Beautiful Peonies – The Ultimate Guide

When Aussies think about gifting flowers peonies often top the list. They are fascinating and attractive, come in many beautiful colours, and possess large rose-like blooms that showcase beauty, elegance, and fragrance.

Peonies make excellent cut flowers but have a short season. This aspect adds to their attractiveness as they bloom only in spring and early summer, and if you search “flower shops open now near me” you’ll most probably find them on the stocks of many of these florists. 

Because of this, peonies feature heavily in events like weddings and christenings, and the homes or offices of flower enthusiasts, home decorators, and gardeners. 

These flowers first originated from China, where the Chinese planted them for thousands of years. The locals know them as “sho yu” which in Mandarin, which means “most beautiful.” 

Today, you’ll peonies almost every part of the world. They grow perfectly in cold winter areas where they bloom in huge numbers. If you live in warmer areas and come across them, it’s because they have been grown in greenhouses or have been imported.

Peonies: Cultural Symbols and Meanings

Peonies have a lot of significance not only in beautifying an occasion. They also carry a rich history as a medicinal flower.

The flowers have had a significant impact on China than any other country. The Chinese call it the “queen of flowers” because of its beauty. Long before the plum tree ascended to power, peonies were China’s National flower.

Peonies have also played vital roles in the Sui and Tang dynasties since they grew in the palaces, which only added to their royal significance.  Luoyang city is known as the “city of peonies’ because it houses the Chinese National Peony Garden where the annual peonies festival takes place.

There’s another famous European story about the origins of this beautiful blossom. According to myth, a beautiful nymph, Paeonia, caught the Greek God Apollo’s attention, but she became self-conscious and turned red as soon as she realized Aphrodite was watching. The goddess Aphrodite got angry and changed Paeonia into a red peony.

Today, peonies symbolize lots of meanings from compassion and romance to good luck, happy weddings, and prosperity.

How to Best Grow Peonies

Some of the most common questions people ask are if you can grow peonies in spring, how much sun they need to grow, and how to plant peonies in the right way to yield great results.

Its best to plant peonies in autumn, but they can still bloom if planted in early spring, though not as abundantly as expected. Nevertheless, peonies won’t bloom for the first year if transplanted, and they need chilling for bud formation in winter. 

Peonies need areas with 6-8 hours of sunlight to grow properly. In some zones with too much sunlight, you may need to create a bit of shade to protect them. As long as you provide abundant sun and well-drained soil, your peonies will do just fine. 

When Are Peonies In Season?

Naturally, peonies are perennial, which means that they can live for more than two years. They grow and bloom mostly in the winter and autumn, coming back to life in the spring.

During their growing period, they will be available in every colour except blue. The most popular hues are white, yellow, or pink. 

Types of Peonies & How They Grow

There are several peony varieties of peonies you will come across. If you go Google “flower shops open now near me,” you’ll get many florists and garden centres offering tens of varieties, which could make it challenging to choose your chosen type.

The good news is that a wide variety of peonies will grow in any soil, as long as it’s well-drained, so if you can’t buy them, these are the three types you can plant:

Paeonia lactiflora

This variety is the most common type of peony and comes in beautiful pink colours. 

They include singles that feature a row of guard petals with a centre of stamens, with the most common being the “Nippon Beauty.”  You can also get doubles like “Sarah Bernhardt” which transforms carpels and stamens into petals.

Intersectional Hybrids

For years, it was impossible to get a hybrid of peony trees and herbaceous plants. 

After many attempts, a breeder successfully brought forth the “Yellow Bartzella”. Today, it’s the most beautiful yellow variety belonging to the peony family, but quite costly.

Tree Peonies

Tree peonies exist, but they are rare to find. They are woody shrubs with strong stems that support the abundant blossoms. 

The branches produce lax herbaceous form where single or double flowers grow. You’ll get these blooms occurring in several striking colours from pink and red to white. 

Bottom Line

With the right conditions, you can grow any variety of peony from the comfort of your home garden or greenhouse. They are easy to grow because of the low maintenance and if well established in your garden, will yield beautiful blooms year after year.Here’s the good news – you don’t have to look far and wide to get peonies. Contact InFullBloom to place your order, and we can deliver these attractive blooms directly to your doorstep.