The Potting Shed: Make Yankee peonies a Southern abundance

In my mind's eye, I remember the peony-lined sidewalks at my grandfather's house that were always so abundant and beautiful.

This memory was revitalized as I visited Griffin's Plant Shed on U.S. 258 and found gallon-sized pots of ready-to-bloom peonies for sale. Purchasing several, I hurried home to recreate once again a pleasant memory from childhood.

To grow the peony in our area, you must first learn a little about the flower. I don't want to alarm you, but the peony is a true Yankee. It grows best north of the Mason Dixon and up to its "bloomers" in snow. Requiring 100 to 300 hours of winter weather in its rest period, few of the newer varieties can tolerate our mere 100 chilling hours of winter weather in order to revive its lost energy supplies.

The raspberry colored Felix Supreme, the white Baroness Schroeder, red colored Felix Crousse and the pink Teresa are several of the good old boys that will grow in Kinston and give a splendid, though short lived show of color.

Several of the fancier cultivars to grace our rebel homeland are a pink double peony tagged Elie; the Festiva Maxima, which is a double white with a reddish center; and the Sarah Bernhardt, which is a very light pink shade.

These are all garden peonies that will only bloom for about a week. Therefore, you will want to vary the varieties you plant to extend your growing season up to a eight-week maximum time period.

The plants are herbaceous perennials that will grow to about 2 to 3 feet and can live up to half a century. That makes them great "hand me down" plants.

Garden peonies are usually sorted according to their flower shape. Classifications range from single to semi-double, double, Japanese and anemone. In Kinston, we can also grow tree peonies, which grow to large bush size and do not die back during the winter. You should never cut back tree peonies.

Preparation for over-wintering peonies is quite easy. After a heavy frost, remove and destroy the stems of garden peonies down to 3 inches from the soil surface to eliminate the possibility of any fungal diseases over-wintering.

Tree peonies, however, should not be cut back in the fall. Remove any mulch that might have been used during the heat of summer and let your plant chill out for the next five months.

Bob Johnson is a Lenoir County Master Gardener.