PlantFiles: Tree Peony
Paeonia suffruticosa

What a wonder, exotic shrub for my garden. I would encourage everyone to try to grow one of these extremely beautiful plant in their gardens. The shape of the shrub is small, about 4 feet when mature, and the leaves combine with the wood structure to make it a regal and dignified specimen. The flowers...of course, have no rivals in the gardening world. In fact, even the best English tea rose would find it hard to compete with the blooms of the tree peony.....a truly worthy, but still relatively rare plant whose flower is the national flower of China. My favorite plants in my garden, alongside my great magnolias.

Living in the extreme weather of the Berkshires in CT, winter can be a matter of endurance. The tree peony endures the winter and usually within two years of planting even a small bare root plant, the gardener is rewarded with a bloom that looks like silk. Tree peonies last a lifetime or more. They are not hardy shrubs in the sense of a lilac's tough bark and wood stems, but more delicate. Someone walking over one, could easily destroy decades worth of growth. Ours are put on the pedestal of a raised bed. The deer have never eaten them. They need little care except weeding and proper spacing. They can be expensive, if you don't want to wait there are nurseries who can ship large plants ready to bloom the following year. Japanese tree peonies are usually grafted to a hardy root stock and can revert to that rootstock plant. There are Chinese Tree peonies and American. If you plan on planting from seed or hybridizing your own, then you need plants that are on their own roots. This can be an expensive hobby but you can subsidize it by growing your own for trade or sale.

Flowers are exquisite-huge with a silk like texture. Foliage remains presentable throughout the season. Woody plant that adds structure to the garden at the 3-4 ft. height. Not bothered by disease or pests to any great degree.Long-lived-A good investment for the garden.