A Complete Guide to the Most Voluptuous Flower in the Garden
There is a moment in late May or early June — different each year depending on the weather, always slightly earlier than you expect — when the peonies open. Nothing in the garden quite prepares you for it. One morning the buds are tight and waxy, beset by ants, and the next the whole border has erupted into an improbable opulence of silk and scent that belongs more to a Dutch Golden Age painting than to an English back garden. It lasts perhaps three weeks. It is entirely worth it.
A Flower with Deep Roots
The peony’s history in cultivation is as long as that of almost any plant grown for ornament. In China, where Paeonia lactiflora and its relatives are native, the flowers have been prized for more than two thousand years, first for their medicinal properties and then — increasingly, from around the Tang dynasty onward — for their extraordinary beauty. The tree peony (Paeonia suffruticosa) was for centuries a flower of the imperial court alone, its cultivation restricted by law, its possession a mark of the highest social standing. The herbaceous peony occupied a scarcely less exalted position. Chinese breeders developed hundreds of named varieties over many centuries, and it is to this deep tradition of selection that we owe the extraordinary range of flower forms available today.
The peony reached Europe in earnest during the eighteenth century, carried along trade routes with the same shipments that brought porcelain and silk. It arrived in Britain somewhat earlier — the native Paeonia mascula had been grown in monastery gardens since the medieval period, and Paeonia officinalis was a staple of Elizabethan physic gardens — but the flood of Chinese lactiflora varieties in the nineteenth century transformed what had been an interesting curiosity into a garden passion. By the 1860s, English and French nurserymen were producing their own hybrids in quantity, and the great French dynasty of breeders — Calot, Crousse, Dessert, Lemoine — were establishing varieties that remain in cultivation to this day.
In Japan, a parallel tradition of peony breeding had developed quite independently, producing a different and subtly distinctive aesthetic: flowers with fewer petals, a broader boss of central stamens, and a quality of restrained elegance that contrasts beautifully with the extravagance of the Chinese-influenced double forms.
This is, in short, a plant with an unusually rich cultural life. It carries centuries of meaning in its petals — longevity, prosperity, romance, feminine beauty, the transience of summer — and the weight of that history is not irrelevant when you plant one in a border. You are joining a very long conversation.
Understanding Peony Types
Before choosing varieties, it helps to understand the main categories, because the differences between them are significant and affect both the look of the plant and its cultivation requirements.
Herbaceous peonies (predominantly Paeonia lactiflora and its hybrids) are the type most commonly grown in British gardens. They die back completely to the ground in autumn, pushing up red-tipped shoots in spring and flowering in late May and June. They are long-lived, requiring minimal division, and once established are remarkably self-sufficient. The enormous range of lactiflora cultivars means that herbaceous peonies offer more variety of flower form, colour and scent than any other category.
Tree peonies (Paeonia suffruticosa, P. rockii, P. delavayi and their hybrids) are deciduous shrubs with permanent woody stems, reaching 1.2 to 2 metres in time. They flower considerably earlier than herbaceous peonies — often in late April or early May — and their flowers, individually, are among the most spectacular produced by any temperate garden plant. They can be more challenging to establish and less tolerant of disturbance than herbaceous types, and they are rarely cheap. But a mature tree peony in full flower is an event of considerable force.
Intersectional (Itoh) peonies are hybrids between herbaceous lactiflora peonies and tree peonies, first successfully achieved by the Japanese breeder Toichi Itoh in 1948. They combine the die-back habit of the herbaceous peony with something of the flower quality of the tree peony — large, often semi-double flowers in colours including yellow, coral, orange and bicolour combinations not available in standard lactiflora varieties. They are vigorous, healthy and increasingly available, though still more expensive than most herbaceous varieties.
