I was wondering if anyone can tell me when to plant my tree peony seeds. Do they require stratification? Will they be different than the parent plant? any tips would be appreciated.
They like 3-4 months moist warm for the root to emerge, then 3-4 months moist cool temperature for the leaf to form. If they are of cultivar or hybrid parentage it's unlikely they will look like the parent. If species parentage they may look like the parent , but there can be some variation. May be +4-5 years to bloom , but can be really interesting. Some may germinate in the second and third years, especially if the seed has dried, like last years seed. If dried you could soak them in some water for a day or two before planting. As soon as the seed is ripe is a good time to start them, or September and October, then they will have their first leaves in the spring if all goes well and should be kept from freezing. Best grown in light shade the first year it seems, and given more sun later. The flowers can change to a semi-double or double as the plant gets older and some plants can have single, semi-double, and double flowers at the same time. Hope this helps and good luck.
Thanks for the info. I expect I'll still be gardening in four to five years so I think it will be worth the wait and all the more interesting if I get some surprises. The seeds I have are still on the plant, the petals have all fallen off so I'm assuming they are ripe.
When the carpels {pods} open the seed will be ripe or near ripe. They're usually a black or dark brown colour, guessing in late July or August when fully ripe. Could be that some seed doesn't fully develop, also. The one in the pic surprised me last year , 6-7 years from seed.
I will wait for the carpels to open. It is very encouraging to see such a nice bloom grown from seed. thanks again for your help.
You're very welcome, seems you can get some nice plants and flowers from tree peony seeds, the herbaceous being more hit and miss, although blooming at a younger age.