Peonies are Long-lived Perennials that Will Grace Your Garden for Decades to Come.

Peonies have been the subject of art and culture for millennia.   Once the privilege of kings and emperors where they were carefully cultivated and jealously guarded in China and Japan, today these  abundant and luxurious blooms can be enjoyed by all.  It is easy to fall under the spell of these captivating blooms.  I think I first caught the bug on a visit to White Flower Farm in Litchfield, Connecticut years ago.  I was fortunate to see them at the peak of their bloom in June, and was blown away by their size and beauty and abundance.  The first peony I ever bought was 'Mrs. F. D. Roosevelt,' a pale pink with gently overlapping petals.  Grace your garden with the beauty of the peony.

If you are interested in learning more about peonies, and meeting other aficionados, consider joining the American Peony Society.

Herbaceous Peonies

“It always seemed to me that the herbaceous peony is the very epitome of June. Larger than any rose, it has something of the cabbage rose's voluminous quality; and when it finally drops from the vase, it sheds its petticoats with a bump on the table, all in an intact heap, much as a rose will suddenly fall, making us look up from our book or conversation, to notice for one moment the death of what had still appeared to be a living beauty.”   Vita Sackville-West

Paeonia lactiflora

Herbaceous peonies are the flowers that come to mind when one thinks of peonies.  They are lovely, and most of them are fragrant, though the whites and pinks tend to be the most fragrant.  They come in a wide variety of flower forms from single to very full doubles.  The very full double types, such as rose and bomb, are huge heavy flowers requiring staking and do best in northern climes.  The simpler and early blooming ones tend to do better in the southern end of the range.  Herbaceous peonies will die back to the ground in the winter and re-emerge in the spring.  Paeonia lactiflora is the genus and species of most of the many cultivars grown today.  

The American Peony Society has identified six classifications to identify flower shape:

Single:  One row of 5 or more guard petals, pollen-bearing stamens and functional carpels.  These most resemble the wild forms. 

Japanese:  One row of guard petals with inner staminodes which are modified stamens and may or may not produce pollen.

Anemone:  One row of guard petals with yellow feathery inner petaloids which are modified stamens resembling petals.

Bomb:  One or two rows of guard petals and tight inner ball of short petals.

Semi-Double:  Several layers of guard petals with a center of fertile stamens.

Full Double:  Up to 20 rows of guard petals, very full.  Stamens have been transformed into petals, are non-existent, or barely visible.  Sometimes called rose form.

Peonies need 8-10 hours of full sun, consistent moisture, with good drainage and rich soil to thrive and become as beautiful as they can be.

Big Ben-red, bomb type, mid-season, to 36”, fragrant, introduced 1943.

Bowl of Beauty-pink with center of white staminodes, Japanese type, mid-to-late season, 2-3' h., fragrant., introduced 1949.

Bowl of Cream-creamy white, full double form, mid-season bloomer, to 31” h., light fragrance, Gold Medal award winner in 1981.

Coral Charm—absolutely gorgeous color, lovely soft peachy-coral that fades to cream, bowl-shaped with recurved petals, early season, semi-double form, to 36”.  1986 Gold Medal winner.

Dawn Pink-deep pink fading to softer pink with yellow stamens, single form, mid-season, to 36”, fragrant.

Do Tell-shell pink with darker rose-pink and yellow staminodes—very distinctive, Japanese form, mid-season, to 32”, Gold Medal award winner in 2004.

‘Duchesse de Nemours’—creamy white, full double form, early-mid season, to 36,” fragrant, Zones 3-8. (Calot, 1856)

Festiva Maxima-white with raspberry red flecks, hundred proliferate form, mid-season, to 34”, fragrant.  One of the oldest varieties in cultivation, introduced in 1851.

Isani Gidui-white with yellow staminodes, Japanese type, mid-season, to 34”, not very fragrant.

‘Jacorma’—bright pink, double form, late blooming, 32,” Zones 3-7. (De Vroomen, 1969, The Netherlands)

‘Karl Rosenfield’—dark pink, double form, late-blooming, 24”, fragrant, Zones 3-8.  (Rosenfield, 1908)

‘Krinkled White’--white, single type with crepey petals, mid-season, to 34”, fragrant, Zones 3-9.  (Brand, 1928)

Madame Gaudichau--one of the deepest reds, double form, mid-late season, attractive dark foliage and red stems. (Millet, 1902)

Mons. Jules Elie-pink, bomb form, early bloomer, to 36”, fragrant.  Another oldie but goodie.  (Crousse, 1888)

‘Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt’--soft pink, double rose form with incurved petals, mid-season, to 34”, fragrant, Zones 3-8. One of the best-loved peonies. American Peony Society Gold Medal award winner in 1948.  (Franklin, 1932)

‘My Love’—pure white, full double or rose form, mid-season, to 36,” Zones 3-8.    (Hollingsworth, 1992)

‘Myrtle Gentry’—blush pink, full double or rose form, late season, fragrant, Zones 3-8. (Brand, 1925)

‘Pillow Talk’-pink, rose form, late season bloomer, to 36”, fragrant.  A luscious peony from 1973.  American Peony Society Gold Medal award winner in 1994.

