For The Love of Tree Peonies

I first fell in love with tree peonies on a visit to Winterthur about ten years ago. During that time I was working on my Certificate in Ornamental Horticulture at Longwood Gardens and would occasionally stop at Winterthur on my way home to see what was in bloom.

One May afternoon, I inadvertently happened upon the immense collection of tree peonies - all in full bloom in bright shades of red, yellow, burgundy, white, hot pink, pale pink, orange and purple - and the sight took my breathe away. I knew right then and there that I would have to add at least one tree peony to my humble garden.

The exquisite, ruffled, and taffeta-like blooms are simply show-stopping and I was thrilled to learn that despite their delicate appearance, they are actually quite hardy, low maintenance and even drought-tolerant in our area! Why many Eastern Shore gardens are not bursting with these elegant plants, I do not know but that wasn't going to deter me from my starting my own collection.

Tree peonies (Paeonia suffruticosa) are actually not trees but deciduous shrubs. They produce woody stems with dark green foliage and therefore do not dieback every fall like their cousins the herbaceous peonies. Revered as the national flower of China where they are native, tree peonies are slow growers but long-lived. It is said that some live longer than the gardeners who planted them! Tree peonies prefer rich, moist, well-drained soil in partial shade. They tend to grow 3 to 5 feet tall and wide and bloom in May for a week or two if you're lucky, depending on the weather.

I've found that in my garden, those plants living in dappled shade bloom longer than those in direct sun. A hot day of sun can scorch the long-awaited blossoms in the span of a day, shriveling them like balled up pieces of colored tissue paper. It is a painful sight indeed and explains why during that one auspicious week of bloom, I pray to the Gods for overcast cool days.

Back to starting my own collection. Soon after seeing the glorious display of tree peonies at Winterthur, I chanced upon a "Going Out of Business" sale at Southern States in Easton and discovered a tree peony for $9.99! I thought that I could invest in such an experiment for $10 because tree peonies are not cheap. They start at about $50 and go upwards from there - to even the $300 range!! So if it grew and survived, hooray for me. And if it didn't, well, it only cost $10. I'd skip a lunch out and forget about it.

I'm pleased to say that was the best ten dollars ever spent on my garden. With a label that only read "Tree Peony: Pink," this plant continues to live and thrive - some 10 years later - and it's the first of my six plant collection to bloom every spring. The pale pink blossoms make my heart soar every time, with more blooms covering the shrub with each passing year. I've even trained a clematis to grow through it so that it "blooms" all summer long.

I try to give myself a new tree peony every year, as a gift to myself. The names are sexier and the colors more bodacious (one is the color of Nehi grape soda, I kid you not!) but none give me as much satisfaction and pleasure as my first one, Southern States "Pink."

This article first appeared in the Talbot County Garden Club's horticulture newsletter, "Can You Dig It?" in the March 2012 edition.