Clayton brought up the topic of the significance of fragrance in peonies. I'm with you on this one, Clayton. Generally, no matter what the plant, I want the fragrant version. Roses without fragrance rarely get into this garden, and if they do they usually don't last. For the next few days I won’t leave the garden without very good reason: the noisette roses which cover the south side of the house are starting to bloom and the big Madame Gregoire Staechelin nearby is loaded with potently fragrant bloom. Scharlachglut, another powerfully fragrant rose is also blooming. All of these have the sort of fragrance which carries well on the air. Black locusts are blooming and so is mock orange. I would rather be here now than anywhere else, thank you. And the wood thrushes are back and energetically tuning their flutes up for the big performance. Yes, I’m fine right here. I feel the same way about peonies, and I probably would not have bought peony 'Coral Charm' if I had known about the scent: my garden is just too small for plants which don't meet my criteria. But, haven't I learned something here? 'Coral Charm' is undeniably one of the most beautiful peonies I've seen: I guess I can learn to hold my nose now and then. Jane asked about peonies which sprout from the roots severed from the crown. We had a discussion about this last year (or was it the year before). At that time I did not realize that this occurred except in one or two wild peonies. But someone chimed in to report that indeed there are cultivars which have this ability - much to the delight of those propagating them. Archive search! Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone 7 My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/