Five types of peony to grow

Single, pink Chinese peony 'Nippon Beauty'

Peonies are some of the most beautiful plants you can grow, with their sumptuous, velvety blooms in early summer. After the flowers have faded, the beautiful lobed foliage adds interest to beds and borders.

A huge range of peony cultivars is available, suitable for a wide variety of soils and situations. Most are herbaceous, dying back to the ground at the end of the growing season, while tree peonies are actually deciduous shrubs. Intersectional peonies are halfway between the two.

Paeonia lactiflora

Chinese peonies, as they are often called, were extremely popular in the Edwardian era. There are singles such as ‘Nippon Beauty’ (pictured), doubles, such as ‘Sarah Bernhardt’, and many with petaloid centres, such as ‘Barbara’, where the stamens have been replaced by petals.

Single, pink Chinese peony ‘Nippon Beauty’

Tree peony

Tree peonies have woody branches, from which lax herbaceous stems grow, producing single or double flowers. White, pink, deep-red and peach petalled varieties are available, as well as yellows, such as ‘Mikumino Akebono’. Shelter tree peonies from cold, drying winds.

Yellow tree peony ‘Mikumino Akebono’

Paeonia mlokosewitschii

Molly the witch, as it’s commonly known, produces new, grey-green foliage with a touch of pink, early in the year. This provides the perfect foil for the lemon-coloured flowers, packed with golden anthers and opening from fat, spherical buds. Easy to grow in dappled shade or sun. (Shown here is ‘Claire de Lune’, a cross between P. mlokosewitschii and P. lactiflora).

Golden and lemon Molly the witch peony ‘Claire de Lune’

Intersectional hybrids

It was once thought impossible to produce a hybrid from herbaceous and tree peonies. Finally, a breeder succeeded, and nowadays, the yellow ‘Bartzella’ is now considered one of the best yellow varieties. Expect to pay a bit more for such hybrids.

Hybrid lemon peony ‘Bartzella’

Paeonia officinalis

A European native, Paeonia officinalis has been in UK cultivation for nearly 500 years. It is usually found in gardens as the tough yet handsome cultivar, ‘Rubra Plena’, with double cerise-crimson flowers. Thrives in beds and borders.