Every May my gardening thoughts are filled with appreciation for all of the wonderful plants we get to admire in our landscapes. With warmer temperatures on the horizon, spring has reached full swing and gardening treasures are everywhere. As I walk my own garden there is much to catch my eye, including both lovely foliage and flower power. One of my many personal favorites are Peonies, an heirloom plant that comes in various shapes, colors, and sizes.
Here in Western Washington we can enjoy the classic Peony in many forms, including tree Peonies, cottage (herbaceous) Peonies, and intersectional crosses (what we call Itoh Peonies). All of these forms offer a plethora of cultivars, so you can match your tastes to the perfect color and fragrance to find THE Peony for you. All of these plants will enjoy full sun to part shade and thrive in moist, well drained soil. Making sure that they have room to mature is key, allowing for both proper air circulation and maximum sun. Always remember that a well fed plant is a happy one, and with Peonies a dose of organic rose and flower food each March and June is ideal. If you really want to up your game, add in some extra alfalfa meal each time as well. This will help your Peony thrive, producing maximum buds and thus a show-stopping flower display spring after spring. They do not mind our slightly acidic soil but will grow even better in alkaline soil, so a bit of lime around them will never hurt either.
Peonies can boast alluring fragrance and they make excellent cut flowers to bring inside. Like most flowers, they are also favorites of our pollinating friends every spring, especially butterflies (although they prefer the nectar on single flowering peonies best). To me Peonies are what I would a call a “specimen perennial”; one that provides a little more of a shrub look in the garden with excellent foliage and showy flowers each year. Leaves will also turn vibrant colors each autumn, adding nice seasonal interest instead of just melting away with first frost like many other perennials. They are also very resistant against our browsing deer and rabbits - a trait that has come in handy in my own yard.
Herbaceous Peonies originated in China more than a millennia ago and have been bred into thousands of useful garden flavors over centuries across the globe. There are certainly rare varieties and many others that are more common, but any gardener can find a great selection of Peonies each and every spring. Look at your color options, seek fragrance if you like, and enjoy. These are perennials that are noted for living literally decades, getting bigger and better season after season. A smaller cage (essentially a mini tomato cage about 24 to 30-inches tall) is useful for growing this type of Peony. They can be simple or fancy, as long as they do the important job of supporting the stems so the blooms are held up. If you are looking for some recommendations, here are a few herbaceous Peonies worth trying…
‘Shirley Temple’: Huge, fully double white flowers with a hint of rosy-pink in the center and a pleasing fragrance.
‘Sarah Bernhardt’: Huge, fully double pastel-pink flowers that are extremely showy. The red version is also a show stopper and both varieties are fragrant as well.
‘Karl Rosenfeld’: Huge, fully double crimson-red flowers are quite striking and also quite fragrant, as a bonus.
‘Jan Van Leeuwen’: Huge, single white flowers with yellow centers that are noted for heavy fragrance and it is one of best for cutting to bring indoors.
‘Coral Charm’: Huge, semi-double creamy coral flowers with a nice fragrance.
As far as Tree Peonies go, sometimes they can be tough to find and perhaps this is even a plant to track down on the internet. Shipping bare root divisions may allow you to get the color you want, but I would always check with your local garden center first to see if they have the color available that you seek. These plants develop wood with age and attain some size, eventually reaching 6-feet tall and wide. Their flowers are the largest in the world of Peonies and can be found in a number of colors, including the mythical yellow. Be patient with these and give them some time to mature, all the while providing support with stakes to keep their stems from breaking down the road.
Last spring I wrote about Itoh Peonies, including their history and migration from Japan to gardens around the world (you can find this article on Sunnyside Nursery’s website if you desire). These are intersectional crosses, hybrids of the herbaceous and tree Peonies mentioned above. I have a few now in my own yard and have found that they stay tidier than tree Peonies and produce a larger flower in beautiful color combinations. Each year more and more of these are introduced, as many modern breeders focus on new and interesting colors, which means I will probably have to take another one or two home again this spring. For 2025, the new series that caught my eye is ‘The Garden Candy Series’, which includes some wonderful new Itoh Peonies bred by Don Smith and available through Monrovia Growers. As a retired atmospheric scientist, his new passion became peonies and he has introduced some fun and whimsical varieties. These will all get 3-feet tall and 4-feet wide, bloom late spring into early summer, add maroon fall color, and are super disease resistant. His first one ‘Scrumdidlyumptious’ (a nice pink) has been excellent and now these others offer even more unique and delicious flavors.
‘Pineapple Fizz’: This is the most consistent lemon-yellow double flower to date, truly a show-stopper for spring.
‘Summer Sunset’: How about some orange and yellow on the same plant? Flowers open yellow and fade into shades of cantaloupe-orange, creating a striking display.
‘Strawberry Swirl’: Think strawberry ice cream here – the most perfect shade of pink with a darker center, absolutely gorgeous.
‘Simply Scrumptious’: Lemony-peach petals with cherry-red highlights and a brushed edge. More bomb-shaped than some others with lots of petals, creating a much fuller flower.
Peonies, of all kinds, make exciting new additions to any landscape. This time of year the selection of these sturdy perennials is at a maximum in your local garden center. Be sure to stop by and gaze upon all of the options, and while you are there speak with a Certified Professional Horticulturist about growing them. They can help make your existing ones thrive and also help you feel confident about adding new ones into your garden. With Mother’s Day coming this weekend, Peonies (and other blooming plants) are sure to make any Mom happy. Bring her in to your local garden center for a walkabout and buy her anything and everything she likes. After all, she is worth it and nothing beats making Mom happy.
Remember, leaves up and roots down…
