Immensely popular as cut and dried flowers, they can also be used in pot pourri. Peonies are long-lived, low maintenance, available in many colours and shapes and have an unmistakable fragrance. Your neighbours, relatives and friends probably have old garden varieties that have long since lost their identification but not their reliable beauty. Herbaceous peonies can live for over 50 years and tree peonies even longer, spanning generations and often becoming family heirlooms. Although peonies only bloom for one to four weeks, their season can be extended by choosing plants that bloom early, mid-season and late.
Tree peonies bloom several weeks before herbaceous.
A selection of over 3,000 herbaceous peonies ensures at least one to fit any garden and colour scheme. While not found in blue, peonies do come in every shade and combination of white, cream, pink, crimson, magenta, red and yellow. The spectacular seasonal growth of herbaceous peonies begins in early spring when magnificent, red shoots quickly appear. The shoots rapidly grow and unfold to reveal the beautiful green foliage that remains on the plant until turning golden brown in late fall. Long stems carry the tight green buds that finally burst open with the heat of spring.