Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Peony Seedheads

From In the Garden



Peony seedheads! Who knew they were so great? Not me, that's for sure. I normally always deadhead all of my plants in order to redirect energy from the plant into next year's growth. I read on a blog (sorry can't remember exactly which one) where the blogger talked of wonderful peony seedheads. If this is you-do let me know! This comment got me to thinking maybe I'd check out the seedheads on one or two of my peonies. This particular one is a Japanese type single peony. I think the seedheads fabulous! Almost as good as the blooms.

Do you deadhead all of your plants and what are some of your favorite seedheads on plants you will never deadhead?

in the garden....

***********Public Service Announcement! ************

If you live in the middle Tennessee area, specifically near Clarksville, this Saturday is a perfect opportunity to pick up some plants for your garden. Perhaps you might even be lucky enough to get some peonies!

The Montgomery County Master Gardeners will be selling plants from their gardens this Saturday, from 8 am until sold out. Location is the Veteran's Plaza on Pageant Lane. Get there early for the best deals.

46 comments:

  1. Good morning Tina, I don't always deadhead my peonies, both the poppy and the peony seedheads are so interesting. Glad I didn't deadhead the poppies as I forgot to scatter seeds in the fall.....Mother Nature did it for me.

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  2. Forgot to say, good luck with the plant sale!! 8 AM until sold out...interesting, we do from 9- 12 and then have to deal with the leftover plant material.

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  3. Tina,

    We rarely deadhead plants in the garden. A lot of seed pods are eaten by gold finches and they need to eat too!

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  4. Hi Tina, what a great shot of the seed heads...looks like a crown! There are many things I didn't notice prior to blogging..like sead heads and very close view of a bearded iris..which is so cool! Also, I'm very impressed with your new veg. garden..WOW!

    Peonies are plants I DO deadhead after blooming, rhodies and roses also come to mind. Butterfly bushes too, to get them to continue blooming. And when the daylilies start blooming, that is a daily chore to pick off those mush mummies (a fun chore!)

    I leave alone the pods of poppies, coneflowers and sedums. I'm sure there's more but that's off top right now.

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  5. My favorite seed heads are from Echinacea. I like their slightly prickly texture and if I leave them on they re-seed. I read where they are good bird feed, but I have never seen anything eating them.

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  6. That seed sure is interesting.

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  7. I too deadhead my peonies (which I think are going to bloom while I'm at SF!), but I'll leave some this year to see the seed heads!

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  8. I deadhead some things Tina, but I just don't have time to deadhead everything like I should. I try and deadhead my petunias, dahlberg daisies, and coreopsis. I pick some flowers as I like blooming things in the house so guess that counts as deadheading..I think.. :)
    Have a great day!

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  9. Hi there Tina girl !
    I wait with my oriental poppies .. they do have wonderful seed heads .. but I'm a newbie to peony and I'm shocked to have 4 buds to open .. I'm like a kid at Xmas ! haha .. So I will wait and have a good look at the seed heads .. if you hadn't posted about them I probably would not have stopped to really look .. so thanks girl !

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  10. I usually leave most seedheads on plants...unless they are really unsightly or I'm not collecting seeds....like the iris. gail

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  11. You are so right, the seed head is beautiful too!

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  12. Pretty neat! I don't have any peonies so I don't get to see the heads except in pictures. If it goes to seed save me a couple!

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  13. The peony seedheads are pretty. I don't have peonies, so I can't comment on them, but I do like to leave the heads on my coneflowers. The birds often pick them clean over the winter, and what's left in the spring often produces lots of baby seedlings. In fact, I think I may have a coneflower explosion this summer if they're not too crowded:)

    I probably won't be around the next few days--I won't have a computer with me in Chicago. Wish you were joining us! I'm still thinking about a Tennessee roadtrip:)

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  14. I never thought to leave my spent Peony seedheads on the plant! Those look fabulous, I'm sure my herbaceous ones aren't that special though. I like leaving the spent allium blooms they are cool looking. :)

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  15. Hi Tina, I never let my peonies go either but my Dad does.

