Dear John and all; Similar survival on most of the same as expected. Hipp x johnsonii has gone through a couple of winters here, but has yet to bloom in the ground. Still waiting. >"None of the peonies are open here but there are a ton of buds on >very strong plants. I have a few that have really twisted and >contorted leaves this year. I fear the worse and assume that I will >have to remove them from the collection. Any thoughts Jim W what >they could be suffering from?" Sounds like frost damage to the developing foliage buds. Ignore it and wait until next spring. If it is just a few leaves and it annoys you, cut them off. >I have a lot of Lycoris foliage from radiata and several other >species. It doesn't look like aurea returned L. aurea is the least hardy species and not likely to hardy north of Zone 9 or protected 8. > >Speaking of America, I have a peony by that name and it is in >glorious form this year, good dark leaves, lots of buds and held >firm in the rains. 'America' is one of the very best herbaceous peonies. Wonderful color, held high and glorious. Best Jim W. -- Dr. James W. Waddick 8871 NW Brostrom Rd. Kansas City Missouri 64152-2711 USA Ph. 816-746-1949 Zone 5 Record low -23F Summer 100F +