Peony roses

Peonies are just gorgeous flowers. But they also require patience as they resent root disturbance and  being cut for sale is more than disturbance.

There doesn't seem to be a large variety of peonies available in Australia which is probably due to the expense and time needed to cultivate these beauties.

It's hard to know if the divisions sold are from mature plants or plants grown just for root divisions at the expense of flowers. If the information on the internet is to be believed than I will have to wait at least 3 years before I will see a flower!

I'm just excited that the shoots have started to emerge. Before I planted the peonies at the beginning of winter I put rabbit and horse manure in the soil with a sprinkle of dolomite. The top of the divisions were planted so they were 2 cm below the surface. I was happy they survived the hard frosts in winter, I read that they need cold winters but this year it got down to -6 on a number of occasions.

Now to see how they grow during the hot dry summer predicted.