Today there are innumerable cultivars with simple and double, white, yellow, orange-red, red, rose-red, salmon-colored, dark-red, purple and even multi-colored flowers. That is why there is not one flowering time for peonies, but many different ones, because the flowering time depends on the cultivar; here is the overview.
Table of Contents
The heyday of the well-known commercial peonies
1. Paeonia officinalis hybrids: Rather late flowering
By far the most widespread and available in every well-stocked garden center are varieties that essentially go back to the common peony Paeonia officinalis. The natural species of Paeonia, also known as the peasant peony or real peony, with the traditionally known peony flowers in light red-violet blooms quite late, between May and June.
This peony has long been “processed” by breeders. B. already in the late Middle Ages. There are now countless cultivars of Paeonia officinalis, including breeding lines and crosses crossing species, which do not always follow the example in terms of flower color and flowering time, here are a few well-known examples:
- P. officinalis hybrid ‘Alba Plena’, around 80 cm, mostly single-stemmed (support required), flowers white and double and a little later than the red-violet trunk
- Paeonia officinalis ‘Anemoniflora Rosea’, 40 – 50 cm, compact form, purple-pink flowers with yellow stamens from May to June
- Paeonia officinalis ‘JC Weguelin’, 70 – 80 cm, simple dark red flowers that have a stately diameter of 14-15 cm and bloom early in May
- Paeonia officinalis ‘Mollis’, 40 – 50 cm, simple small flowers in bright pink to pink, very early flowering from the end of April
- Paeonia officinalis ‘Mutabilis Plena’, 50 – 60 cm, double bright pink flowers with a mighty diameter of 16 cm, early flowering from April / May
- Paeonia officinalis ‘Rosea Plena’, 80 cm, densely double, heavy pink flowers (support absolutely necessary), flowers from mid / late May until well into June
- Paeonia officinalis ‘Rubra Plena’, 80 cm, from May double flowers in bright red (don’t fade a lot, but don’t last forever)
The brief overview already shows that there are always early slip-ups with regard to the flowering period (probably caused by crossbreeding of other species). If a specific flowering time is important, the information given for the individual plant is decisive. What also applies to the second popular group of peonies:
Peonies: May bloom later
Chinese peonies or noble peonies, hybrids of the milk white peony Paeonia lactiflora, are also found more frequently in gardens. However, the first mother of this hybrid group flowers relatively late, which is used to produce offspring that flower as late as possible.
Among the numerous Paeonia lactiflora hybrids from ‘Ann Cousins’ to ‘Miss Eckardt’ and ‘Moonstone’ to ‘Wiesbaden’ you will therefore mainly find peonies that only start to flower in June; Individual varieties such as P. lactiflora ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ and P. lactiflora ‘Glory Hallelujah’ even let June go a long way before the first flower opens (but not only when the cross has such an exciting red tint results as with ‘Red Giant’, the flower can be a little earlier).
Flowering times of rare peony varieties
The total range of peony varieties available on the market goes far beyond the common hybrids, even if the varieties listed below are more likely to be found at specialists than in the nearest garden center. This is about exceptional cultivars of two groups of peonies, which in turn have their own peculiarities with regard to the flowering period:
The varieties of the shrubby peonies or tree peonies and their mostly early flowering times
Little known, but also available to German gardeners around the world and through specialized dealers: Giant peonies from Asia, which can grow into 2.5 m high bushes and are covered with thick tuffs of flowers in early summer. These magnificent shrub peonies have been grown in their homeland for around 1400 years; Today there are more than 1000 varieties in China alone and many more in the rest of the world, as the shrub peonies grow in all gardens with a temperate climate.
This variety of cultivated tree peonies was grouped under the botanical name Paeonia × suffruticosa. They are crosses of several wild species, the varieties of which bloom rather early, but show different blooming times depending on their origin:
- Asian P. × suffruticosa hybrids become medium-high, bloom white, pink to deep red and, above all, usually quite early from early to mid-May
- French P. × suffruticosa hybrids show the most exciting filled forms from “plush sofa” to “tip edge” in various shades of pink and red and usually bloom very early from the end of April
- American P. suffruticosa hybrids such as’ Burgundy Wine ‘and Ezra Pound Gratwick’ bloom wine-red to light purple, semi-double and usually from the beginning of May
Intersectional hybrids
An exciting younger branch of the peony cultivation, in which perennial peonies and shrub peonies are crossed across the sections. What comes out delights imaginative natures: neon yellow, beige-pink, dark purple, bright red and almost brown flowers, two-tone, three-tone, ruffled, wavy and lobed, with and without mini-flowers on the stamens.
As with the noble peonies, flowering should begin in May, but should last longer; until well into June, buds, full flowers and faded things should be seen on a plant at the same time. Whether the new varieties of herbaceous peonies and shrub peonies adhere to these specified flowering times does not seem to be entirely certain, often only the indication “medium” can be read for the flowering time. In addition, new “flower miracles” are constantly being added in this area, as breeding is advancing rapidly in this group in particular.
