Peace, Love, & Peonies
Wildcat Ridge Farm • Clyde, NC
Hurricane Helene Update:
Dear Peony Friends:
Thank you deeply for your cards, letters, emails, and phone calls - they gave us the strength to keep going after Helene delivered more water and destruction than we've ever had here at the farm. We've lived through three "hundred-year" floods before Helene blew in last September and changed our beloved Western North Carolina forever. The Pigeon River and the tons of debris (and frightened cows...) that it carried our way destroyed our raised beds and took them down the river along with our picnic tables and farm equipment. In their place, it left canoes, refrigerators, grills, tires, tables, toys, and other random pieces of people's lives. It took weeks before we got access to heavy equipment and the kindness of strangers, along with our wonderful Wildcat Ridge Farm team, to help us clear the debris and dig out the plants. We recovered about 25% of the plants and have divided and replanted them in the ground. We are happy to say they are thriving! We also ordered 1,000 plants from our supplier in Holland, and have potted them and been giving them love since early fall.
We are thrilled to say that we will open the gate for our 2025 season on May 1.
We won't have any cut flowers to sell, since our planted section is still rebounding, but we will have plenty of potted plants for your gardens, and we should have some glorious blooms to brighten your day. We look forward to seeing you again this year!
- Suzanne and Ricardo Fernandez
2025 Hours: 10 am-4 pm, 7 days a week, May 1-31
Given the fragile nature of the new flower beds, we won't open on days with heavy rain.
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Hello, Peony Lovers!
These glorious flowers bloom just one month each year (in May). At that time, we open our doors to the public, so peony lovers throughout the Southeast may experience the explosion of color and find just the right plants to brighten their gardens.
For 2025, as we continue to recover from Hurricane Helene, we are offering potted peonies for sale. We will have fresh blooms to your to enjoy, but not to purchase this year.
Blooms will be available again for purchase in 2026.
About Our Peonies
We sell two varieties of peony plants: Herbaceous (the most common) and Intersectional (also called Itoh).
Herbaceous Peonies
Herbaceous peonies are one of the most easily grown, hardy perennials available today. Long-lived and durable, a peony can easily live more than 100 years.
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As an herbaceous perennial, this group of peonies produces annual stem growth during the spring and summer, returning to the ground in late fall and remaining dormant through the winter season. The large fleshy root systems, crown and buds come to life again each spring to produce the flowers we have come to admire.
Herbaceous peonies require a period of cold weather to complete their dormancy needs. Most thrive in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 through 7, however, a number of gardeners have experienced positive results as far south as zone 8. (We are located in Zone 7.)
Intersectional Peonies
Intersectional peonies have leaves and flowers that resemble those of tree peonies and a growth habit similar to herbaceous peonies. Flowers never require any kind of support. In the fall, after the frost, intersectional peonies are cut back to ground level, and the plants come back larger each spring. With well-drained, fertile soil and full sun, these plants will produce abundant single, semi-double, and full-double blooms in striking color combinations.
Details
SEASONAL HOURS
May 1-31: Open daily 10am-4pm
June 1-October 31: open by appointment only, for potted peonies and fig trees.
November 1-April 30: closed to the public while the peonies sleep through winter and begin their spring magic!
LOCATION
We are located in Clyde, NC (30 minutes west of Asheville, 90 minutes east of Knoxville and northwest of Greenville, and 2.5 hours north of Atlanta). See directions below.
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PAYMENT
We accept payment in cash or check only, please. (Our outdoor signal in the mountains is not strong enough for cash apps.)
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FAQ
We do not ship.
We do not have a catalog to ship.
We have two binders showing all of our available peony varieties. You are welcome to browse these books while you are here.
If you are seeking a specific variety, please ask that question in the form below.
If we have the variety you are seeking when you visit, you may take the potted plant home with you.
If we sell out of the variety you choose at the time you visit, you may purchase it in advance and return to pick up your plant in late October, after our Master Gardener divides our plants and creates a new crop of potted peonies at the end of each season.
All potted peony plants come with planting instructions for the fall.
Peace, Love & Peonies!