First Peonies of the Year

Tree Peony

Here is the very first peony to bloom in my garden this year.  Tree peonies generally bloom a couple of weeks before the more common herbaceous peonies.  Anything that extends the blooming season of peonies is great! I chose this particular cultivar because of the wonderful lavender color, which I had not seen in peonies before.


I planted this tree peony about three years ago.  Each year it gets a tiny bit larger, until someday it should get to its full size of about 4-5 feet.  The flowers are gigantic in size, and several of these on a plant are really gorgeous.

Tree peonies are woody perennial shrubs, rather than dying down to the ground every winter like herbaceous peonies.  They need fertile, well-drained soil and dappled sunlight, and given these conditions, may live for centuries. Once established, they are fairly drought-resistant, native to a region that receives only about 30 inches of rain a year. Tree peonies need little maintenance other than judicious watering, deadheading, and the removal of spent foliage from around the plant in fall to prevent fungal infections. Fertilize in the early spring, or after the flowering is done.  Fortunately for me, they are also very low allergy-potential plants, so I can enjoy them without adding pollen allergy problems.