Tree Peonies—Garden Royalty

By Ms Sherry

Published: April 15, 2009

Walking through the garden has almost become a dizzying experience these days. The colors are swirling: purple columbines; chartreuse hostas; hot pink azalea flowers; red-leafed maples; white clematis. Whew! But nestled among the verdant greens and bright colors are what I call the garden queens – the tree peonies. And royalty they are. Tree peonies, unlike their relatives herbaceous peonies, are deciduous shrubs instead of perennials. Tree peonies command a hefty price; I saw some plants on the internet selling for hundreds of dollars (however, younger ones may be purcchased for less money but it takes longer for them to bloom). The flowers come in a range of colors; I have posted pictures of my red one and my white one; my yellow one blooms just a couple of weeks later than these two and I will post that photo when it does bloom. The red flower measures 7 inches in diameter but the blooms on some selections can get up to a foot across for some lucky gardener. It takes several years for a tree peony to reach its full potential but the rewards for the patient gardener are great. These are not fast growing plants, so one can be tucked into an area where it is sheltered from harsh winds, gets part sun, and is planted in wonderful rich, fertile well-drained soil.

Every garden should have at least one tree peony; watching it bloom is reason enough to get out of bed every morning and head outside.

(As I wrote my second blog about peonies I noticed that THE SOUTHERN LIVING GARDEN BOOK also referred to peonies as garden royalty—brilliant minds do think alike; but I wanted to make sure I gave that reference book full credit also.)