    Funny about our different climate zones. In the early spring you were so far ahead of us but we seem to be catching up. My peonies are only a week from opening and the alliums were almost blooming at the same time.
    Marnie

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  16. that is very cool looking...i think you made the right choice to not deadhead...makes me think twice.

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  17. Morning all! What a super day here in middle Tennessee!

    Janet, Love the poppy seedheads! None here though:( Not enough sun I think.

    Randy, Oh yes, gotta love the finches! They are surely enjoying red hots right now.

    Lynn, Your garden is awesome-with or without those seedheads. They are just so fun!

    Les, finches love echinacea. They must be visiting when you are not looking:)

    Dawn, I'd never seen them before and thought them neat!

    Monica, Maybe they'll wait a few days?? Have a fun time!

    Linda, It's fun to pick flowers for sure! Yes, a kind of deadheading for sure.

    Joy, Leave one or two and enjoy the seedheads for sure!

    Gail, irises are one of my LEAST favorite plants to deadhead-too many stalks!

    Heather, Thanks! It really is!

    Dave, One day I'll divide a peony for you or if I edit, I'll save you one. Okay? No seeds, we'll do it right.

    Rose, You and all the other Sflingers need to have fun and NOT worry about blogging while on vacation. I too will be out of town this weekend and part of next week so I'll be scarce. No worries! Have a great time and any time you'd like to come see us down here in the ole south-come on down! Love to meet you!

    Racquel, This is a herbaceous peony-a single Japanese type. Run of the mill from Walmart. I know yours would be spectacular too. They are neat for sure. Never seen them before. Not sure if the big double ones have these types of seedheads as I cut them. Maybe next year.

    Marnie, I've been noticing that too! More so with Washington State. They have some things way ahead of us, while others behind us. Weird these climate zones and plants for sure!

    Marnie, yes, I am so glad I left them too. We'll see how long they hang out and if any volunteers appear.

    Everyone have a great day!

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  18. Morning All,
    Tina I never deadhead. I could never catch up. And some of the heads do feed my feathered friends. The few I do have.
    Got so much to do while it's not raining so got to get at it.
    Have a nice day.

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  19. I don't think I've seen the seed head of peonies before, I've always deadheaded mine too. I like echinacea seeds heads and if I get poppies I'll leave there's too.

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  20. I never deadhead anything; my favorite seeds in the garden are the Carolina Bush Pea and of course rose hips.

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  21. It might have been me you were remembering. I go on about my peony seed heads quite a bit, I just love them, and while the flowers are fleeting, the seed heads hang on forever. I'm so glad you let yours stick around this year. It's fun to see how much variety there is in seed heads. I should post a picture of mine soon so we can compare, they're totally different.

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  22. Great picture Tina! I only dead head a few things such as Petunia and Butterfly bush but not always deadhead those. Too hot to stand still in the garden during the summer months.

    My calendar shows Spring Fling in Chicago this weekend! With all my travels the past two months, I just could not make this trip. Sigh… maybe next year!

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  23. Lola, It does take time for sure! I can't believe how full my compost bins are from all the flowers. It's fine to leave some flowers too.

    Catherine, Blogging is great to learn new things-peony heads are fun!

    Mom, Do you leave yours? Christy said she'll be here around 10ish.

    Sweet Bay, I love those seedheads too! I hope to get some one of these years:)

    Megan, I believe it was your blog! it was a while ago when we first began talking so I forgot. They are neat!

    Skeeter, All those flingers will be having a ball! Maybe next time we can join in! I'll be out of the net next week myself. I bet it may be pretty quiet. I'm with you, too hot in the garden. That's why I'm trying to get everything done now. Hard to believe but still no A/C in late May in Tennessee!

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  24. For me, sometimes I find plants are the most interesting when they are buds, about to bloom and after they bloom. They do strange little things. I love that shot!

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  25. Oh that is pretty - guess I'll try that, we have about 5 Peonies and I can compare them.
    I usually deadhead Petunias, Dianthus, Armeria and Campanula to keep them blooming longer. Now I'm learning after some of my flowers are done and dried to give them a shake when I walk by to get some reseeding going. I'll fill all these beds up yet! ;-)

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  26. How interesting about the peonies! I deadhead my clematis as I'm greedy for instant bloom gratification, but if my lupines come up I'll leave them to seed more in our "meadow." I've also heard that planting a mature lupine and leaving it to seed more works well.

