Help A Peony. They Clearly Need Your Support!

I am considering starting a charity for Peonies, as they clearly need our support! The above picture was taken yesterday, May 17th, and this is the first of our peonies to bloom. There are many more in waiting, so will post an update later if I get the chance. This one is hovering just a few inches off the ground though due to being unable to support itself!

Last year after moving in I was really blown away by these little beauties (well quite large actually as each bloom is about the size of a cricket ball or baseball for those North American inclined ;-) ). I watched the buds gradually grown in size until they were so heavy that the plant stems were almost bent over double. The flower bulbs, then flowers themselves are simply too heavy for the Peony stems to support them! By the time the flowers bloomed they were literally dragging in the grass! Such a shame after such an effort to bloom half of them end up in the dirt!

This year I thought I would be prepared and I supported them as they grew. As it turns out I haven't supported them nearly enough, so I have just been out in the rain staking up more support for them. They look a little lopsided, again, but at least this year they are not dragging themselves in the dirt! I need to get out and possibly prop up the supports again as it decided to tip down as I went out this evening to sort it out. A load of rain for the first time in two weeks. Much needed but not the best timing. Ah well that can wait for the weekend. For now they are looking rather majestic in a very lean-to kind of way.

Having watched them grow last year I thought this year it might be nice to document their annual growth spurt. The first time I noticed new growth was in mid March. The following photos is from March 2oth and shows the Peony shoots on their merry way. These are growing up through the cut off stems from last year.

Two weeks later, 3rd of April, they had passed through the ever so inadequate supports I had set up for them. At this stage the supports were fine. Not for long though ;-).

3 weeks later, April 26th, and the bulbs had started to form. They really explode with growth and the ants in the garden absolutely love them! I guess their is some form of nectar that they are going gaga over. The ants have not really disappeared until they have actually bloomed. Is it possible that ants are pollinating the flowers instead of bees? Probably not. They are probably just there for a free feed! Better on the Peonies than in the house I guess!

By May 10th its pretty clear that my inadequate support mechanism is clearly inadequate. It's about this time I should have started accepting charitable donations ;-)

Then before the final push into bloom the bulbs are pretty much in a bursting state. This photo taken yesterday, May 17th.

The first Peony Bloom is the leading picture in this blog entry. This came out probably on the 15th of May. So from humble beginnings in mid march, the peonies have literally exploded into bloom in about two months. As with all garden flowers their existence is all too fleeting. I imagine within about another two weeks the blooms will be tired and haggard, but while they are full of life they are a welcome site! If I am feeling a little macabre in a few weeks I might track their decline so you can have the full Peony life cycle picture. Let's see if I have the time! Quite possibly not!

Anyways there you have it. I am a great fan of the peonies. Their sheer size and intensity are a welcome addition to our garden. Give them a try if you like the look of them. Make sure you give them adequate support though, as I have not done for the past two years!

Have fun

Cheers

m