‘Pink Hawaiian Coral,’ pink/coral, semi-double, early bloomer, 36”, fragrant.  American Peony Society Gold Medal award winner in 2000.  (Klehm, 1981)

‘Pink Luau’--pale pink with darker raspberry streaks, semi-double, early bloomer, to 33”, Zones 3-7.  (R. G. Klehm, 1995)

‘Pink Parfait’—pink, double form, mid-late season, Zones 3-8.    (C.G. Klehm, 1975)

Sarah Bernhardt-pink, rose form, late season bloomer, to 36”, fragrant.  A luscious peony from 1906.  (Lemoine, 1906)

‘She’s My Star’—pink with pink/cream petaloids, bomb type, mid-season, slight fragrance, 28”, Zones 3-8.  (R. G. Klehm, 2000)

Soft Salmon Joy-soft salmon pink, single form, mid-season, 30”, fragrant, Zones 3-7.  (R. G. Klehm, 1995)

White Cap--dark reddish-purple outer petals contrast with a fluffy center of raspberry and ivory petaloids that mature to white, anemone Japanese form, mid-season, 32", fragrant.  American Peony Society Gold Medal Winner 1991. (Winchell, 1956)  

Tree Peonies

Paeonia suffruticosa

Tree peonies are wonderful for their large flowers, fragrance and graceful forms.  They make excellent specimens in the garden.  The shapes of tree peony flowers is broad, and includes single, lotus, chrysanthemum, rose, crown and bomb types.  Tree peonies are deciduous woody shrubs that can reach 5 to 7', and add structure and grace to the garden. 

Paeonia ostii, Osti’s peony, Zones 4-8.  A native of China, this species is believed to be one of the progenitors of the tree peony.  It is pure white lacking basal flares and is fragrant. Also known as ‘Phoenix White’ or ‘Feng Dan Bai.’

‘Argosy’—brilliant sulphur-yellow with plum-colored flares, semi-double.  A cross between P. lutea and P. moutan, Zones 5-8.  (Saunders, 1928)

‘Blue Sapphire’ (‘Lan Bao Shi’), soft pink to lavender, full double form, mid to late season, 4 to 6’ h., Zones 4-9.

‘Chromatella’ (also known as ‘Kinshi)—variable as to color, sometimes more yellow, sometimes flushed with red/rose.  It is also variable as to form. Flowers can be double, semi-double or single.  P. delavayi f. lutea crossed with a Chinese cultivar, Zones 4-9. (Lemoine, 1928)

‘Goldfinch,’ single yellow, no flaies, 3-4’ h., P. tutea hybrid, Zones 4-7.  (Saunders, 1948)

‘Hana-kisoi’ (Floral Rivalry), large semi-double flowers pink and rose to nearly white at the edges, 3’ to 5’ high and wide, Zones 4-8.  (Japan, 1926)

‘Madame Louis Henry’—pink, salmon and yellow with dark pink flares, single to semi-double, mid-season, 39-47” h., P. lutea hybrid.  (Henry, 1907)

‘Surprise’—yellow infused with salmon and rose and purple petal edges, full double rose form, mid-early season, 30” h., P. lutea hybrid. (Lemoine, 1920)

‘Ten’i,’ a semi-double blush white P. suffruticosa from Japan.

Itoh or Intersectional Peonies

Itoh hybrids were named for Japanese hybridizer, Toichi Itoh, who was the first to successfully cross herbaceous peonies with tree peonies.  The hybrids are herbaceous, so they die back to the ground each year, but have the larger blooms, divided foliage, and sturdier stems of the tree peony parent.  The yellow color comes from crosses with Paeonia lutea.  The Itohs are very useful in the garden for their wide color range, and they bloom after the herbaceous peonies, thus extending the season—and who wouldn’t want to extend the peony season?

‘All That Jazz’- pink maturing to cream with magenta streaks and magenta basal flares, semi-double to double, 32-33” w. x 24-48” h., Zones 3-8. (Smith, 2023)

'Bartzella'-yellow, double, mid-season, 32”, fragrant.  Gold Medal award winner in 2006.

‘Cora Louise’-white with dark lavender flares, semi-double, mid-season, 24,” light fragrance, Zones 4-8.  (Anderson, 1986)

'Keiko'-also known as 'Pink Double Dandy,' is a purely gorgeous combination of cream, lavender and rose.  The semi-double to double flowers are large and well-supported on strong stems, light fragrance, 22-20,” Zones 4-9.  (Smith, 2004)

‘Sonoma Amethyst’ – lavender semi-double, mid-season, 34,” Zones 4-8. (Tolemeo, 2001)

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