Cuttings from Tree Peonies

twopenny

Has anyone done this?

My neighbour had her brambles cleared and despite me clearly marking the boundaries of an open part of our gardens, writing 'leave' on my side and speaking to them twice about not touching anything they have chopped the 2ft Tree Peony that I've been cultivating for 2yrs, to the ground. It's unlikely to recover from this.

Looking at sites online they cost a bomb.

This was a strong, rooted cutting from a supplier but not available now.

I was wondering if I could get a cutting from someone locally and how long it would take to grow.

wort

Not sure about cuttings, but if someone has a tree peony they should have lots of "baby " saplings. The seeds pods drop to the ground and seed really quickly!! , I have pulled out many, mine came from such a sapling my sister gave me. Mine is multi stemmed and I cut the stems back as they die back in winter, so the one you have may recover. 

Davesnave

Price depends on the type of tree peony. Some of the rarer ones may be £50 or more as a plant, so it seems likely they don't come easily from seeds or cuttings. I grew Molly the Witch from seed and it was about 5 years or more till it flowered. It's not even rare!

The ones like my bog-standard yellow are a total waste of space IMO; grow huge and sit there doing nowt for most of the year. It's for the chop.

Sorry, don't know what special conditions you'd need. See what the existing one does, tell your neighbour and make the open part of your garden closed.

twopenny

Yes I was lucky to find this and nabbed it quickly as I've always wanted one. Nurtured it for the first year in a pot before planting out.

It's now an inch of wood so I'd be waiting years again.

I thought of asking a neighbour but it's the yellow one lol, and meah and I'll have to wait more years for it to grow.

Yes Dave, I've already got the materials for a gate but it's access for 4 of us along a badger run. Besides having painted on the fence leave, spoken twice to say do not touch anything this side they ate all my blackberries, dumped some of the rubbish my side (it's back where it belongs now) trimmed the ivy tree I said specifically not to trim and cut the peoney down what more can you do.

She replaced my fence before I moved in and it promptly fell down and I had to pay for a new one among other things. She has been a quietly troublesome neighbour from carelessness.

goldfinches

That's a rotten and nasty thing to have happened to a cherished plant, how horrible for you.
Send them the bill for an expensive nursery replacement and send her a copy pointing out that ultimately she is liable to replace the items they have damaged.
Also why not go online and see if you can review the contractor's performance anywhere so that others can be warned. I really think this is beyond the pale and that you should try to obtain some compensation, you went to great lengths to be clear about what they could touch and they've ignored you, that's not on.
I know it's all effort and energy on your part but hope that you'll be able to pursue it if only to make it plain to your neighbour that you are not negligible and that she would be wise to treat you with respect.
I often look at the posts from people with vile neighbours on here and they frequently tell a tale of woe spanning many years; it might be wise to begin by being someone who must be handled carefully you can always lighten up in the future as you become better acquainted.

twopenny

Kind of you to understand my upset.

They turned up again to chop a neighbours tree and give him his due he was quite upset and immediately said he'd buy me a new one. It wasn't him but the lad who came to help. Being soft and knowing they moved here with small family and aren't well off I said no.

I'm exposed to windows looking into my house now with both neighbours deciding to clear. So that will be another thread on what to plant lol.

Soot2006

You might be surprised. It's an established plant and it's not the worst time of year for a chop. It will start of bushier again but shouldn't take as long to come back to what you want.  I chopped mine to the ground last November for various reasons, and they flowered better than in a long time this year.  Just to say don't give up on it!

twopenny

Thanks Soot, I keep going and looking for buds - but 1" isn't a lot.

The irony is that my neighbours all cutting down Elder trees and they'd be ideal for my privacy issue as they are easy to prune and control.