Peonies – how to care for them… and win one!

There can’t be many plants more romantic than peonies. So it seemed fitting to devote this Valentine’s Day blog to them.

But I can share even more love than that! The lovely people at Primrose Hall Peonies, the peony experts, have given me a peony to giveaway. So read on – or if you can’t wait…

Scroll down for your chance to WIN!

Why Peonies?

My own love affair with perennial peonies started very recently. Indeed I don’t have any in my garden at the moment. I think that’s because I’ve always been rather put off by their seemingly short flowering season. They only bloom from late Spring to early Summer.

However, when I was writing about creating a cutting bed with perennials, I took another look at peonies. I realised that I’ve been rather blinkered about the stunning blooms.

In fact, I’ve now completely fallen in love with them, and with good reason!

• They comes in so many shades – all utterly beautiful.
• Many are fragrant
• They make lovely cut flowers
• They’re low maintenance and easy to grow
• They last, often for decades, producing more and more blooms with each passing year
• Some offer Autumn colour through their foliage
• You can choose them to flower at different, times so that if you are savvy with your choices you can have a peony in bloom somewhere in your garden from April until July
• They’re generally resitant to pests and don’t get troubled by slugs, snails or rabbits
• They are hardy plants and need no winter protection
• You can get some for containers

What’s not to love? So I’m now desperate to remedy the situation and get some peonies into my garden!

Peonies – The Types

I should quickly say that there are actually three types of peonies – herbaceous, intersectional and tree. This blog is focused on the first two of these – the perennial plants which you use for cut flowers.

Herbaceous

Herbaceous peonies are a timeless classic perennial plant which most people think of when you talk about peonies. There are hundreds of them and they come in so many delicious colours – with single and double flowers. They are showy, can have a lovely scent and many make wonderful cut flowers. Herbaceous peonies typically grow 80-90 cm tall and and 60-80cm wide. They have striking foliage which retains some Autumn colour.

Intersectional

Intersectional peonies (Itoh peonies) are much more unusual and relatively rare. (Though Primrose Hall have a lot of them – 57 – I counted!) They are a cross between a herbaceous peony and a tree peony. As a result of this ‘crossing’ they have some features of both which you might think give you the best of both worlds. For instance, like tree peonies, they have larger flowers and often bloom for four to five weeks, which is slightly longer than herbaceous peonies. Like herbaceous peonies, they’re reasonably compact – typically growing 75cm tall but they require little or no support, because like a tree peony, they have a stronger framework.

Peonies – Hot Colours

Sadly there’s no room in my sunny border for either type of peony – as it’s rammed with other plants. And my more recently created beds, which do have space, are in full shade. Certainly not the spot for glorious peonies, which can be grown in semi shade, but won’t thrive in deep gloom.

However, not to be deterred, I’ve identified three other areas in my garden where I can grow peonies. One is against the side of my potting shed. You may recall I replanted this area last summer, creating a border with ‘hot’ colours.

Well, in the spot next to the shed door, there’s room for one or perhaps two peonies behind the irises. So to keep the hot colour theme going I’m going to go for peonies in the yellow, peach and coral end of the spectrum. I know there are lovely reds too, but I think I’d prefer something a bit less conventional.

Here are just some of the many varieties from Primrose Hall which have caught my eye.

Peonies – Pinks, Whites and Purples

I also have make-shift beds in front of very scruffy sheds. One day, I hope for the sheds to be gone, but while Mr F-W and the kids still use them, I have had to learn to love them.

I’ve made these sheds less of an eyesore in various ways such as creating colourful planters from packaging for their walls.

I’ve also created flowerbeds in front of the sheds. All are reasonably sunny and I reckon there’s room in these for another four peonies! As these beds are already a jumble of more conventional cottage garden planting, I may go for some of the more classic pinks, whites and possibly purples such as:

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Thank you to Primrose Hall for letting me use their photos, which clearly show that when it comes to peonies there’s a lot of lovely colour choice!

Peonies – How to look after them

So how do you look after them?

• They’re pretty slow growing, so if you don’t want to wait for flowers, buy a well-established, mature peony plant
• Plant in a sunny or part-shaded sheltered position
• They like free-draining soil
• Don’t plant too deep – the crown should be no more than 25mm below the soil surface
• If you have a peony that doesn’t flower it could well be because you’ve planted it too deep. Simply carefully dig it up and replant it at the correct level
• Feed your peony once a year in the Spring, Summer or Autumn
• Cut back in the Autumn
• They can tolerate some drought but you must water your peony consistently while buds are forming in the Spring
• But do not to over water as peonies – they don’t like having wet ‘feet’ (roots)

That’s pretty well it! What’s not to love about a plant that’s so beautiful and relatively easy.

Giveaway… lovely Peony to win

Now the moment you’ve been waiting for – the peony giveaway!

Primrose Hall have given me this stunning Lactiflora Doreen peony to give away. She has huge fragrant flowers and grows about 90cm tall (spreads 50cm wide).

To be in with a chance of winning one of these simply subscribe to my blog by entering your email below. (If you are already a subscriber you don’t need to fill it in as you will be automatically entered into the giveaway.) The winner will be randomly chosen. Good luck!

The Giveaway Closes on 28 February 2021 at 11.59pm (GMT) and it’s only open to UK entries

Competition Rules

The closing date is 28th February 2021 at 11.59pm (GMT). One winner will win a peony plant this is non-transferrable. This giveaway is open to UK residents aged 18 or over. Entrants must be a registered subscriber to the www.bloominglucky.com blog. To take part subscribe to the www.bloominglucky.com blog, this is the only mandatory task. If you are already a subscriber you will be automatically entered into the draw. Only one entry per person. The winner will be chosen at random from all correct entries. The winners will be informed by email within 7 days of the closing date, and must respond within 7 days to claim their prize. The winner’s name will be available upon request. This prize draw is governed by English law and the courts of England shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising in connection with it.