3,000 peonies spread over one and a half hectares.
We started with just four varieties of herbaceous peonies in 2000, and we now have 35 varieties, including some rather rare Itoh peonies. Each variety has its special charms, some multi coloured, some fragrant, early, late, quick or slow to open.
Lemon, coral, cream, white, fire engine red, burgundy, pastel pink, hot pink to cerise. Some change colour, the corals start rich and deep, and as they age, they transform into soft, translucent colour like parchment.
Coral Charm softens and fades as it ages
Freshly picked Coral Charm
The very fragrant Duchess de Nemours
Jadwiga, a late flowering peony
The still rare Bowl of Beauty
Blooming Bowl of Beauty
Mixed reds, Buckeye Belle, Jerry, Red Charm
The early flowering Red Charm and Jerry.
How to care for your cut peonies
Treated well, peonies should last for up to 2 weeks and often longer in the vase.
The cooler the flowers are, the longer they will last, so avoid putting your flowers by a sunny window or near a heater.
Re-cut the stems when you get home, and if you want to be especially diligent, cut the stems underwater, this helps prevent small air bubbles from blocking the flow of water up the flower stem.
Change the water every couple of days.
If you wish to speed up the opening, you can place the flowers in warm water.
If you wish to keep the flowers for some time, you can wrap them in damp paper and keep them in the fridge, just check them every so often. Then recut the stems and put them in water, they will hydrate and begin opening.
How to care for your potted peony.
If you have purchased a potted peony from us during the season, we recommend that you leave it in the pot until the foliage has died down in late Autumn or Winter. The roots will be actively growing, and it can be hard to plant in the garden without disturbing the roots.
Peonies like a close to neutral pH, they like full sun and luckily, our experience is that they are not palatable to wallabies or possums.
When planting, prepare by digging a generous sized whole, and place the peony and ensure the buds are not planted any deeper than 30 mm, peonies love the cold which encourages flower buds to form.
If they are planted too deep they may not experience the cold they need to initiate flowering!
We fertilise our peonies twice a year, in very early spring as the peony shoots emerge, and again after flowering in late summer or early autumn. If possible use a low-nitrogen, high phosphorus and potassium formula such as 5-10-10 or 10-20-20 ( N-P-K). Too much nitrogen will encourage leaf growth at the expense of flowers. When the foliage dies back in autumn, cut it off and remove it so that it doesn’t harbour any disease.