From The Ground Up: Pick the right peony for beautiful blooms

Peonies are a garden favorite and easy to grow. They're a very long-lived perennial, providing both profuse spring flowers and nice foliage throughout the growing season. Plant peonies in the proper place and you'll have the plants for decades. According to ISU Extension there are plants as old at 100 years on record.

There are different varieties of peonies and several main types. The old-fashioned herbaceous peony flowers are the most common ones with huge blooms. Another type is the tree peony, cultivated in China for over a thousand years. A third type is the intersectional or Itoh peonies, which are a cross of a tree peony and herbaceous peony. All of these peonies are cold hardy, deer resistant and fairly pest-free. Peonies bloom in shades of white, cream, yellow (more uncommon), pink, rose, lavender and red.

It's the beautiful blooms that we can't resist when it come to peonies, but the fragrance also is alluring. There are differences among the types of peonies, including bloom time, stem strength and fragrance.

The herbaceous peony or 'classic” peony is still the most popular, least expensive and offers the widest range of bloom times. Peonies are often classified by bloom time, so plant several for a longer lasting spring show. Heirlooms offer the most fragrance but are also the 'floppers” when it rains. One way to avoid this is to insert wire stakes or peony rings when the flowers are small so they grow through for support. There are herbaceous peonies called woodland peonies, noted for performing better in shade. Woodland peonies grow and naturalize in a woodland setting where they get the early spring sun. They grow 1-inch to 1 1/2-inches tall

Behind the woodland herbaceous peonies, tree peonies bloom next and also can handle a bit more shade. These require pruning from time to time, but bud on old wood so don't cut them to the ground. They don't really look like a tree, more like a shrub. They are more susceptible to winter die back, are slower growers and take a few years to establish.

The intersectional peony is a hybrid of a tree and herbaceous peony. They have large blooms, and more woody stems that don't need staking. The intersectional peonies are less vulnerable to peony blight, and come in a range of yellow and lavender colors, a bit rare for peonies, but have less fragrance. These can be a bit unpredictable, blooming in slightly different colors, year to year.

Plant peonies in a sunny, well draining location. Dig a deep hole to loosen soil but don't plant the 'eyes” of the root too deep or they won't bloom. Plant the eye 1 to 2 inches deep. The best time to plant and divide peonies in late August or early September.

l For gardening questions, call the Linn County Extension Master Gardener Hortline at (319) 447-0647.