Paeonia Lactiflora
Although it looks like an English rose, it’s an American variety from 1943 and it was awarded a Gold Medal by The American Peony Society in 1959. The strong stems support full flowers that fade to a softer pink and the flowers look translucent in evening light. Given good fertile soil this peony will flower well and these long-lived plants all have handsome foliage, so they have long-lasting presence in a border.
Herbaceous peonies always feature heavily at Chelsea because they offer good May flowers. However many have been used for foliage as much as flower. Ann Marie-Powell, designer of The British Heart Foundation garden, is using another American Gold Medal winner, 'Red Charm', in her design. Bred in 1944, it was given its award in 1956. The deep-red flowers have a feathered middle and Kelways are raising all her plants.
Single peonies have also been highly popular at Chelsea. The clear-red officinalis x lactiflora hybrid 'Buckeye Bell' has been used in several Gold Medal gardens, often popping through bronze fennel. The cup-shaped flowers are produced early in the peony season. This is another American peony bred in 1956, but it was only awarded a Gold Medal by The American Peony Society in 2010. Tom Stuart Smith has also used single white peonies including the dainty 'White Wings'. Single-flowered peonies will flower in shade, unlike the fuller flowered ones.
How to grow peonies
- Peonies grow best in good light and one mature plant can produce twenty to thirty blooms or more.
- They are long-lived, hardy and tolerate most soils. However they do best on deep, fertile soil that retains moisture in summer, so those on light soil should add organic matter when planting.
- Conversely their tuberous roots dislike being waterlogged in winter, so improve the drainage on heavy clay by incorporating lots of grit.
- If you garden on acid soil, add a handful of lime when planting.
- In the wild, Paeonia lactiflora is exposed to the rainy season in June and they do enjoy water in the spring and early to swell the buds.
Planting
- Prepare the ground well when planting peonies by incorporating lots of organic matter and then add a sprinkling of bone meal to encourage the roots.
- They resent being planted too deeply and they will refuse to flower. The top of the crown should be only two inches (5 cm) below the surface.
- Firm the soil around the eyes of the peony after planting.
When to divide or move
- You can move peonies very successfully. Tackle it in early autumn as the foliage dies down. Lift the whole plant carefully.
- Division should also take place in autumn. Lift the plant and wash off some of the soil and then cut the plant into chunks and replant each piece. Discard any dead pieces of root.
- If the plants are small re-plant the whole thing.
- Peonies generally take two years to flower after division, or after moving, or after planting.
General care
- Deadhead after flowering, to keep the vigour in the main plant.
- Cut down the dying foliage to ground level in autumn and destroy it.
- Feed with bone meal, or general fertiliser and then repeat the process in March as growth starts up again.
- Stake in April. Semi-circular iron hoops are the best and easiest system.
- If any foliage wilts in summer, cut it away and bin it.
Grow with
- Peonies mix well with roses: the foliage and flowers are similar in form and colour. The peonies flower slightly earlier and then overlap with the roses so they support each other well.
- They also mingle well with early perennials including campanulas, astrantias and early flowering hardy geraniums like the deep-blue 'Orion'.
Supplier: Kelways Nursery - www.kelways.co.uk
The Natural Gardener by Val Bourne is published by Frances Lincoln at £14.99. Buy this book at a discount from Saga Books.