Lessons From My Garden | How to Extend Peony Season

Planing a garden in which there’s something blooming from early spring to late fall is one of the most rewarding gardening strategies, and one of the trickiest to implement, especially for beginners like myself. Each year comes with new gardening lessons and some lessons are more painful to absorb than others (I still ache for those hydrangea shrubs we purchased on an impulse soon after our move, shrubs that never flowered in our Zone 5b). One thing I’ve been learning more about lately is choosing locally-grown plants based on bloom time so there’s something pretty in the garden throughout the seasons, and less heartache for the gardener. 

This year the stars of the show in our late spring / early summer garden were without a doubt the Sarah Bernhardt peonies. They peaked during the first week of June and the flowers – large, fragrant and rose-shaped – made delightful bouquets that brightened up our cottage. But since they only lasted for a week, I wondered about ways to extend peony season, if possible,  and found that different peonies have different blooming times and by selecting certain varieties one can enjoy fresh blooms for up to 6 weeks!!! 

I realize this is not breaking news, especially to experienced gardeners, but if you, too, are a beginner interested in adding peonies to your flower beds then maybe you’ll find this helpful (and you won’t have to do all the research yourself 🙂 ).

Peonies have been a favorite in perennial borders for centuries, and for good reason. They are relatively easy to grow given the right conditions, are deer resistant (always a plus for those of us living in the country), and are virtually pest-free (though one of our Karl Rosenfield peony shrubs planted by previous owners developed a white, powdery fungus a couple of summers ago but came back the following year unscathed).

In terms of planting conditions, these hardy perennials prefer full sun / partial shade and thrive in moist and well-drained soil, rich in minerals. They don’t like competing with other plants for nutrients and don’t take well to transplanting but can be long-lived if left undisturbed (some can live as long as 50 years!). Each variety blooms about 7-10 days a year and makes excellent cut flowers.

Peonies are best planted in early fall, when they have enough time to get established before the temperatures drop, and there’s still plenty of time to include them in your planting scheme for next year’s flower garden if you wish. You can purchase peony plants from local nurseries (my favorite since you’ll get beautiful blooms as early as next spring) or tubers (less costly but the plants need a couple of years to get established and start flowering). We have both in our garden and the plants we’ve purchased last fall are stronger and more floriferous than those grown from tubers. 

When it comes to bloom colors, there are several options to consider: from yellows, corals and soft pinks to deeper hues such as fuchsia and red. There’s a yellow variety I’ve come across – Barzella, and a few stunning white ones among which the award-winning Krinkled White that looks a lot like a daisy when in bloom.  And then there are some wonderful white varieties such as the fragrant Gardenia, the Festiva Maxima and Duchesse de Nemours. 

Though peony season is long gone, the memory of their intoxicating fragrance and stunning good looks is fresh in my mind and, as I start planning a new flower bed in our front yard, I’d love to incorporate some of the following varieties in my design:

Gardenia – a fragrant peony with flowers in the shape of a rose. The buds start out pink and develop into large flowers with pale pink outer petals. The inner petals become ivory white as the plant reaches full bloom. 

Duchesse de Nemours – one of the whitest peonies you can grow in your garden, as well as one of the oldest varieties. 

Festiva Maxima – large white blooms occasionally flecked with crimson

Krinkled White: award-winning and hardy, large white flowers with a yellow center

Bloom Times for Different Peony Varieties

Very early (late spring): Claire de Lune, Rosea Plena

Early: Coral Supreme, Lovely Rose, Coral Sunset, Coral Charm, America 

Early Midseason: Gardenia, Duchesse de Nemours, Festiva Maxima, Barrington Belle, Show Girl 

Midseason: Sorbet, Shirley Temple, Lady Alexandra Duff, Krinkled White, Edulis Superba, First Arrival

Late Midseason: Whopper, Sarah Bernhardt, Karl Rosenfield, Bowl of Beauty, Bartzella

Late Season (early summer): Dinner Plate, Dr Jekyll, Elsa Sass, Pink Parfait

But enough lecturing on my end, now it’s your turn, dear friends: Do you have experience caring for peonies, or some useful tips & tricks for growing them successfully? A favorite variety, perhaps? Please let us know in the comments below, we’d love to hear your thoughts!