Paeonia: Peony
For centuries, Peonies have been the stars of gardens throughout the world, prized for their various bloom colors, fragrance, and composition.
Plant care & info
Genus: Paeonia (PAY oh nee uh)
Common name: Peony
Origin: Around 33 species native to the Northern Hemisphere’s temperate areas.
Peonies grow in full to partial sun. They need at least 4 hours of direct sun to bloom. Full sun will cause the flowers to fade faster. They prefer well-drained, richly amended soil. The eyes of deciduous peonies should be no deeper than 2″ below the soil surface.
Peonies are subject to root rot, gray mold and wilt. Tree peony buds may fall victim to frost without protection. Peonies are prone to slugs, root weevil, and aphids.
If you have ever grown a peony, you may have noticed ants all over the buds. They are friends rather than foes. The ants actually harvest the sweet ‘glue’ that holds the buds closed. Gardening lore has suggested that ants are needed for the flowers to open, but this is a myth.
Peony wilt is a common fungal disease that appears as wilted, withered stems that turn brown. In prolonged wet weather, the fungus will turn to a gray mold. In this case, cut off the affected stems and treat with a fungicide. Peonies can also fall victim to root rot if they are planted in poorly drained soil, or if the soil is prepared while it is too wet.
Peony flowers are quite heavy and the plants benefit from staking. You can also place peony cages around the plants before they get too large. If you mulch your garden annually, you may need to lift your peonies so they are no deeper than 2″ below the soil level. For herbaceous peonies, cut the foliage to the ground when fully dormant (in late fall through early winter) to reduce fungal infection.
Peonies should only be divided in fall.
For simplicity’s sake, Peonies can be divided into two categories: Herbaceous (the foliage dies back every fall) and tree peonies (woody stems persist in the winter). There is a third category, intersectional hybrids (fabulous hybrids between herbaceous and tree peonies), but we will not be covering them here.
Herbaceous peonies predominantly originate from Paeonia lactiflora and Paeonia officinalis crosses. There are hundreds of varieties, with flower colors ranging from white to pink and lavender to red.
Some varieties simply smell like pollen, where others have distinct perfumes. The flower composition can be single (one layer of petals around the central anthers and pistils), semi-double (a single layer of large petals with smaller modified petals around the center) or double (many layers of petals that hide the center).
The flowering period typically lasts for 2-3 weeks in April and May. They are wonderful cut flowers. Pro tip: If you cut the flowers before they fully open, you can watch them unfurl in your home. Partially opened flowers also hold their color and dry well when hung upside down. Unfortunately the delicate petals will shatter if a hard rain falls when they are in full bloom.
Tree peonies are their own unique realm and are often considered prized jewels of the garden. Tree peonies include many separate species, with Paeonia delavayi, Paeonia ludlowii and Paeonia suffruticosa most commonly found at Portland Nursery.
Typically, tree peonies bloom before herbaceous peonies in early spring. You may need to cover your tree peony in March to protect the buds from hard frosts—and those flowers are worth the effort. They have a much wider range of colors and are composed of the most exquisite, crepe paper textured petals that are often blotched or flamed in the center.
Cultivars of Paeonia suffruticosa have very large flowers, reaching up to 12” across. Also, their blooms open and close with the day. Each flower can last up to 4-5 days. Because of their sheer volume, tree peonies can have a longer bloom period than herbaceous peonies. In some species, such as Paeonia delavayi, the flowers give way to fantastic seed pods that hold through the summer.
Once the blooms have gone, both herbaceous and tree peonies continue to shine with their bold foliage. The show truly begins when you see the first signs of the red or bronze foliage on the stalks of herbaceous peonies as they emerge in early spring. These stalks unfurl into rich green, deeply toothed leaves. Tree peonies often have a bluish cast to their leaves, and when combined with their size and toothed texture, they provide an almost tropical look in the garden. In the fall, peony foliage can turn red, orange or yellow depending on the variety.
Below are some of our favorite Peonies commonly found at the nursery. We have the best selection in April and May.
