Peonies

[Paula A]

I saw on tv that Mariah Carey had peonies in her buoquet for her wedding.
I have tried finding them from a florist but in our little town did not have any luck. I know they don't grow in Anaheim where she got married (Disneyland) but wondered if any of you have them ?
last year I went to Portland to a Farmer's market. I saw some and the scent took me right back to a house we lived in Maryland...

[JoGee]

I like peonies, but I haven't grown any. I do see them at the garden centers when I go there.

[Paula A]

I think I will check out growing them here...I do know of one person who has them because they bring them into the hair salon I go to...Zone 9 is not a good growing zone for a lot of the trees and flowers I grew up with bacl East.
My honeysuckle is so fragrant you smell it the minute you wak outside. Reminds me of Virginia.

[JoGee]

There was an unmarked plant at the nursery...a climbing vine. I think it may have been their last Star Jasmine. I remember the fragrance of that, and I'd like to go back and get a few of those, plus trellis'. Maybe I'd better start with one, and go from there if it survives. I don't have the greatest track record with flowers.
E noticed that I talk to my plants....I don't always realize it. But those are the pants that have done best for me.
(I wonder if our resident lizards talk to them, too?)

[Paula A]

Star jasmine really takes off here...try it out!

[Nalani]

I have an ordinary jasmine on a trellis outside my sun room window. I planted it years ago and when they built the sunroom they had to leave enough space so I could get between it and the window to wash the window or trim the vine. It is almost like having a green curtain there.

I don't even know what a peonie looks like.

[JoGee]

Peonies are on a bush, Nalani. The flowers kind of remind me of double or triple roses, but look more delicate. The lady across the street where I grew up filled much of an empty lot next to her house with bushes of peonies in every color.
Apparently there were ants galore living in that lot. One day as I admired her flowers, she picked a mixed bouquet for me, which my mom put in a vase on the kitchen table. Soon the table was covered in ants, which left my mom none too happy.

[Nalani]

i think I know what what they might be, Jo, when you mentioned they look sort of like roses.

[Paula A]

And their fragrance is unforgettable!

[determined]

I have 6, which consist of 3 pink (2 deep and one light) and 3 white. The white ones I brought back with me when I was back home time before last and are starts off of a bush my Granny planted way back in the late 20's early 30's. They do draw ants, they have to have them in order to bloom, so you need to plant them away from the house.

[JoGee]

Oh, they really do need the ants, then? I thought my mom said that only so I wouldn't bring any more home. (Much of what my mom said was never true.).

[determined]

Yes Jo, the buds have kind of a waxy coat on them, they have to have the ants to eat that off so they can bloom. Knew someone who planted peonies all around their house and then wondered why they were plagued with ants. The first year mine bloomed, Kenny didn't know about the ants and I noticed him trying to knock them off the plant, caught him just before he grabbed the seven powder and debugged them. LOL

They call this pink, but they look more of a purple to me, but this is the color of 2 of mine. http://images.search.yahoo.com/image...g&fr=yfp-t-622

[determined]

Paula, seems if your area meets these conditions you should have no problem growing them.

The roots of peonies need at least 400 chill hours in the winter. Chill hours are the amount of time that the temperatures are below 45 degrees F and above 32 degrees at any given time between October 1 and February 28. Some plants need more chill hours when they are dormant to grow during the next season. Plants that do not get sufficient chill hours during the winter will not be able to produce fruit or flowers as successfully and their foliage may sustain damage.

Read more: Peony Growing Zones | eHow http://www.ehow.com/about_6546403_pe...#ixzz2SnHd51b6

[Paula A]

That is great information! thank you! We have such different little climates here that the people I know who grow them live 16 miles away, but they can have temperatures as much as 5* difference. I am now not sure how many chill hours we have, but I am going to try and figure it out and then just try.
We certainly are good for ants in Red Bluff. good to know as I have pest control that sprays around the house so I would plant away from their spray zone. I very seldom see ants anymore...even on the garbage cans.
When I go to see my son and family in Battle Ground Wa, I am looking for peonies!

[JoGee]

Paula, do you need glasses? Heavens, I see ants anywhere I go. Parks, gardens, peoples' yards, anywhere people haven't sprayed to be rid of them, They are everywhere! We are outnumbered!!!!