May 2004 Newsletter Feature Article
How to Choose the Right Herbaceous Peony

by Lindsay D'Aoust

Lets begin with the question: Will peonies grow here? I'm assuming that you are reading this article because you already know your garden offers the right growing conditions for herbaceous peonies. I could write an entire article on this subject alone but suffice it to say that herbaceous peonies will generally flourish in USDA Hardiness Zone 3 to 8 as long as the soil is fertile and well drained and the plants have about 6 hours of direct sunlight a day.

So, assuming you can offer peonies the appropriate growing conditions - now what? The short answer is to choose the right varieties for your garden and buy quality plant material. Getting from the peony catalogue to magnificent mature plants that bloom for decades is not that difficult. The first critical step of choosing the right peony is what I want to explore here. All peonies are not created equal so how do you ensure you choose the right ones for your garden?

We all tend to dive into catalogues and look at the flower pictures but a little reflection on your motivations for growing peonies will help ensure you choose the right ones. Are you looking for an explosion of colour from your peonies for perhaps a 10 day period? Or, are you looking to have a succession of peonies in bloom over several weeks? Are your peonies to be viewed up close or will they be seen most of the time from a distance? Do you want peonies that will make great cut flowers? Do you have the time or the inclination to stake your peonies? How important is fragrance to you? Do you need peonies for the front, middle or back of your flowerbed? Do you have an existing colour scheme or preference for specific colours?

A picture may well be worth a thousand words but when it comes to peonies, the picture does not tell the whole story, actually, far from it. The picture shows you the form of the flowers and an idea of the colour. It tells you nothing about the height or shape of the plant, fragrance, stem strength, bloom season, quantity of bloom, etc … etc … To ensure you are indeed choosing the right peony, reflect a little on the above questions and look further than the catalogue picture when making your decision.

Colour

Let's begin by looking at the colour palette available in today's herbaceous peonies. Herbaceous peonies range in colour from white to yellow to coral to pink to red to maroon. But, there are no blue peonies!

White in peony flowers can be anything from snow white to cream and many white peonies actually open up blush coloured initially.

The only truly yellow herbaceous peony is P. mlokosewitschii. This peony was crossed with other species of peony to produce a small number of pale yellow flowered peonies. The important word here is "pale". Though peonies such as 'Prairie Moon', 'Moonrise' and 'Claire de Lune' open pale yellow, they tend to fade quite quickly to a creamy colour. If you want truly yellow peonies with a herbaceous growth habit, consider the intersectional hybrid peonies such as 'Garden Treasure' and 'Bartzella'. These peonies are the result of crossing herbaceous and tree peonies. (See Newsletter Article - Yellow Peonies for more about yellow peonies)

Garden Treasure

Coral coloured peonies are much in demand. The good news is that they tend to be good vigorous growers and are quite widely available. You need to plan their placement carefully because to my taste these peonies do not look good next to peonies or other plants with pink or red flowers. They do however look stunning when planted in association with blue or violet coloured flowers.

Pink is a prominent colour in the world of herbaceous peonies. Peonies come in all shades of pink, from the pale pink of 'Sweet Melody' to the fluorescent shade of 'Paula Fay' to the deep raspberry shades of 'Félix Crousse'.

Beware when reading colour descriptions in books and catalogues. The peony world is notorious for calling peonies red when many are by no means a pure red hue, in fact many so called red peonies are closer to the colour of beetroot or raspberry, that is to say they are closer to the violet side of red than orange on a colour wheel.

Going down the values of red we come to the deep shades best described as mahogany or maroon. There are an excellent group of early flowering peonies in these colours.

It is important to note that the age and growing conditions of a peony will affect flower colour. Slight variations of colour can be seen from one growing location to another and weather can affect colour. For example, any white peonies open blush pink in cool, overcast weather.

Yet another aspect of flower colour not to be ignored is what happens as the flowers age. Do they maintain their initial colour or does it change? Many peonies pass through several shades before they drop their petals. For example, Scarlet O'Hara opens scarlet red flowers that very quickly begin to fade through several shades of pink to almost white before the petals drop. Knowing that this so called red peony spends most of its time displaying shades of pink might be important to know when designing a colour scheme for a flower bed.

Scarlet O'Hara

A final word about the colour of peonies shown in catalogues; reproducing colour accurately on a computer monitor is no simple task and if I manage to get realistic colours on my monitor, there is absolutely no guarantee it will look the same on your monitor. Actually, chances are it will not look the same. All this is really just a word of caution. Be very wary of how colours are represented in both paper catalogues and on computer monitors.

Bloom Time

Not all peonies bloom at the same time. With a little planning it is possible to have peonies in bloom for a period of more than seven weeks or an explosion of colour over a period of perhaps 10 days.

Michael Denny of the Canadian Peony Society has been collecting peony bloom dates and analyzing when peonies bloom for several years. His work has resulted in an extremely valuable planning tool for gardeners. You can find more information about this project as well as the latest data covering nearly 800 cultivars at the following web site.

Bloom Dates Web Site

Height

Peonies vary in height from less than 60 cm (2 feet) to more than 120 cm (4 feet). The majority of peonies however are about 90 cm (35 inches). Looking at the picture of a flower does not tell you much about the height of a peony. All good peony catalogues will tell you how high a particular peony is expected to reach at maturity. Remember however that it takes about 3 years for a newly planted peony to reach maturity.

