Contact your supplier right away. The plastic bag should not have been sealed. The wet shavings are to maintain moisture for the exposed roots but if sealed with no air mold is almost surely to result, and the eyes should not be dry. Al

I was watching this thread because I just planted 3 Japanese tree peonies. I'm not unhappy with them (I wouldn't really know any better anyhow) but I was suprised at the appearance. They pretty much look like a piece of ginger like you's buy in the market. No roots longer than a few inches. There are a few viable stems on each one. I guess Japanese tree peonies are grafted onto herbaceous peony rootstocks.

What I'm curious about is that the stems are not really joined except via the rootstock which seems to serve little purpose at this point except to anchor the stems/roots. Over time do the stems fuse at the current rootstock junction or does the rootstock remain for the life of the plant?

PS. One stem was partially dislodged from the rootstock. Is this OK?

Thanks

RosySunnyGirl, I second Al's suggestion. But for now plant in a large pot or in an area that would be easy to dig up. Dip in a weak bleach solution and let dry before planting. The plants may live and if the supplier requests them back(unlikely) you can provide. If they do die they will be away from the rest of your plants. If they live and and the supplier replaces, do the honorable thing and contact the supplier to discuss the problem.

Although you are not doing so there is an increasing number of people that are placing orders then complaining that their plants died when the plants are nice and healthy and they just want something for nothing. This practice is causing growers and nurseries to stop plant replacement. Notice the number of signs now posted that state something like "nursery only guarantees plants until they leave the parking lot"

Alexh, read the rest of the forum for correct planting depth. The roots that come out of the stem are the ones that will provide for the plant for the rest of it's life. Contact where you received the dislodged one for a replacement, asap. Some providers will replace some will not. The ginger like rootstock provides nurishment until roots are established above it. It may die or send up its own shoots. After the tree peony has it's own roots the nurse root if still there can be removed. The nurse root can be planted after removed at the normal depth of peonies. Some of the nurse roots flowers are more attractive then the tp.

For a good starter book ask for the peony book from Firefly Books by Pamela McGeorge? for the holidays. It provides lots of good information without making you feel like a dummie.

Thanks maifleur,

I got a good one one for you - That loose stem I was mentioning was bothering me so I went out and gave it a second look. I thought it looked weird, about the size of my little finger but no sign of buds. I then realized what I suspected - it's actually a root which is attached to the side of the root stock which somehow got turned around so it was facing upwards! I pulled out the whole bareroot as I only planted it a few days ago. Turned out it's not loose just a little twisted so I turned it downwards and replanted. So your dummie comment is particularly appropriate!

The limited instructions I got with the bareroot are as follows -"Our Japanese tree peonies are grafted on herbaceous peony roots. Planting a Japanese tree peony is similar to planting an herbaceous peony. Japanese tree peonies need to be planted deeper to stimulate the growth of tree peony roots. The grafting point should be 4-5 inches below the soil surface."

The graft point as they say is not always totally clear and putting the point at which the stems reach the rootstock at 4 inches under would nearly bury a bud so I sort of averaged the middle of the rootstock which is only a few inches long at 4" deep. Hopefully I'm about right.

I'll take a look at the book. I nearly always try to buy a book for the particular high value plants I'm using and I actually have Alice hardings "The Peony" and Martin Pages "The gardeners Guide to Growing...". Both of these are horrible IMO. Not one drawing of a planted rootstock and only a few pages on cultivation and site selection/preparation. Same thing with John Feltwells book on Clematis. Is the gardening trade unduly afflicted with poor writers?

Al and Maifleur, thanks for the suggestions and for the info on plant guarantees. I didn't know about that, but it does make sense.

I called Gilbert H. Wild today and was told that the mold and dry eyes weren't a problem, and that the roots had grown moldy waiting for me to open them (they arrived Tuesday; I learned about the package Saturday from a neighbor collecting my mail while I was away). She told me to wash them off in soapless water and plant them.

I'll follow your directions and use a little bleach on 3 of the 4 and follow her instructions on the last one. If they don't make it, I will never, ever order from them again. I didn't spend a lot (about $32), but that's money I earned, and I'm not any where near being wealthy enough to just throw $32 down the toilet.

Wild is a respected and well established grower and after following their directions if your plants fail, let them know and I would expect them to offer you relief. Al

The packing instructions that came with my peonies state that the mold is normal and it is not a cause for concern.

Maifleur, what a thoughtful and useful reply! Any nurseryman that sees your reply would cheer, because it's true that an increasing number of people are wanting too much for too little. Actually, i find that's true in a lot of businesses.

Rosysunnygirl, I agree with calistoga, Wild is a wonderful company, and I know from past experience that they send very nice peonies, many of which bloomed for me the first spring after a fall planting. Also, keep in mind that your package apparently sat there for a few unanticipated days. If the plants' roots were squishy with the mold, you'd probably need to trim the back, unless a huge part of the root was squishy, then it's probably no good. Anyway, I hope your peonies come out fine. I vaguely recall that I had some peony roots from somewhere with mold, and once planted they showed no sign of a problem afterwards.

--Ron

Thanks for the encouragement, Ron... I'm excited now that I know there's a chance they could bloom this spring. I'll let you all you know what happens with them.

Thanks for the encouragement, Ron... I'm excited now that I know there's a chance they could bloom this spring. I'll let you all you know what happens with them.

Well, it's not good news... I decided to follow their instructions to be on the safe side. Soapless water to get off the mold. I was so excited to see what would happen this year.

I have a few other peonies in the yard that are shooting up (one even making little bloom-balls), and I was really excited to see what my new little guys would do. I could just see the flowers. I've been waiting, and today -- after still seeing nothing -- I decided to risk sacrificing any bloom for the year, dig one up and take a look.

It had a few white feeder roots, but no eyes, and parts of it are squishy. I dug up the rest. None of them have eyes. I guess the dried-out ones died over the winter or I don't know what. One of them, Doris Cooper, was just a mess of mold. We've received a lot of rain lately, and the snow pile in the driveway ended up on her area this winter, but I wasn't expecting that. The other plants in her area (bulbs and a perennial geranium) are coming up just fine.

So, all four are eyeless, with no signs of anything happening this year or maybe any other year. One is moldy and 1 is squishy. I'm so disappointed.

I'll contact Wild's tomorrow and see how they might be willing to help. I'd really appreciate replacements (I'm more than willing to send their roots back so they can see I'm not scamming them) or even some sort of credit, at least for most of the amount I spent. A few weeks ago, I was feeling hopeful and placed an order for more of their peonies to arrive this fall. They have great prices and older varieties that I haven't been able to find in other places, so I really hope this works out. I'd like to remain their customer...

I'll let you all know what happens. RSG

It didn't go well. I spoke with a very kindly older gentleman who told me that the problem was likely rot and that he wouldn't be responsible for that. Either that, or I planted them too deeply (which I know absolutely I did not). I understand completely holding me 100% responsible on the one that spent most of the winter under snow, but not on the others. I was hoping for half credit, at least.

Nothing got nasty, and I thanked him for his time in listening to me. But in a separate call, I canceled my order of peonies for this fall and I won't be ordering again. No hard feelings, but I just don't want to order from them again after this.

You should put all you have said here in writing and send it to the nursery. It is easy to say no to a telephone call but only the person who answered the phone knows about the complaint. Send copies of the original order and any other correspondence from them. I doubt if they want to lose you as a customer when all you want is credit or replacement. Al