Carolyn, as long as 25 years ago the peonies in Sacramento on the state
capitol grounds were given truckloads of shaved ice a number of times
each winter to give them the winter chill needed to bloom the following
year. It worked!
Shirley Meneice
Theladygardens@aol.com wrote:
>I have grown Peonies successfully in Los Angeles and now in Los Gatos. There
>are a few tricks. They were my father's favorite and I took some from his
>garden in Kansas where they still grow 12 years after he is gone.
>They don't like to be moved so when you move them, you must care for them for
>a few years before they will bloom for you. I purchase a junk food jello in
>a plastic jello mold from the grocerers to use. For 6 weeks in the winter,
>every night, I dump the a frozen ice ring over the remaining peony stalk or
>marker where the peony stalk should be. Then I refill the plastic jello ring
>with water, put it back in the freezer to be used the next night. If you do this
>for 6 weeks, they will bloom for you. I still have 1 clump in the ground
>that bloomed this year as it has every year. Over the years we have moved 3
>times with them so I have lost some. I honestly think they died because they were
>in pots and I didn't water them correctly. I do have a friend here who has
>a few plants in his garden and they have bloomed but not regularly. I don't
>know if he goes to this trouble or not. But he is in a different area and may
>get more chill hours.
>Carolyn in Los Gatos, CA
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