With such a wide variation in height, it is certainly possible to find a peony for the front, middle or back of the flowerbed. Planting a peony such as Rosalie at the foot of Krinkled White which in turn is backed by Sea Shell, White Innocence and Bev makes a wonderful multilayered scene. You can even find peonies that are suitable for a low hedge!

Another point to bear in mind is that some peonies produce their flowers close to the foliage while others hold their flowers high above the foliage. Nice Gal which has flowers close to the foliage is just about the same height whether in bloom or not. James Pillow on the other hand is well over 90 cm (35 inches) when in bloom but much shorter when not in bloom. If catalogue descriptions don't mention flower placement, and height in flower and out of flower is important to you, don't hesitate to ask the grower about any big differences.

Staking

Some people don't mind staking a peony or two, others won't consider any plant that might need some support. It is a good idea to know what you are getting yourself into (or not…) before committing to a specific peony. Growing conditions will, to a certain extent, influence the need of a stake for some peonies. But, if the catalogue does not give staking requirements, the peony grower can always give you their view. Don't hesitate to ask for it.

You can get clues about staking requirements just looking at the picture of a flower. But there are big doubles that don't need staking and singles that do so don't jump to conclusions too quickly!

A trick: Many peonies just need some light support and one way to achieve this is to plant them in small groups. Three peonies planted in a triangle will provide mutual support as well as an impressive display when in bloom.

Cut Flowers

Peonies make wonderful cut flowers. I find however that many gardeners are reluctant to cut the blooms from their peonies for fear of spoiling the scene in the flower border. A simple solution is to consider planting a peony or two in the vegetable plot or a corner of the garden that is not seen as often and dedicate this peony to flowers for indoors. If you can find such a space then there are a number of wonderful old peonies that make great cut flowers but no so great garden subjects because they are difficult to stake. Consider peonies such as M. Jules Elie as just such a peony.

M. Jules Elie

Just about all peonies look great in a vase; some however have a reputation as being exceptional cut flowers. Personally I also like my cut peonies to be fragrant. A few fragrant peony stems can add a delicious perfume to any room. The coral coloured peonies are very popular as cut flowers though they are not fragrant..

A trick: To bring peonies indoors without the ants, cut the flowers just before they open at which point it is easy to shake off any ants. If you cut the buds when they show colour and feel like fresh marshmallows, they will open up completely indoors within a few days and without the ants.

Amount of Bloom

Not all peonies produce the same amount of bloom; some are just more floriferous than others. Some produce more stems with flowers while some have several flower buds per stem. One is not necessarily better than the other but this characteristic does have some impact on the performance your peony will give in your flowerbed.

Peonies such as Dai jo kuhan and Ethel Mars have several flowers per stem. Peonies such as Richard Carvel have two or three flowers per stem and loads of flowering stems. Growing conditions will have an impact on the number of flowers a peony produces but some are genetically just more likely to produce flowers than others.

Dai jo kuhan

The hybrid peonies more often than not have but a single flower per stem. Some of them however will produce loads of flowering stems. The single flower per stem plant however will just not be in bloom for as long as one that has several buds per stem.

Fragrance

Fragrance is of utmost importance to some gardeners and of no importance to others. By no means are all peonies fragrant! You can gain a few clues as to whether a peony is fragrant or not by looking at a picture. Double pink and white peonies are more likely to be fragrant than single red peonies. Don't however rely on this generalization.

Remember when reading catalogue descriptions that the perception of fragrance is very much a subjective thing. A peony may have an agreeable fragrance for one person, yet another finds it of poor fragrance.

Foliage

A peony plant is in bloom for only a couple of weeks at the best of times, the rest of the time it is the foliage that must be attractive. Funny though that we tend to look no further than the flowers when choosing peonies for our gardens. And, just like every other characteristic, not all peonies have the same foliage. Some foliage is dense; others sparse. Some leaflets are wide; others needlelike.Some foliage is clear mid green while others are dark purplish green.

Peonies tend to keep their foliage in good condition for most if not all of the growing season so what it looks like is important. I have seen very few pictures in peony catalogues that include foliage. Peony books are not much better. Good catalogue descriptions can sometimes give an idea of what the foliage is like but by far the best way to judge peony foliage is to see it in person.

Foliage of Dandy Dan

This last point brings me to a recommendation that this is a really great time of year to actually get out and see peonies growing in gardens. No matter how good a photo or complete a catalogue description, there is no substitute for seeing the real thing. Each year at this time I make an effort to visit my local botanical garden (le jardin botanique de Montéal) and anywhere else I know I'll find peonies. I not only see the flowers, but everything else about the peony. And the bonus being, I get to smell it and make my own decisions on whether or not it is fragrant.

A close second to seeing a peony actually growing is to visit a peony show. The Canadian Peony Society will be holding their show June 19th and 20th, 2004 in Ottawa, Ontario (www.peony.ca). The American Peony Society has their show a week earlier in Mansfield, Ohio on June 12 and 13th, 2004 (www.americanpeonysociety.org).

Again, this is the time of year to peruse the peony catalogues and make decisions as to what to plant this fall. Hopefully this article has not dampened your tendency to like myself, buy peonies on impulse but I do hope it will help ensure your choices are well informed and that you are indeed choosing the right peony for your garden.

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