Real peonies and their heyday
Real peonies friends plant real peonies in the garden, which, in contrast to the often sterile results of fast commercial breeding, are genetically complete, robust and reproductive. Of these original peony species, there is a whole plant genus with around 50 currently known species worldwide. Part of it developed in southern and central Europe, but the nice thing about all these peonies is that the species from Asia and North America also originated in temperate climates and therefore usually grow in our country without any problems.
These species are divided into three sections (sub-groups that do not differ so clearly that sub-genera are formed) with two perennial peonies and the shrub peony, which differ mainly in flower color, flower size, growth height and leaf shape, but also a little in the Differentiate flowering time:
Peonies section “Paeonia DC”, Eurasian perennial peonies
- Paeonia anomala, wild peony from China / Russia, around 50 cm, heavily slit foliage + fragrant dark pink flower heads, heralds the peony season at the beginning of May
- Paeonia anomala subsp. veitchii (formerly P. veitchii), Veitch’s peony from China, see Paeonia anomala, but usually forms multi-flowered stems
- Paeonia cambesedesii, Balearic peony, around 45 cm, flowering in delicate pink, which begins in early to mid-May
- Paeonia daurica, Crimean peony, 40-70 cm, large, fragrant, delicate pink flowers, very early flowering time, often from April
- There are numerous subspecies of P. daurica such as coriifolia (West Caucasian P.), macrophylla (large-leaved P.), wittmanniana (Wittmanns P.) in various flower colors and early flowering from May
- Paeonia emodi, perennial peony with lots of fragrant white flowers from the beginning of May
- Paeonia officinalis: The natural species of the real peony is almost only found in medicinal cultivation, flowering time between May and June
- Paeonia intermedia, 75 cm, large red flowers with a yellow center from April or May to June
- Paeonia lactiflora, milk-white peony, 50 – 60 cm, the side-bud-forming species (parent of numerous well-known hybrids) flowers white and very late in June
- Paeonia mascula, coral peony, 60 – 70 cm, simple deep pink flowers, flowering very early from the end of April
- There are a few subspecies of the coral peony that are rarely offered, such as P. mascula subsp. hellenica (= P. flavescens, simple upright white flower, light yellow stamens with tiny white-pink inner flowers)
- Paeonia mlokosewitschii, Caucasus peony, 60-70 cm, pale yellow single flowers, very early flowering from the end of April
- Paeonia peregrina, Foreign Peony, 60-70 (80) cm, simple flowers in dark red with showy yellow stamens, flowering time in mid to late May
- Paeonia tenuifolia, fine-leaved peony, 30 – 40 cm, deep red flowers single, small (6-7 cm) and very early from the end of April
Peonies section “Onaepia”, North American perennial peonies
- Paeonia brownii, up to 50 cm, deeply lobed gray-green leaves on red petioles, pendent, cup-shaped green-yellow-chestnut-colored flowers that appear in the leaf axils from May
- Paeonia californica, around 70 cm, Californian peony, approx. 70 cm, deeply lobed dark green foliage, deep purple-colored nodding flowers from May / June
Peonies section “Moutan DC”,
shrubby peonies or tree peonies The section includes around a dozen shrubby peonies that are extinct, endangered or rarely found in the nature of their Asian homeland (only P. delavayi is still relatively common in China and Tibet ). Breeders of the giants of peonies, which are still standing for love, luck and wealth in Asia today, have ensured that some species of the original shrub peonies are preserved in and through culture:
- Paeonia delavayi, Delavay’s shrub peony, up to approx. 2 m, orange-red to dark red flowers with a delicate fragrance and a diameter of 6 – 7 cm, flowering time from mid to late May
- Cultivars or sports (vegetatively propagated spontaneous mutations of a single plant) bring P. delavayi varieties in several colors:
- Paeonia delavayi with orange-yellow, orange, orange-red, red and black-red flowers or a play of colors of yellow, orange, red on a plant; only the flowering time in May remains the same
- Paeonia ludlowii, simple, normal-sized flowers in strong yellow, flowering time in mid to late May
These were just the more well-known species, peony fans can obtain other types of little-known peonies via garden clubs and swap sites and special sources. These real peonies usually smell much stronger than the commercial hybrids, whereby the scent varies depending on the species and the time of day: in the morning it should appear rather sweet and “pure”, the vegetable oils should then develop and develop through the warmth of the day make the scent a lot stronger. This also makes it easier to distinguish, some species are said to have a sweet smell, some “clean” and slightly lemon-like, traditional Chinese peonies are better known for their heavy, aromatic scent.
Whether one of the lesser-known species is suitable for cultivation in your own garden, however, should be carefully checked: Not all “new” species are really suitable for culture in this country, there are not very hardy and quite sensitive and demanding imports.
Of course, it should also be noted that the flowering times do not slavishly adhere to the respective information, but are influenced by planting, location, weather and care. If a peony species is one of the late bloomers that does not bloom in the first season, if it is in the wrong soil or in a location that is too dark, or if it is cared for or nourished incorrectly, it may not bloom at all; But that is another issue
Conclusion
Today, peonies come in all sizes and colors, each with an early, medium and late flowering period. In order to immerse the garden in peony blossoms throughout the season, you have to deal with the many types of peonies very carefully. However, if you are simply looking for peonies that bloom a little earlier or a little later, you can choose from a wide range of different types of peonies.