Jim McKenney wrote: >Thus, it's extremely unlikely that the herbaceous stock will overwhelm the tree peony scion during the first season. In our similar Eastern United States climate, I agree with Jim. The herbaceous peony understock appears to be doing most of the root work for many, many years. I have a few of these, and straight herbaceous hybrids as well, and the tree peonies are really slow growers here. I have one tree peony for which the understock suckers, but it was 10 years old before I had any top growth on the understock, most of the younger plants have not done this yet and may never. They are not planted all that deep. Planting an herbaceous peony too deep is nearly a guarantee that it will not bloom. Here I make sure that the eyes are visible at ground level year round, much deeper and no flowers. This would probably sicken the heart of the devout tree peony grower, but one year things got away from me and the understock grew and formed flower buds. Not having the heart to cut them off and being curious what they might look like I allowed them to continue. What a lucky break, the single flowers of the understock are one the best herbaceous peonies I have. I now allow this to happen every year and get the early show in March from the tree peony and then a show late in April from the understock. I do not allow the understock to overwhelm the tree peony and I am happy with the arrangement. I have taken numerous photos of the understock's flowers because it is such a looker. If anybody is interested I would be glad to post to the wiki. Regards, Jay Yourch Central North Carolina, USA (USDA 7)