Species peonies deserve more attention than they usually receive. Paeonia mlokosewitschii — inevitably nicknamed Molly the Witch — has single, clear lemon-yellow flowers of absolute simplicity and great beauty, followed by decorative seed pods. P. obovata var. alba is white with golden stamens. P. tenuifolia has finely divided, almost ferny foliage and brilliant crimson flowers. These species tend to flower earlier than lactifloras and offer a very different aesthetic — spare and botanical rather than opulent.
Flower Forms Explained
The lactiflora cultivars in particular come in a bewildering variety of forms, and it is worth understanding the terminology before buying.
Single. One or two rows of petals surrounding a central boss of golden stamens. The simplest and arguably the purest form. Examples: ‘Jan van Leeuwen’, ‘Krinkled White’, ‘Lady Alexandra Duff’ (in its single form), ‘Seraphim’.
Japanese. The outer petals are broad and guard-like; the centre consists of masses of narrow, petal-like structures called staminodes, which may be the same colour as the petals or a contrasting tone. The overall effect is of a flower in mid-transformation between single and double. Examples: ‘Bowl of Beauty’, ‘Gay Paree’, ‘Largo’.
Anemone. Similar to Japanese, but the central staminodes are broader and more distinctly petal-like, creating a fuller, cushioned centre. Examples: ‘Chocolate Soldier’, ‘Shimmering Velvet’.
Semi-double. Several rows of broad petals with stamens still clearly visible at the centre. A generous, open form that tends to be especially well-scented. Examples: ‘Coral Charm’, ‘Flame’.
Double. The fully double flower, with petals filling the entire globe. This is the classic peony form familiar from paintings and wedding arrangements — extravagant, heavy, and often powerfully fragrant. Doubles range from those with loosely arranged petals (‘Sarah Bernhardt’) to those with tightly quartered, bomb-shaped centres (‘Karl Rosenfield’, ‘Duchesse de Nemours’). The fully double forms are the most prone to collapsing under rain due to the weight of the flower head.
Bomb. A subset of double, in which a ring of broad outer guard petals surrounds a dense, rounded dome of transformed stamens. The effect is of a flower within a flower. Examples: ‘Festiva Maxima’, ‘Monsieur Jules Elie’.
The Essential Varieties: Herbaceous
The lactiflora range runs to thousands of named cultivars, and new varieties continue to be introduced, particularly from North American breeders. The following selection focuses on varieties of proven garden merit, long-term availability and particular aesthetic distinction.
‘Sarah Bernhardt’ has been the world’s most popular peony for over a century, and the reasons are not hard to understand. Its large, fully double flowers are a clear apple-blossom pink with slightly ruffled, silver-edged petals, and the scent is the classic sweet, clean peony fragrance at its most satisfying. It flowers in mid-season, grows to around 90cm, and is reliably vigorous. If you grow only one herbaceous peony, this is the least likely to disappoint.
‘Duchesse de Nemours’ is the great white peony, introduced by Calot in 1856 and still without a convincing rival in its class. Its bomb-shaped, fully double flowers are ivory-white with a hint of cream and sulphur-yellow at the centre, and the scent is strong, sweet and slightly lemony. It is a reliable grower, not prone to the flopping that afflicts some large-flowered doubles.
‘Festiva Maxima’ is older still — 1851 — and equally indestructible. White with crimson flecks on the inner petals, large, bomb-double, magnificently fragrant. The crimson markings give it a character that pure white varieties lack. Still widely grown, still unimproved upon.
‘Bowl of Beauty’ is the definitive Japanese-form peony. Its broad outer petals are a rich carmine-pink; the central mass of cream-white staminodes creates a dramatic two-tone effect of great elegance. It is vigorous and grows to about 1 metre. One of the most photographed peonies in existence and one of the most rewarding to grow.
‘Karl Rosenfield’ offers one of the most intense, saturated crimsons available in the peony range. Fully double, strongly fragrant, with sturdy stems that stand up better than many deep-coloured doubles. Introduced in 1908 and still a benchmark for dark red varieties.
