Peony

peony, (genus Paeonia), genus of about 30 species of flowering plants (family Paeoniaceae) known for their large showy blossoms. All but two species are native to Europe and Asia, and several species are cultivated as ornamentals and for the floral industry.

European common peony

garden peony

There are three distinct groups of peonies: the herbaceous Eurasian peonies, the Asian tree, or moutan, peonies, and the North American peonies. The herbaceous peonies are perennials that grow to a height of almost 1 metre (about 3 feet). They have large, glossy, much-divided leaves borne on annual stems produced by fleshy rootstocks. In late spring and early summer they produce large single and double flowers of white, pink, rose, and deep crimson colour. The fragrant Chinese peony (P. lactiflora) and the European common peony (P. officinalis) have given rise to most of the familiar garden peonies. P. lactiflora has provided hundreds of cultivated varieties, including the Japanese types, with one or two rows of petals surrounding a cluster of partially formed petals in the centre (petaloid stamens).

The tree peonies are shrubby plants with permanent woody stems. The plants sometimes attain a height of 1.2 to 1.8 metres (about 4 to 6 feet). They begin flowering in late spring. The blossoms vary in colour from white to lilac, violet, and red. Tree peonies require a hot dry summer season for best growth, and they can be grafted in late summer or autumn on the roots of herbaceous peonies. Horticultural varieties have been developed from the Chinese species P. suffruticosa. A race of hybrids, developed by crossing P. suffruticosa with the yellow Chinese P. delayavi, has both single and double flowers, sometimes tinged with red. Many varieties have been grafted onto supportive rootstock and so cannot be readily propagated by simple division. Peonies are seldom grown from seeds except in breeding programs; the seed takes about two years to germinate.

Two peony species are native to North America. Brown’s, or western, peony (P. browni) ranges from California to Montana, and California peony (P. californica) is found only along the Pacific coastal mountains of California and Mexico.