Peony
Paeonia lactiflora · Popular
Large, often fragrant blooms in late spring on a long-lived plant that can thrive for decades. The glossy foliage makes a handsome shrub-like mound after flowering ends.
- Size
- 3 ft tall, 3 ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late May to late June
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Specimen
A bed built around peony
The planner designed this bed around 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 peony stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Peony × 1, pink
- 2 Blue fescue 'Elijah Blue' × 8, blue-green leaves
- 3 Carpathian bellflower 'Blue Clips' × 7, blue
- 4 Brown-eyed Susan × 3, yellow
- 5 Slender mountain mint × 3, white
- 6 Eastern bee balm × 3, pink
- 7 Dutch iris × 12, purple
- 8 Daffodil × 12, yellow
Why this plant
- A classic partner for Dutch iris. Both are on this plan. A pairing gardeners have proved outranks a general rule.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3 ft it is one of the taller plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to slender mountain mint (2½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 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 late May to late June.
- Part of the bed's peak. With eastern bee balm and Dutch iris in late May: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 7 of the 7 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The flowering year starts with daffodil in mid April and ends with brown-eyed Susan in early October. The back corners are held by peony and brown-eyed Susan, the tallest plants on the plan.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 4 Good, 1 Satisfactory. 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 peony goes in a border
At 3 ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 ft).
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.
Huge flowers for two weeks, then a handsome dark green mound until frost. Give it room and plant it once: it resents being moved and lives for decades. The flowers flop in rain, so a ring support helps.
- A long-lived feature plant for a sunny border
- Cut flowers
- Glossy foliage as a backdrop for later flowers
What to plant with peony
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Siberian iris: in flower together for four weeks, from late May.
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': in flower together for four weeks, from late May; spires rising out of its mound.
- Salvia 'May Night': in flower together for four weeks, from late May; spires rising out of its mound.
Choosing between it and a look-alike? Peony vs Itoh peony 'Bartzella'.
Questions about peony
Does peony need sun or shade?
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 peony grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 8. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °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 peony flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to late June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Mid June to late June |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Early June to late June |
| Zone 5 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 6 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 7 | Mid May to mid June |
| Zone 8 | Early May to mid June |
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 peony be planted?
3 ft (90 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is about its full width, so each plant keeps its own outline.
It grows 3 ft (90 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many peony plants do I need?
At 3 ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 1 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 4 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 peony poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: mild toxicity to dogs, cats and horses. Can cause vomiting and diarrhoea in pets if eaten.
Rated from NC State Extension. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
What flowers after peony?
Peony is over by late June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Butterfly weed: from late June to early August, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Daylily: from late June to early August, 2½ ft tall.
What does peony look like in winter?
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
- Fernleaf peony Paeonia tenuifolia
- Itoh peony 'Bartzella' Paeonia 'Bartzella'
- 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 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 3 ft (90 cm) tall, 3 ft (90 cm) wide
- Plant
- 3 ft (90 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Late May to late June; open bowls; pink, white, red
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; dark green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Rich, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). 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.