‘Coral Charm’ is among the most distinctive of all peonies. Its semi-double flowers open in an intense, burning coral-orange — a colour rare in peonies — and fade gradually to a warm peach-apricot as they age. Individual blooms are large, with a good central boss of golden stamens. Strongly scented. It can be a slow starter in the garden but rewards patience amply.
‘Jan van Leeuwen’ is the finest single white lactiflora — pure white petals, golden stamens, clean and uncluttered. For gardeners who find the doubled forms overblown, this is the answer.
‘Monsieur Jules Elie’ is one of the great Victorian peonies, introduced in 1888 by Victor Lemoine. Its enormous bomb-double flowers are a warm, glossy rose-pink, deeply fragrant, and produced with generous freedom. The stems can need support, but the reward justifies the trouble.
‘Krinkled White’ — single, pure white with slightly ruffled petals around a bold golden centre — is elegant, clean and particularly effective in naturalistic planting schemes where the fully double forms would feel out of place.
‘Shirley Temple’ (no relation to the actress, though the name has helped its popularity) bears large, blush-pink double flowers that fade to near-white as they age, giving a plant in full flower a pleasing range of tones from deep pink to cream. Reliable, fragrant, floriferous.
The Essential Varieties: Tree Peonies
The tree peony range is smaller, more expensive and more specialised than the herbaceous range, and sourcing specific named varieties can require persistence. The following are among the most reliably available and garden-worthy.
‘Renkaku’ (‘Flight of Cranes’) is a Japanese variety bearing large, semi-double white flowers with ruffled petals and a central boss of golden stamens. It is one of the most reliably grown tree peonies in British gardens.
‘Duchess of Marlborough’ bears large, fully double flowers of a warm, silky pink. British-bred and well-adapted to British conditions.
‘Souvenir de Maxime Cornu’ is an extravagant thing: enormous, fully double flowers of apricot-yellow with cerise-pink margins, heavily ruffled, powerfully fragrant. It needs shelter from wind and late frosts, but in the right position it is extraordinary.
Rock’s peony (Paeonia rockii and its hybrids) deserves particular mention. The species itself, found wild in China, bears enormous white flowers with a blotch of deep maroon-purple at the base of each petal. Named selections and seedlings vary in colour from white through pink and mauve to deep purple, but the distinctive basal blotch — present to a greater or lesser degree in all — gives them an unmistakable character. They are somewhat hardier than suffruticosa varieties and among the most beautiful flowering shrubs available for a temperate garden.
The Essential Varieties: Itoh Intersectionals
‘Bartzella’ is the variety that introduced most British gardeners to the intersectional class. Its large, semi-double flowers are a clear, rich yellow — a colour impossible in herbaceous peonies — with a red flare at the base. It is vigorous, free-flowering and reliably healthy.
‘Cora Louise’ bears white flowers with a dramatic lavender-pink base blotch, semi-double, with golden stamens. Large and impressive.
‘Kopper Kettle’ combines copper, orange and gold tones that shift as the flower ages — a living colour study rather than a fixed note. One of the most complex-coloured of all peonies.
‘Hillary’ offers warm coral-peach flowers with a red flare. Compact and well-suited to smaller gardens.
In the Garden: How to Use Them
The peony’s greatest limitation as a garden plant is the brevity of its flowering season — three weeks is generous, two is more typical for a single variety. This single fact should govern every decision about how to plant them, and the successful peony garden is one that addresses this limitation head-on rather than hoping nobody will notice.
The mixed border is the right context for most garden peonies. Plant them among companions that earn their keep before and after the peony season: alliums rising through the emerging foliage in May, hardy geraniums spilling forward to cover the base after flowering, Phlox and Echinacea taking over in July and August. The peony’s own foliage — particularly that of the lactifloras — is handsome, glossy and persistent, and it earns its place as a foliage plant for much of the season even when not in flower.
