Peonies and/or lilac

[Anonymous]

Well the bad news of me moving out of Zone 10 is there are many things I cannot grow here.

The good news is, I can grow some things that I never could grow near the beach in California! Like….peonies!! Like…that beautiful purple lilac!!! And stone fruit!!

Well I'm renting so I don't think they'd be thrilled if I populated the owner's front yard with cherry trees. But peonies and lilacs I bet I can do. So, anyone have any recommendations on:

where to buy
what variety to buy
when to plant?

Very excited! TIA!

[Anonymous]

I suggest you go to your local gardening store and talk to them about the varieties they recommend and are sold in our area.

[Anonymous]

Lilacs are more bush and can grow quite tall, I would check with your landlord that they don't mind you adding them to the garden (unless you're planning to just use pots).

I love Merrifield Garden Center, if you're out in NoVA.

[Anonymous]

Lilacs really don't thrive here... maybe a few hardy varieties do, but the blooming season is really short as opposed to farther north. I love them though. Peonies work great in this area. I'd go with them. But def ask a garden center. Merrifield is really good, as a PP suggested.

[Anonymous]

Lilacs struggle here doe to our hot, humid summers. Look for varieties specially developed to handle this: Miss Kim does well. Peonies do great, but will not flower first year.

[Anonymous]

I can say don't buy a Miss Kim Lilac. Lilacs can get pretty big, so be aware of that.

[Anonymous]

OP here, crying (not really. LOL can't find a good emoticon, though)

So. No lilacs and peonies don't flower the first year? wah!!!

[Anonymous]

If you get them in on time, you might actually get some blooms from roses. I got a really pretty one from the Antique Rose Emporium last year. You can probably grow those in California, too, but it's a nice, mannerly (and beautifully scented) plant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can say don't buy a Miss Kim Lilac. Lilacs can get pretty big, so be aware of that.

I can be hard pruned

[Anonymous]

Peonies sometimes flower the first year. Often you can buy them with buds in them at the garden center. I like Behnkes in Beltsville or Potomac. I adore peonies, OP, but they are also short bloomers. I have the. In a bed with irises and they are lovely together, but the bed is burning for 11 months of the year. But that one month of May....bliss.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, boring, not burning!

[Anonymous]

Lilacs would really rather be further north (although I bet they're loving this winter). But they'll do ok here, if you don't mind powdery mildew.

For peonies, get early-blooming varieties. There's inevitably a heat wave when the later-blooming varieties are just getting ready, and then the flowers fry, and that's it for the year.

[Anonymous]

I brought some Northern peonies here, and they are struggling. They bloomed the first year, though, FWIW. They are very tough plants, so why not try them, OP? Just go to a garden center and buy some. Or ask a neighbor or colleague if they need to divide theirs. Optimally, you divide plants in the fall, but I've divided and abused many peonies all through the spring and summer months, and they've survived (this was in the North). Here in the south, I baby them, but they don't do very well unless you plant them in the shade. Mine are still alive, and I have hopes for them still. They are survivors.

[Anonymous]

Do you like hydrangeas, OP? They do well here. Don't know if they grow in CA, but I love peonies and lilacs, as well as hydrangeas. Feed them your coffee grounds and they will stay blue. Mine bloom all summer. They dry out in the heat, so you need to give them some shade. I bought some table top ones in cute pots from Costco that were blooming in the winter and later, after the blooms had faded, planted them in my garden. They bloomed the next year and are doing fine.

[Anonymous]

Peonies do well here. They will need at least three years to bit their stride. Adequate sun is very important.
I agree with the poster who said to get the early blooming varieties. I have one late peony, Ann Cousins. Last year was the only time it did well thanks to the mild weather.