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May; Peonies

Peonies bring to mind colourful cottage gardens and while they can take a year or two to flower peonies can then outlive most other herbaceous plants. There are herbaceous peonies with a wide range of flower colours and types including single, anemone, semi-double and double forms, as well as the more exotic looking but still easy to grow shrubby tree peonies.

Most herbaceous peonies have a height and spread of around 30-36” and like sun or very light shade. While the flowers may be fleeting the foliage is long lasting, starting in April as deep red shoots, unfurling to divided green leaves that provide an attractive foil to other flowers long after the peony has finished flowering. Some cultivars have dramatic, large fancy double flowers that do require staking and are more at risk of being damaged by heavy rain and wind. Some peonies are scented and many make lovely cut flowers, if you have enough to spare!

The cottage garden favourites are Paeonia officinalis ‘Rubra Plena’ with double red flowers or P. ‘Rosea Plena’ with deep pink flowers. P. mlokosewitschii, often called ‘Molly the Witch’, is more subtle with single pale yellow flowers and dark yellow stamens, and is better in a sheltered position with some shade and also can be slow to grow.

Also flowering in May are P. ‘Duchesse of Nemours’ with fragrant, fully double large white flowers and P. ‘Buckeye Belle’ with scented deep red, semi-double flowers.

Then in late May or early June P. Whitleyi Major, with creamy white single flowers with yellow stamens, an old cultivar which may be difficult to acquire. The attractive and easy to find P. ’Sarah Bernhardt’ has wonderful apple blossom pink double blooms, and is a popular cut flower.

Herbaceous peonies are best planted in the autumn and not too deep, with only an inch or so of soil over the tuber, look for plants with 3-5 shoots and plant in a sunny position. Only lift and divide when necessary, probably after about 8-10 years. They can be moved if required but do not replant too deep. Help them with a high potash fertiliser in the autumn to aid root development and a general purpose one in the spring.

If visiting the Malvern Spring Show look out for Kelways in the Floral Marquee who are Peony and Iris specialists and are bound to have a tempting display.

CAF