Fernleaf peony
Paeonia tenuifolia ·
Glowing crimson flowers sit on a low mound of feathery, thread-like leaves in spring, weeks ahead of other peonies. The leaves die away by late summer.
- Size
- 20 in tall, 20 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Early May to late May
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Specimen
A bed built around fernleaf peony
The planner designed this bed around fernleaf peony when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why fernleaf peony stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Fernleaf peony × 1, red
- 2 Sedum 'Lidakense' × 13, pink
- 3 Winter heath × 7, white
- 4 Swamp milkweed 'Ice Ballet' × 3, white
- 5 Purple coneflower × 5, purple
- 6 Black-eyed Susan × 3, yellow
- 7 Star of Persia × 3, purple
- 8 Grape hyacinth × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only open bowls. The others are dense clusters, bells, flat plates and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only red.
Why here
- In the middle. At 20 in it is the step between winter heath (10 in) in front and purple coneflower (3 ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- One plant, alone. A feature plant is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for four weeks. From early May to late May.
- Fills a gap. For two of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The flowering year starts with winter heath in late January and ends with sedum 'Lidakense' in early October. The scheme leans cool (pink, purple and blue) and uses red and yellow for warmth, with white to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where fernleaf peony goes in a border
At 20 in it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium short (18 to 24 in).
Its job: specimen. A feature plant with a shape of its own. It stands alone with room around it, and repeats only at a distance.
Foliage like a soft green feather duster, quite unlike any other peony. It is slow and expensive, so give it a prominent place, and a neighbour that covers the gap when it goes dormant.
- An early peony for the front of a bed
- Fine-textured foliage
- A collector's plant
What to plant with fernleaf peony
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Bearded iris: tall enough (2½ ft) to stand behind it.
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': in flower together for two weeks, from mid May; spires rising out of its mound.
- Candytuft: in flower together for four weeks, from early May; low enough (10 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about fernleaf peony
Does fernleaf peony need sun or shade?
Fernleaf peony grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does fernleaf peony grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does fernleaf peony flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early May to late May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 4 | Early May to late May |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Early May to late May |
| Zone 6 | Late April to mid May |
| Zone 7 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 8 | Mid April to early May |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should fernleaf peony be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 20 in (50 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 20 in (50 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many fernleaf peony plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one, with clear ground around it: a feature plant is seen as an object, and a group of them is a thicket.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is fernleaf peony poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: mild toxicity to dogs, cats and horses. Can cause vomiting and diarrhoea in pets if eaten.
Is there a pet-safe plant like fernleaf peony?
These come closest to doing what fernleaf peony does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Wild geranium: the same size and the same flowering time; a drift, not a specimen, pink, not red.
- Eastern bee balm: the same size; a drift, not a specimen, flowers early May to mid June.
- Coneflower 'Sombrero Salsa Red': the same colour; a drift, not a specimen, 4 in taller.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after fernleaf peony?
Fernleaf peony is over by late May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': from mid May to mid September, 24 in tall (a recorded partner).
- Bearded iris: from late May to mid June, 2½ ft tall (a recorded partner).
- Lady's mantle: from late May to early July, 18 in tall.
What does fernleaf peony look like in winter?
Fernleaf peony dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Paeonia
- Itoh peony 'Bartzella' Paeonia 'Bartzella'
- Peony Paeonia lactiflora
- Peony 'Bowl of Beauty' Paeonia lactiflora 'Bowl of Beauty'
- Peony 'Coral Charm' Paeonia 'Coral Charm'
- Peony 'Festiva Maxima' Paeonia lactiflora 'Festiva Maxima'
- Peony 'Karl Rosenfield' Paeonia lactiflora 'Karl Rosenfield'
- Peony 'Sarah Bernhardt' Paeonia lactiflora 'Sarah Bernhardt'
- Tree peony Paeonia suffruticosa
In these guides
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8
In flower in: May
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 20 in (50 cm) tall, 20 in (50 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium short (18 to 24 in)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Early May to late May; open bowls; red
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; dark green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Rich, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.