The rose must yield first rank to the modern peony, which by reason of its sheer wealth of splendor and majesty of presence is now entitled to be called the Queen of Flowers.
- Alice Harding, The Peony Book
One of the most exquisite plants for the spring season is the elegant peony. Nothing else compares to its beauty. I love many flowers, but peony blooms capture my heart. Alice Harding, who wrote two books on peonies in 1917 and 1923, was a passionate gardener who became an authority on peonies.
Types of Peonies
Most gardeners grow herbaceous peonies that are approximately three feet tall. A different variety, the tree peony, has a woody stem that can reach up to seven feet high. A third variety is the Itoh peony, named for Toichi Itoh, a Japanese botanist who crossed a tree peony with a herbaceous peony in the 1940s. There are seven different types of Itoh peonies that all produce large and plentiful blooms.
Dating back to 1000 BCE, peonies were originally native to China and were later introduced to Japan. Because the Chinese emperors grew them in their gardens they became symbols of wealth, honor and nobility. Herbaceous peonies arrived in Europe in 1548 and tree peonies in 1789, when the botanist Sir Joseph Banks planted one in Kew Gardens, London. Now peonies are beloved all around the world.
Peonies bloom beginning in May or June depending on where you live. The range of colors, the types of blooms, the fragrance and the handsome foliage all delight the senses. Every spring, this intense period of large ethereal flowers captivates me.
Fall Chores for Peonies
But I have learned that there is more to peonies than spring blooms. Each fall, I spend a lot of time preparing these beauties for the winter and the following spring. This is important in order to have good blooms in the future.
One of my fall tasks is to cut back the foliage of herbaceous peonies close to the ground. Then I like to sit on the ground next to each peony and look closely for the plant's "eyes." These are the tiny red buds that will produce next year's flowers. These buds need to be near the surface of the soil.
Once I locate the eyes of each plant I make sure they are no more than two inches from the surface. Eyes that are covered with too much dirt or mulch will not produce blooms the next spring. As far as I am concerned, the eyes have it!
Also, fall is the best time to buy bare-root peonies from local nurseries or mail order garden shops. These are the dormant roots of an established plant that have been dug up and refrigerated before selling. They will need to be planted in a location with full sun and at a depth that is not too deep.
If you perform your fall tasks well, by early spring the eyes will turn into maroon colored stems about an inch high. At this point, the stems grow rapidly as the plant responds to the warm rays of the sun. According to Alice Harding, when she could see the red tips of her peonies growing, she knew the garden season had begun. I agree with her!
What kind of peonies are you growing?
This article appears in The Laurel of Asheville. Follow @TheObservantGardener on Instagram to see new garden photos daily! It also won second prize in the columns category from the National Federation of Press Women in their 2024 Communications Contest.