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  27. Interesting seedheads...loved it!

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  28. The peony seedheads look like tiny crowns fit for the family of a tiny king

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  29. Those seedheads are interesting - and do you think they'd give you some interesting new peonies if planted?

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  30. good night you all !!! many greetings of Kathrin from Bremen

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  31. I pretty much dead-head them all. Pretty compulsive about it...
    Brenda

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  32. I don't dead head either. I have enough trouble keeping on top of the weeds as it is. Let the plants keep their heads I say!

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  33. Hi Tina. I don't deadhead everything but I usually do deadhead the peonies so I've never seen the seed pods before. Interesting. Usually I select what I want to seed about then deadhead the other stuff. Not very scientific but it works for me. Wish I lived nearby to visit the plant sale.

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  34. I never knew peonies had such interesting seedheads!

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  35. The seed heads are very nice. I planted a single white one a few years back. It is going to have its first bloom soon even after I moved it about a month ago. I am one happy gardener!

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  36. Very busy day in the garden. I picked more Blueberries {yummy}, also picked the wax bush beans. There was more than I thought.
    Laid newspaper down at the Backyard Corner Garden & put leaves {that I raked up from trimming azaleas}. I knew they were gold so I kept them for this purpose. I also picked the Banana Peppers that were ready. Lots of tomatoes but not ripe yet.
    Transplanted quite a few plants.
    A lot more to do so will be at it again tomorrow {if it don't rain}.
    Pain killers be ready.

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  37. Those are very neat! They look like little crowns.

    Cameron

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  38. Hi Tina~
    Those peony seed pods look like they have an interesting texture and shape to them. Will you be able to grow new plants from the seeds? I like to leave the seeds on hyacinth vine, I love the deep purple color of the pods. Good luck at the plant sale. Wish I could come!

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  39. Hi Tina! I didn't deadhead my tree peony (it had only two flowers) and also noticed how interesting its seeds were! I want to try to grow a plant from seeds, although they say it takes a long time.

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  40. I let rosehips go of course, and I also like flowers that age from red to rust to brown - like Sedum 'Autumn Joy'. I'm often too lazy to deadhead, but oddly, I happily cut off flowers in bloom if they are blooming on plants that I only like for their foliage. For example, I hate the wimpy white flowers on red leafed heucheras, so I cut them off as soon as the poke their spindly little heads above the foliage.

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  41. Hi all! Late night again:( Thanks for dropping by and adding input on deadheading and interesting seeds. It is so nice to get everyone's perspectives on seedheads!

    Mom, Christine made it safely.

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  42. Hi all, Sorry on not responding better. Been so busy. I realized I did not address the question on whether the peonies will seed or not. I honestly do not know, but if they do-the more the merrier! Dave gets the first one:) I'll let you all know and will be sure to look for them when weeding.

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  43. Beautiful picture of a beautiful seedhead. I just got my first peony, so I see I have something to look forward to. It's true, seedheads can be as or even more interesting than the flower. One of my favorites is Lady Jane tulip seedheads; light shines through their ballooning pods, showing off what's within.

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  44. Those are beautiful. I'm so glad Peonies have beautiful seedheads, because that's about all that was left of my Tree Peony blooms when visitors came yesterday. I must confess that I am a compulsive deadheader. I so enjoy it that I get a bit carried away. One plant I never deadhead, though, is Anemonella (Thalictrum thalictroides). Its seedheads look like little star balls, and I can never have too much of them.

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  45. I read this too late to think about letting a peony bloom go to seed. I am a big dead header. There are a few I don't, such as pasque flower and prairie smoke geum. I am inconsistent with the false baptisia. Even those, I may go ahead and take off when they are totally dried up. Many flowers will bloom again when deadheaded, and most of my others need a bit of a haircut when finished blooming. I imagine my trying to jam as many plants in my small space is a factor.

    When it gets closer to fall, I quit deadheading the coneflowers and such.

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