Peony

Paeonia

Peony
... for bodacious spring blooms

Common name: Herbaceous Peony

Latin Name: Paeonia

Design Tip: Plant peonies between dormant summer-blooming perennials to give a sunny bed an extra season of bloom. To further develop a formal spring border, surround peonies and dormant perennials with hybrid tulips bulbs, fronted by winter annuals.

Size and Form: The tuberous-like root system produces a bushy multi-stemmed herbaceous perennial, maturing at one and a half to two feet tall.

Flowers: Three to six-inch wide blooms vary with the varieties ranging from elegant singles to double pompoms. Hybridizers continue to develop new plants with sturdier stems and larger, brighter petals.

Foliage: Palm shaped green leaves emerge in spring. Heat-marred foliage can be camouflaged by summer perennial growths.

Planting: Set high in the ground so that stem and root junction are covered only by topdressing of mulch or compost. The rootball will sink to the right level within a year. Planting root crowns too deeply will inhibit bloom production.

Cultivation: A deep well-drained humus-rich soil is essential. Add large volumes of humus to excessively sandy or clay earth or plant in raised beds with an improved soil mix. Irrigate peonies during dry winter spells in warm climates to ensure superior spring bloom. Fertilizer is not required in humus-rich healthy soils, but a manure-based food can be applied after the spring bloom spell.

Light Exposure: Imitating their natural habitats of open grassy meadows, the best situation receives full sun in spring and partial shade from late emerging perennials in summer. This type of habitat is especially essential in hot-summer climes.

Cold Tolerance: Hardiness varies among specific varieties, ranging between USDA Zones 4-9.

Grooming: Deadhead finished blooms in spring, remove unsightly leaves in late summer and trim stems close to ground in winter.

Snippets: Topping the plants with ice cubes in winter to instigate spring bloom in warm climates is garden hearsay. Bloom failure is most often due to planting the crown too deeply. Resolve the problem by digging up the entire rootball, loosen the bedding soil, add nutritious organic materials and replant with the top of the rootball a half-inch higher than the bed grade. Keep well watered and mulched through the first summer until the crown settles down to the grade level. Plant any tuberous roots that break off during transplanting to develop into new plants.

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