On Fri, 3 Jan 2003 21:45:11 -0000, "H.Monk"
wrote:

However, I notice in my seed cats, some herbaceous types, i.e.
p.mlokosewitschii, p.officinalis, p.cambessedesii and p.tenuifolia etc. It
does not say whether to expect flowers in the first season.
Has anyone had experience with these or similar. I live in Cornwall, approx
6 miles inland.

Species peonies take five to ten years to reach flowering size
after germination. They mature more quickly if planted out rather
than kept in pots, once they have put on enough growth to survive
the rough and tumble of the garden.

Admittedly, they are beautiful things, but they are all singles
and their flowers are quite fleeting. You'd best think of them as
being an entirely different category from the big hybrid
cultivars usually grown.

I suggest you put your family on a diet of cold water and stale
bread. Tell them it is healthy, and a good way to start the New
Year by letting the body purge itself of toxins. Or some similar
fairy tale. In a short time, this will free up sufficient funds
to buy the cultivars you really want.

P. cambessedesii is fairly tender; it might do rather well in the
mild Cornish climate. Its flowers are scented of cloves. A
delightful plant, unfortunately slightly too tender for me.

--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada