Anonymous wrote:Peonie noob here. You have to plant in the fall, right?

No. You do not. You can plant now. The only time I wouldn't suggest transplanting them is in the midst of summer when the sun beats down so hard and it's hot/humid as hell. I'd avoid planting anything then if you can.

Peonie noob here. You have to plant in the fall, right?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:question for all the peony pushers... I LOVE the flower but have had not experience with the plant. Last year I planted one that seemed to do well and flowered but it kept tipping over. then i noticed a lot of people in my neighborhood who have peonies have the same thing. Is that just how it works? Or can you make the stems stronger somehow?

Peonies need to be staked, if you don't want them to flop. Is that what you were asking about?

Yes.i staked them but they are still too limp like the flower is to heavy. so that is normal?

It's probably normal for that variety - here's a link to the Washington Post article mentioned by 8:20 http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home_garden/best-peonies-for-the-dc-area/2011/05/05/AF0vSpqG_story.html . Get a variety that has a stronger stem and the head won't flop. You might have to stake them but at least the flower will be upright.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:question for all the peony pushers... I LOVE the flower but have had not experience with the plant. Last year I planted one that seemed to do well and flowered but it kept tipping over. then i noticed a lot of people in my neighborhood who have peonies have the same thing. Is that just how it works? Or can you make the stems stronger somehow?

Peonies need to be staked, if you don't want them to flop. Is that what you were asking about?

Yes.i staked them but they are still too limp like the flower is to heavy. so that is normal?

I used a ring thing to keep them together - is that the kind of stake the earlier PP meant?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:question for all the peony pushers... I LOVE the flower but have had not experience with the plant. Last year I planted one that seemed to do well and flowered but it kept tipping over. then i noticed a lot of people in my neighborhood who have peonies have the same thing. Is that just how it works? Or can you make the stems stronger somehow?

Peonies need to be staked, if you don't want them to flop. Is that what you were asking about?

Yes.i staked them but they are still too limp like the flower is to heavy. so that is normal?

A while back, in the Home section of the WaPo, the garden editor had an article on peonies that had stronger stems and were good for this area. Here are a few of the varieties I wrote down: Little Red Gem, Claire de Lune, Border Charm and Bartzella.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Previous Anti-Miss Kim poster here--my Miss Kim always looks like crap with drying up leaves by July and the flowers don't actually smell like anything. Is it possible I have a fake Miss Kim!?! I have neighbors with old, established lilacs that smell heavenly and look great, so it can be done here. I would go to a garden center and pick out a lilac in bloom.

I know this post is old but since it's been revived in this new forum.....I think it's very possible you have a fake Miss Kim. We've got three and they're fabulous. The blooms are even more fragrant than the ones we had on our farm in the Midwest (we had three varieties - don't know what they were but they were different colors and had different size flowers). The flowers are paler in color and smaller in size but the flower stem is packed with flowers. I'm really impressed. They also haven't gotten taller than 4 feet and have survived total neglect while we were doing home renovations.

Anonymous wrote:Lilacs grow just fine. Get a daphne. And a witch hazel. Daphne is picky about where you plant her but she makes a beautiful bush and smells heavenly.

Lilacs grow just fine but don't necessarily bloom just fine, here.

I think daphne is stinky. But then I think lilies are stinky too.

Witch hazel is lovely.

Anonymous wrote: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.

I second the hydrangeas (but I put sulfur on those that are genetically designed to go blue). I don't think I could kill them off if I wanted to. Another lovely plant that takes a lot of time to colonize but is gorgeous when it catches on is lily-of-the-valley. Mine are going gang-busters this year.

Another plant that I love year and that blooms all summer long are carpet roses and double knock-out roses. Plant in full sun and follow instructions about digging a big whole and enriching the soil. They are terrific!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I miss lilacs So. Much. The city I grew up in had a lilac festival every year and I always swore that when I bought a house, I'd plant a lilac. Then I learned this isn't the best climate for them. . There are a few that do better I think- recently picked up Southern Living's plant guide- it's huge and a great resource so far.

Lombard, IL?

Rochester, NY?

Yes, Rochester.

Lilacs grow just fine. Get a daphne. And a witch hazel. Daphne is picky about where you plant her but she makes a beautiful bush and smells heavenly.

Anonymous wrote:question for all the peony pushers... I LOVE the flower but have had not experience with the plant. Last year I planted one that seemed to do well and flowered but it kept tipping over. then i noticed a lot of people in my neighborhood who have peonies have the same thing. Is that just how it works? Or can you make the stems stronger somehow?

Peonies need to be staked, if you don't want them to flop. Is that what you were asking about?