Jim, et al. I have a few comments on Peonies here in L.A. I had a 'Mons. Jules Elie' (A herbaceous variety) that flowered this spring. The plant is a single wisp of a stem. It attmepted a bud last year but I was out of town at the time and it aborted for whatever reason. As Jim said, with this being a herbaceous peony, I had little hopes of it doing anything. I just force it into dormancy in the fall and it comes back on it's own accord when it's ready. I will be getting some selections of Chinese tree peonies to try here in LA. Here is an excerpt from Rick (owner) of Brother's Peonies: "Just as I have seen. One thing that I have noticed is that the Chinese plants seem to grow better in the milder areas and the colder it gets the worse they seem to grow. On the other hand, the Japanese plants thrive wherever I sell them, and do not have the complaints that I do with the Chinese plants. That is why I thought the Chinese ones would do well for you in L.A." I have planted a Chinese variety (in OH), 'Wu Long Peng Sheng', roughly translated as "lack Dragon Holding Prosperous Bloom". Why is it that only the Chinese and Japanese have such elegantly worded names for plants? I think we are missing out on something here. Anyway, it has struggled along for the last few years. It has been in the ground for 3 years now. I have hopes that next year it will reward me with some bloom. The only other Chinese tree that I have had (also in OH) is 'Yen Fin Jin Lin'. It is even smaller than the above. I would be very interested in trying some Mediterranean species here in LA but I have never been able to find them offered, either as seeds or plants. One side note about planting, Walters Gardens only sells it peonies in the spring. I have tried to get them in the fall for proper planting and they will not release them. Walters, for those who do not know, are a large wholesaler in MI that sells trays of 4" plants to the retail trade. Their stuff is really nice but I don't want peonies in the spring. It is just useless. They will struggle for several years just to get back up to snuff. But, they do offer, at a decent price, several Japanese tree varieties. One thing that Jim did not explain in his email was the reason for planting in the fall. The peony plant only puts out new roots in the cooler fall weather. So, that 2-3 root thing that you get in the spring, will have to support the whole plant for the summer until it can regrow some fibrous roots in the fall. I don't know which comes first, top growth dormancy or root growth. Maybe Jim can answer that question. I am growing also here in LA 2 tree peonies that have done OK. They really need to be put into some real planting mix. I have 'High Noon' a gorgeous clear yellow bloom and another unnamed purple variety. They have not bloomed for me as yet though. ===== John Ingram in L.A., CA. http://www.floralarchitecture.com/ check it out Floralartistry2000@yahoo.com 310.709.1613 (cell, west coast time, please call accordingly. Thank you)