Colour groupings reward thought. The pink-to-white range of the classic lactifloras associates particularly well with alliums (especially Allium hollandicum ‘Purple Sensation’), Camassia, and the blue spikes of Baptisia. For darker, crimson varieties, consider companions in plum and bronze — the dark-leaved forms of Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Ravenswing’, bronze fennel, Aquilegia ‘Black Barlow’. For the coral and orange Itoh varieties, a bold contrast with deep purple — Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’, dark Veronicastrum — works dramatically.
Tree peonies are best given a generous amount of space and left largely to themselves. They do not appreciate competition at the root and tend to look best when given some isolation — against a wall, in a slightly raised bed, or at the corner of a border where their scale and presence can register properly. They are outstanding in combination with magnolias, as both share a quality of theatrical, early-season opulence.
The cutting garden should include at least three or four peony varieties staggered to provide succession. Cut when the buds are in the ‘marshmallow stage’ — soft enough to yield slightly to finger pressure, but not yet open. Peonies cut at this stage will last ten to fourteen days in a vase and open magnificently indoors. They also store remarkably well wrapped in damp newspaper in the bottom of a refrigerator, which means you can accumulate enough flowers over a fortnight for a single, extravagant arrangement.
Cultivation
Peonies have a reputation for difficulty that they do not entirely deserve. The rules are few but non-negotiable.
Planting depth is the single most important factor in successful peony cultivation, and more failures are attributable to it than to any other cause. Herbaceous peonies must be planted with the eyes (the pink buds on the crown) no more than 2.5cm below the soil surface. Any deeper and the plant will produce abundant foliage but refuse to flower, sometimes for years. If a peony that was previously flowering well suddenly stops, it has often been inadvertently buried by enthusiastic mulching — pull the mulch back from the crown. Tree peonies are grafted onto herbaceous rootstocks and must be planted with the graft union at least 15cm below the surface, allowing the scion to form its own roots over time.
Soil. Peonies are tolerant of a range of soils but perform best in deep, fertile, moisture-retentive loam with good drainage. They are intolerant of waterlogging and will not thrive in shallow chalk or very sandy soils without substantial improvement. Neutral to slightly alkaline pH suits them well — in very acid soils, add lime.
Situation. Full sun is ideal for most varieties, though peonies will tolerate light dappled shade and, in that position, their flowers last somewhat longer. Tree peonies appreciate afternoon shade in very hot positions, and Rock’s peony hybrids in particular perform well against a lightly shaded wall. All peonies need shelter from strong winds, which damage the flowers and can snap stems.
Supports. Fully double lactiflora varieties will need staking in most gardens — the flower heads are simply too heavy for the stems to bear when wet. Purpose-made peony rings, placed over the emerging shoots in April and allowing the foliage to grow up through them, are the most elegant solution. Avoid staking after the buds have developed, as individual stems supported with canes create an ungainly effect.
Feeding. A mulch of well-rotted manure or compost in late autumn, kept away from the crown, and a balanced fertiliser in spring provides all that most peonies require. Avoid excessive nitrogen, which encourages foliage at the expense of flowers.
Division. The commonly repeated advice that peonies resent division is broadly true in the sense that a divided peony may take three or four years to flower freely again. However, very old clumps do eventually benefit from being lifted and divided, typically every fifteen to twenty years. Lift in early autumn, cut the crown into sections each containing three or four eyes, dust cut surfaces with fungicide, and replant at the correct depth. Do not be discouraged by poor performance in the first few seasons after division — patience is invariably rewarded.
Tree peony pruning. Tree peonies require almost no pruning. Remove dead wood in spring once the new growth has clarified which stems are alive, and cut out any weak or overcrowded shoots. Do not cut back hard in the hope of rejuvenating a struggling plant — this will remove the flowering wood and may kill the plant.
