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Where the garden meets the wild |
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PAEONIA PEONY Paeoniaceae (Peony family) |
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Peonies have been delighting gardeners for 1600 years or so, and species peonies ~ peonies with their wild beauty intact ~ are the choice of connoisseurs. Despite their beauty, peonies enter historical records first in remedies for pain, infection and high blood pressure. Their Western name refers to Paion, physician to the Greek gods. In China, home to more peony species than any other region, wild-peony medicines are described in Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, a herbal classic written around 200 BC, but were doubtless in use much earlier. Serious revisions of the genus Paeonia have begun on several bases ~ molecular, genetic, taxonomic ~ and a couple of important horticultural treatments are in the works as well. Struck by the confusion in Paeonia knowledge and nomenclature, we have arranged a Peony study-tour in China in April 2004, led by two of the world's foremost peony experts. At the moment, the best single public source of information about peonies is probably Project Peony, the website of Dr. Carsten Burkhardt. Peonies in our display collection now include broteroi, brownii, californica, emodi, kavachensis, kesrouanensis, lagodechiana, ludlowii, mascula ssp. russoi, mlokosewitschii, obovata var. willmottiae, potaninii, potaninii var. trollioides, rockii, ruprechtiana, steveniana, tenuifolia var. lithophila, veitchii var. woodwardii, wittmanniana var. tomentosa, and the cultivar 'Feng dan bai', which closely resembles ostii. |
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Photograph © Galen Burrell
Seeds are swelling in the green carpels. Photograph © Jeff Abbas |
Paeonia brownii Douglas
ex Hooker. Bowl-shaped flowers of gold, green and maroon
appear in May-June on this shapely herbaceous shrub that should be
planted more often. The sepals, the petals and the incised, glaucous leaves are
rounded. This is the more widespread
of North America's two peonies, native to dry sagebrush and Ponderosa pine
country from British Columbia south to Wyoming, Nevada, Utah and
California. Our plants are from seeds collected in Oregon. Height 20-40 cm (8-16").
At least Zone 6. Paeonia brownii thrives with us in 10 times more rain than the 18-25 cm (7-10") it is used to. Drainage and aeration are key. Our plants grow on a bright, porous, southeast-facing bank, sheltered but not shaded by a Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). Dry areas are often alkaline; we mix calcium into the acid soil around our North American peonies, just in case. Pot (1 gal. / 6"). 2-year plants. In Canada C$20.00; elsewhere US$13.50. Pot (2 gal.). 3-year plants. In Canada C$35.00; elsewhere US$25.00. |
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Photograph © John Game |
Paeonia californica
Torrey & A. Gray. Closely related to Paeonia
brownii, this herbaceous shrub differs from it in being taller,
fuller and more branched, with green sepals and more scarlet in its petals, leaves that
are pale on the underside, and longer petals and leaflets with oval rather than round
tips. It is native to the dry
slopes of California's southwestern mountains and may not be frost-hardy
(we are experimenting; 2002-3 is their second winter here in Zone 6). Height 35-75 cm (14-30"). Pot (1 gal. / 6"). 2-year plants. Canada C$25.00; elsewhere US$18.50. |
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| Paeonia kavachensis
Pot (2 gal.). Four-year plants. In Canada C$65.00; elsewhere US$50.00. |
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Photographs © Galen Burrell |
Paeonia ludlowii
(Stern & G. Taylor) D.Y. Hong.
Pot (2 gal.). Four-year plants. In Canada C$65.00; elsewhere US$50.00. |
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| Paeonia mascula ssp. russoi from
seeds collected in Sardinia.
Pot (2 gal.). In Canada C$65.00; elsewhere US$50.00. Pot (1 gal.) In Canada $30.00; elsewhere $22.00. |
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| Paeonia mlokosewitschii from hand-pollinated seeds. Golden peony; Molly-the-witch. | |
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Photographs © Galen Burrell |
Paeonia mlokosewitschii hybrids. These
gorgeous juveniles have not yet bloomed. Some are probably peach-colored, others
yellow.
In early spring, the leaves of mlokosewitschii and many of its hybrids, including these, open maroon or purple, gradually shading to green over a month or two. You can see this luscious trait in a mloko in our garden; another example is our 'Pippi' progeny seedlings, below.
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| Paeonia obovata | |
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Photograph © Galen Burrell |
Paeonia potaninii
Komar.
Pot (2 gal.). Four-year plants. In Canada C$65.00; elsewhere US$50.00. |
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Photographs © Galen Burrell |
Paeonia
'Pippi' progeny. We focus on
species, but these mlokosewitschii hybrids by our friend Galen
Burrell are so breathtaking that (once oxygen was restored to our brains)
we knew we had to offer them to you. These are open-pollinated seedlings
that all have the mouth-watering mloko trait of leaves that open
red to purple and very gradually become greener, though still tinged with
purple for a long time; the flowers are rose-red. Zone 5.
Pot (1 gal.). Two-year plants. In Canada C$35.00; elsewhere US$24.00. |
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Photograph © Galen Burrell |
Paeonia rockii from seed
collected by Josef Halda.
Pot (1 gal. / 6"). In Canada C$45.00; elsewhere US$32.00. Pot (2 gal. / 12"). In Canada C$85.00; elsewhere US$65.00. |
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| Paeonia ruprechtiana
Pot (2 gal.). Four-year plant. In Canada C$65.00; elsewhere US$50.00. |
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| Paeonia tenuifolia subsp. lithophila
Pot (2 gal.). Four-year plant. In Canada C$65.00; elsewhere US$50.00. |
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| Paeonia veitchii var. woodwardii | |
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| Paeonia wittmanniana var. tomentosa
Pot (2 gal.). In Canada C$65.00; elsewhere US$50.00. |
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