There doesn't appear to be anything like that in CT, but we do have a nice Chinese tree peony display garden here. It's kind of surreal. ^^
The few peonies I've seen in person that don't grow in my garden were in White Flower Farm's display garden. Most of the flowers were heirlooms that they don't even sell! ^^ That's why I was attracted to Scarlett O'Hara, though.
I've heard that Zone 5b on the East Coast is the ideal for peonies...it gets a bit hot here in Zone 6a in the summer, so the foliage deteriorates late in the season. We've got problems with botrytis but not with root rot, probably because it can be very wet here but the drainage is okay. I've found that Actinovate works really well on fungus...too bad I didn't get a bag until a lot of the peonies were already infected! It took the powdery mildew off my yellow lilac with just one application.
There are some peonies that are more susceptible to root rot than others. I've heard Buckeye Belle is bad like that. Maybe the officinalis crosses? I've found that the white peonies are a bit more tolerant to that kind of thing. Duchesse de Nemours and Moonstone(which is pale pink) went through almost the entire season without a mark on them(as did Bowl of Beauty, but that one's pink and yellow). Louis van Houtte and Msr. Jules Elie got bit by the botrytis blight pretty bad this year(thankfully, botrytis blight isn't fatal...)
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The few peonies I've seen in person that don't grow in my garden were in White Flower Farm's display garden. Most of the flowers were heirlooms that they don't even sell! ^^ That's why I was attracted to Scarlett O'Hara, though.
I've heard that Zone 5b on the East Coast is the ideal for peonies...it gets a bit hot here in Zone 6a in the summer, so the foliage deteriorates late in the season. We've got problems with botrytis but not with root rot, probably because it can be very wet here but the drainage is okay. I've found that Actinovate works really well on fungus...too bad I didn't get a bag until a lot of the peonies were already infected! It took the powdery mildew off my yellow lilac with just one application.
There are some peonies that are more susceptible to root rot than others. I've heard Buckeye Belle is bad like that. Maybe the officinalis crosses? I've found that the white peonies are a bit more tolerant to that kind of thing. Duchesse de Nemours and Moonstone(which is pale pink) went through almost the entire season without a mark on them(as did Bowl of Beauty, but that one's pink and yellow). Louis van Houtte and Msr. Jules Elie got bit by the botrytis blight pretty bad this year(thankfully, botrytis blight isn't fatal...)