my friend. I got tired of this but rather then just pitch it I gave it to my neighbor who planted it in her front border, and forgot about it until next spring when the first bloom popped up. It was beautiful. Almost as pretty as a rose. So maybe it was just the right amount of time in the ground that made it bloom, but the rotten looking foliage in August still continued. So if you can hide the foliage and get one to bloom it is a pretty thing. Good Luck....Maryl

Thanks for the info Maryl!! The flowers are just so beautiful I wanted to give them a shot but was hesitant. I would never have known about the ratty looking foliage...all the magazines show are the stunning flowers.

I may research further on what variety would be best suited for our climate...but I sure don't want the nasty August foliage that comes with it.

Your info was invaluable...thanks again!

A lot of old timers mowed or cut the foliage off in August. I never bother because I don't care, but I'm told it doesn't keep them from blooming the next year. Peonies can take several years to bloom after being transplanted tho. And one of the main causes of bloom failure is planting too deeply.

I transplanted 3 peonies in Tulsa when we moved 3 years ago in February. They flourished and flowered the first Spring, so split them the next Spring and planted the split plants in a new bed. The second year the original plants bloomed profusely, but the transplanted plants barely put out buds.
I felt like the transplanted bed kept too moist, and had more shade, so I re-transplanted these plants back into the original bed last Fall, and all plants are sprouting out nicely right now.
I would make sure that Peony roots are not waterlogged and that they receive a lot of sun.
Ron Z

Thanks everyone for the fantastic advice...guaranteed I'll be trying them!

Susan,
Thank you for the link to the Hibiscus moscheutos, those are gorgeous! I'd been thinking about planting peonies because they are so pretty, but your point about their ability to stand up to the wind and rain our Oklahoma spring and early summer storms can bring is a good one.

Suzie

I grow them...successfully too! I usually give them partial shade. My biggest bed is on the east side of the house, so morning sun. I have them scattered all over though, because I love them so much.

I use peony rings around a number of mine. I also cut them for bouquets, then if it rain or blows, I still get to enjoy them!

Here's a bouquet from my garden.

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and another one...

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I forgot to say...I'm in OKC.

Lisa

I have lived in Ponca City, Oklahoma City, Tahlequah, Tulsa, and Edmond. No problems with Peonies in all those places.

Seemed they did best in southern and eastern exposure.

Moni

Lisa, those are absolutely stunning! I am always, always amazed at the photos of your garden and blooms! You are one of the BEST gardeners I know of because you have such diversity among your plants.

Susan

Susan...thanks so much for the hibiscus link. I have 2 in my yard and they're thriving but neither as beautiful as some on the link! You've opened a new door for me!

Lisa...your bouquets are absolutely gorgeous!! Your yard must be heavenly... and what an eye for arrangements! Thank you for sharing.

I live in the woods a little east of OKC.

Susan, you are making me blush! I just love flowers. I wish my beds looked more like my arrangements...all neat and tidy :)

Bev, I do grow perennial hibiscus as well. I'm not sure which one, they are pass-alongs. They are very hardy. I have a few beauty shots of them, but here's a more full one:

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There's a Chaste Tree behind it....which is much, much bigger now!

Lisa

I just had to come back and comment on those beautiful arrangements. I don't have the patience for that kind of thing, but I sure know a stunner when I see it....Another thing not mentioned about the Peonies are the ants on the blooms. I didn't have them, but my neighbor did. I have read that some years they can be very annoying.

Lisa, beautiful Hibiscus, too! It kinda looks like Lady Baltimore, which is an older hybrid.

Last year, they had some of the new dark, wine red blooming hibiscus at Westlake Ace Hardware, and I almost picked one up. It was a new color that I haven't seen before and they sure were gorgeous.

The hibiscus I have has the cut-leaf foliage that has bronzy touches to it, and those huge dinnerplate pink blooms with a red eye. It is considered a compact plant because it only gets about 3' tall, but boy, it gets about 4' wide. The only thing I don't like about it is that it doesn't bloom prolifically, though it does bloom steadily from mid-summer until frost. I cut it to the ground in spring.

The ants are only after the nectar that oozes from the buds. If you cut your peonies when the buds feel like a marshmallow (I'm told), and swish them in water or under the faucet to rid it of ants, and then put it in a vase, the blooms will then open without ants. I've also been told they last longer when picked at that stage.

Susan

Lisa...your picture of the hibiscus is beautiful! And I love the Chaste Tree behind it...I've never heard of it before but on my way to look it up.

Moni...thanks for the information. Theres so many places I'd love to have Peonies in my yard but worried about afternoon sun on them.

Thanks for the tip about the buds. I will try that this year, because the ants do drive me crazy! I've tried rinsing the flowers with a hose, shaking them and soaking/swishing them in the sink but almost always have to leave them sitting on the patio table in a bud vase because those darn ants are hiding on the flowers!

Just to add my two cents - I have three peonies growing in my flowerbeds, and they are my favorite flower. They were divisions from a friend, and didn't bloom profusely until maybe the second or third year. Will be trying a peony hoop (grow thru grid type) this year to see if I can keep the flowers out of the mud.

Bev, the real name is vitex. I bought it at Horn's on NW Exp & Classen. I love the vitex (chaste tree) because it really brings in the butterflies and hummingbirds. I really need to deeply prune it or chop it down and let it regrow. It's a soft wood tree. I let it grow kinda wild the last few years. I have a problem with pruning, either I don't do it....or I'm so brutal, the plants are screaming when I'm done!

Re ants, I've arranged outdoors many times to give the ants a chance to escape. If not, then I leave the whole arrangement in my sink. I'm sure the ants escape, but I don't seem to have a lot of problem with them.

Since I appear to be showing off...here's my favorite pic of my hibiscus

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Thanks for all the compliments. Spring is my favorite time...all sorts of fun arrangements can be made straight out of my garden. I just wander around the yard, with clippers in hand, looking for just what I need. I love it.

P.S. don't you think that looks like a choir being led very a very enthusiastic director? LOL.

Or maybe a very enthusiastic preacher...

I use it as a wallpaper on my home computer.

Lisa

LOL!! Lisa...now that you mentioned it, it DOES look like an excited director leading his blonde choir! That is a riot!

What an imagination...I'm still laughing.

The hibiscus is beautiful!

Beautiful photo, Lisa! What kind of camera are you using? Is it an SLR? Sandy has one, and I do wish for one........ Right now, I have a Kodak with a 12x zoom lens on it, but I need to get a tripod for stability. I like it because it is bigger and thus, easier for me to handle than the smaller ones.

Susan

Susan, it's just a point and shoot. Probably my original panasonic lumix which I loved and dropped one too many times on its head. I bought a second one, don't love that one very much unfortunately.\

I know Bev, that picture makes me giggle.

Lisa