Pests and disease. Peony blight (Botrytis paeoniae) is the most significant disease problem, causing blackened shoots, collapsed buds and brown patches on flowers in wet springs. It overwinters in plant debris, so scrupulous clearance of all dead foliage and stems in autumn is the most effective prevention. Affected shoots should be cut back to healthy tissue and removed from the garden entirely. In severe cases, a fungicide containing tebuconazole can be used, but the most reliable long-term strategy is resistant varieties and good air circulation.
Ants are a perennial source of alarm to new peony growers, who notice them swarming over the buds and assume they are causing damage. They are not. Ants are attracted by the sugary secretions produced by the buds and play no role in opening the flowers, despite a persistent folk belief to the contrary. Ignore them.
Extending the Season
A single peony variety is in flower for two to three weeks. But by selecting varieties carefully across the full spectrum of early, mid and late season, a committed grower can extend the peony season from late April to early July.
Early species and tree peonies — Paeonia mlokosewitschii, P. tenuifolia, Paeonia rockii hybrids — flower in April and early May. The earliest lactiflora hybrids — ‘Early Scout’, ‘Coral Charm’ — follow in late May. Mid-season varieties including ‘Sarah Bernhardt’, ‘Duchesse de Nemours’ and ‘Bowl of Beauty’ flower in early to mid-June. Late lactifloras — ‘Kelway’s Glorious’, ‘Paula Fay’, ‘Coral Sunset’ — extend into late June and occasionally early July.
The Itoh intersectionals, which generally flower mid-season, also tend to produce blooms over a longer individual period than most lactifloras, as they carry multiple buds per stem that open in succession.
No peony repeats its flowering in the manner of a hybrid musk rose — the annual spectacle is singular, and that, perhaps, is part of its power.
On the Question of Scent
Not all peonies are fragrant, and a surprising number of gardeners buy them without checking. Among the fully double and bomb-double lactifloras, fragrance is common but not universal: ‘Duchesse de Nemours’, ‘Festiva Maxima’, ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ and ‘Monsieur Jules Elie’ are among the most powerfully scented. Japanese and single forms tend to be less fragrant. Tree peonies vary enormously — some are richly scented, others almost odourless — and the Itoh hybrids are generally lightly scented at best.
For a garden designed specifically around scent, the double lactifloras are the right choice. For the finest flower forms without concern for fragrance, the singles, Japanese forms and tree peonies offer pleasures of a different kind.
Why They Endure
The peony is not, by any rational measure, an easy garden plant. It demands precisely calibrated planting depth. Its flowering season is brief. Its stems require staking. It needs several years to establish before giving its best. And yet it is among the most consistently popular of all garden perennials, grown with passion in every temperate climate from Japan to New England.
The reason, in the end, is that it delivers something that no other flower quite matches. When a fully double peony is in peak condition — swollen to its maximum size, petals catching the morning light, scent released by warmth into the still air of the garden — it achieves a kind of beauty that feels less like a botanical event than a cultural one. It is the flower of Keats and of Chinese emperors, of Dutch still-life painting and of the Chelsea Flower Show. It connects a twenty-first century garden to centuries of human attention and longing and cultivation.
That is a great deal of weight for a three-week flowering season to bear. Somehow, it manages it every time.
Key herbaceous varieties to seek out: Sarah Bernhardt, Duchesse de Nemours, Festiva Maxima, Bowl of Beauty, Karl Rosenfield, Coral Charm, Jan van Leeuwen, Monsieur Jules Elie, Krinkled White.
Key tree peonies: Rock’s peony hybrids, Renkaku, Souvenir de Maxime Cornu, Duchess of Marlborough.
Key Itoh intersectionals: Bartzella, Cora Louise, Kopper Kettle, Hillary.
For sourcing, contact: Kelways (kelways.co.uk), Claire Austin Hardy Plants (claireaustin-hardyplants.co.uk), Primrose Hall Peonies, or consult the RHS Plant Finder.
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