It is fitting that the peony has become the traditional flower of Memorial Day. So many memories are stirred by glimpsing the peony's lush, satiny blooms or smelling its distinctive, lovely fragrance.

Many of us became acquainted with peonies in childhood. The plants are a fixture of Midwestern and Western gardens. Yet however familiar the plant becomes, its blossoms never cease to seem magical.

Peonies have a long history. They have been cultivated in China for hundreds of years and are so beloved by the Chinese that the fourth month of their calendar is named "Moon of the Peony." In Greece, Paeonia officinalis, a native of central Europe, played a significant role in early medicine and mythology. Most of the peonies that we plant today in our gardens are crosses of the Chinese peony (Paeonia lactiflora) and Paeonia officinalis. These crosses are herbaceous, meaning that they die to the ground every fall.

The great century of peony breeding occurred in Europe between 1840 and 1940. French growers, in particular, devoted themselves to creating opulent, double-flowering varieties of peonies with intoxicating scents. Meanwhile, in America, the peony was appreciated for its hardiness and its easy-going ways. Pioneers packed peony roots with them on wagon trains. Many of these old plants continue to bloom today in our gardens even as exciting new peony varieties are coming from farms in the Midwest.

Peonies bloom in a glowing range of pinks, reds, whites, corals, and even yellows. Herbaceous peonies come in different flower forms. The frilliest form is the double. Some double varieties worth looking for include Sarah Bernhardt with rose pink petals edged in a lighter pink or deep red; Duchesse de Nemours with clean creamy white petals and a staggering fragrance; Felix Crousse with lustrous crimson red flowers; Karl Rosenfield with very large deep pink bordering on magenta flowers; and Festiva Maxima, an old favorite white peony with a red-splashed center. Simpler but equally lovely flower forms are sported by single peonies like Seashell which features one row of soft pink petals surrounding a yellow center. While Japanese style peonies, which have two to three rows of petals arranged around a center of stamens that look like thin, rough petals, have a different, more exotic appeal. The Japanese peony Bowl of Beauty with its clear pink petals surrounding a fluffy yellow center is aptly named.

Peonies love Colorado's sunny conditions. Despite their glossy deep green foliage and enormous blossoms, peonies are quite drought tolerant and prone to very few diseases. In addition, they are cold hardy and do well at high elevations.

A peony plant can live for a century or longer. Considering their long life spans, the most important consideration in growing peonies is planting them properly. In a sunny site, dig a good-sized hole. Eventually your herbaceous peony will be about three feet tall and three feet wide. Fill the hole with good garden soil mixed with generous amounts of peat moss or compost. Encourage the peony's roots to grow by adding a little bone meal to the hole. Finally when the peony is placed in the hole, make sure that the eyes of the plant (the little red growing points on the root) are only placed an inch below the soil. Peonies will not bloom if they are planted too deeply.

Peonies can be planted in the spring if they are purchased in a pot from a nursery, but divisions and bare root plants must be planted in the fall. Peonies do not appreciate being disturbed once they have been established, so if you are ever forced to move a peony, fall is also the time to do the task. Be sure to rake up and dispose of peonies' withered foliage every fall as the dead foliage can on rare occasions transmit disease to the peony.

The only other maintenance chore these extravagant-looking, easy-care beauties demand is some help holding their enormous flowers upright. This can be achieved by staking or caging the plants in April. If you use something like one of the commercially available peony cages, which consists of a sturdy bent green wire to encircle the peony and three green stakes, your efforts will be virtually invisible. Then you may simply marvel at the beauty of the flower, inhale its sweet scent, and float on the tide of your memories.

There's nothing like the extraordinary peony to bring back thoughts of uncommon hours and uncommon friends.

Q: I'm ready to start planting. Do I have to "harden off" the transplants?

A: The outdoor environment can be very harsh for a transplant. Hardening the transplant increases its chance for success. Place them outside where they will receive sun and wind for a few hours each day. Gradually lengthen the time they are outside each day. Bring them inside if there is a chance for frost or low temperatures. They need to be watered and planted as soon as the hardening process is completed.

Q: Thyme is my favorite culinary and ornamental herb. Which thyme is best for drought?

A: Once established, thyme is drought tolerant. Woolly and creeping thymes are great ground covers and emit an earthy aroma with every step. Thyme may be grown as small bushy shrubs to carpet perennial gardens or as a colorful ground cover between stepping-stones. Thyme needs at least a half-day of full sun and a well-drained soil, but will adapt to different growing conditions.

Q: Seed stalks on rhubarb, what do you do with them?

A: Remove seed stalks and stop harvesting when the temperatures rise above 85 degrees. Remove old stalks at the base, giving room for new stalks to grow. Try not to remove more than 1/4 of the stalks at one time. Rhubarb is a poor competitor for water and nutrients so keep the plant mulched.

"Hot town, summer in the City… Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty…" Got that tune by The Lovin' Spoonful in your head yet? Think right plant, right place to help make good selections for heat tolerant plants. The new Heat Zone Map published by the American Horticultural Society can be a good reference tool! http://www.ahs.org/publications/heat_zone_map.htm

Compost is the utmost! Composting yard waste can be a good practice as it recycles nutrients back into the garden, reduces yard waste volume by 50 to 75 percent , and keeps those yummy nutrients out of the landfill. This "black gold" can also be used as a soil amendment or as mulch.

Aphids may have a face only a mother could love, but many beneficial insects are partial to them too! If natural predators, such as lady bugs, are scarce in your neck of the woods then properly administered insecticides may help. For more information on the use of insecticides, please refer to Fact Sheet #5.547 - Insect Control: Soaps and Detergents and #5.569 - Insect Control: Horticultural Oils.

Guess who's coming to dinner? It could be tomato and basil which are good companion plants. This pair can "buddy up" either in a raised bed or in a patio container. Three can be company, not a crowd, with the addition of marigolds!

The authors have received training through Colorado State University Cooperative Extension's Master Gardener program and is a Master Gardener volunteer for Larimer County.

Gardening and Insect Fact Sheets are available on-line by clicking HERE.

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This page updated:  June 21, 2004