The peony is a popular ornamental plant, highly prized for its luxurious appearance and dramatic spring or early summer display. Cultivated for centuries, this celebrated flower comes in a wide array of visual forms, sizes, and colors. The appeal of the peony lies in its substantial, often opulent, bloom structure, which commands attention in any garden setting.
Defining the Classic Peony Bloom
Peony flowers are known for their impressive size, often measuring between four and ten inches across when fully open. This large, full appearance stems from numerous petals and the dense structure they create, sometimes making the flower head quite heavy. The weight of the bloom frequently causes the stems of some varieties to arch downward, especially after rainfall.
The color palette of the peony is extensive, featuring pure whites, delicate blush pinks, vivid magentas, deep crimson reds, and corals. Yellows are also present, though less common in older varieties, and the genus lacks true blue flowers. Many petals exhibit a soft, often ruffled or crinkled texture, contributing to the flower’s overall full-bodied shape.
Peonies also offer a variety of scents, though fragrance levels differ significantly between cultivars. Some blossoms release a sweet, rosy aroma, while others may have a lighter, citrus, or spicy fragrance, and some possess little to no noticeable scent. The flower emerges from a tight, round bud that gradually unfurls its layers of petals to reveal the mature bloom.
Structural Variations in Peony Flowers
The visual structure of the peony bloom is categorized by how the petals, stamens, and carpels are arranged. These classifications define the overall shape and density of the mature flower head. The most basic form is the Single peony, which features one or two orderly rows of broad, outer petals, known as guard petals. These petals encircle a prominent center composed of stamens and carpels, giving the flower a simple, open, saucer-like shape.
The Semi-Double form retains visible stamens but incorporates multiple rows of petals interspersed among them. The increasing number of petals creates a fuller appearance without completely obscuring the reproductive parts. This structure often results in an artistic bloom with a combination of broad and sometimes smaller, ruffled petals.
In the Double peony, the visual structure reaches maximum density as nearly all the stamens and carpels are transformed into petals. This results in a lush, spherical flower where the center reproductive organs are completely hidden by layers of petals. A specialized Double form is the Bomb peony, characterized by a distinct collar of large guard petals at the base, topped with a dense, rounded tuft of shorter, inner petals.
Visual Differences Among Peony Plant Types
The overall look of a peony plant is determined by its type, which dictates its size, foliage, and stem structure throughout the year. Herbaceous peonies are the most common type, recognized by their annual growth cycle where the soft, green stems and foliage die back to the ground each winter. These plants form bushy clumps, with stems that can be flexible and often require support to hold up the heavy flowers.
In contrast, Tree peonies have a distinctly woody structure, maintaining a permanent, shrub-like frame year-round. Their stems do not die back, allowing them to grow taller, sometimes reaching heights of four to seven feet. Tree peonies also tend to have unique, deeply lobed foliage and produce blooms earlier than their herbaceous counterparts.
Itoh, or Intersectional, peonies are hybrids that visually blend the characteristics of the other two types. These plants produce the large, colorful flowers associated with Tree peonies, but they maintain the herbaceous habit of dying back to the ground in winter. They form a well-rounded, often shorter bush with strong stems that support the blossoms without the need for staking.