Peonies for Mothers’ Day

Peonies Symbolize Femininity, Wealth and Honor

The peonies always bloom for Mothers’ Day in Eastern Virginia, alongside the roses.  Roses and peonies are just part of the romance and beauty of mid-May in our area.  Their full, heavy blossoms packed with petals invite the gardener to snip a stem or two for the vase inside, especially when there is rain in the forecast.  Peonies invite us to pause and gather May’s flowers in the moment, savoring one of the most beautiful and fragrant pleasures in our May garden.  A few sprigs of herbs, a rose or two, and other emerging perennials will complete the bouquet.

Peonies are associated with femininity, wealth, status, and honor. According to Pliny the Elder, the first century Roman naturalist and philosopher, peonies were considered one of the oldest plants in cultivation.  The Greek name Paeonia is said to be in honor of Paeon, the physician who first used the plant medicinally in Western culture.  Paeon was a student of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine and healing.  When Asclepius became jealous of Paeon, Zeus turned Paeon into a flower to save him from Asclepius’s anger.

 

Peonies in Medicine and the Arts

Peonies are one of the most important flowers in many Asian cultures and a favorite subject of Chinese and Japanese art.  Chinese horticulturalists and gardeners cultivated perennial peonies over many centuries, first  for their medicinal qualities and later for their beauty.  Peony root remains an important herb in Chinese medicine today and has many different uses, including as a pain killer, a treatment for infections, for heart problems, to treat tumors and a variety of diseases. The root is peeled, dried, and powdered.  Peony petals are edible and have a long history of culinary uses in Asian cuisine.

These were favorite garden plants in Asian gardens since before the 6^th century CE, and were heavily hybridized.  There were already many recognized cultivars by the Chinese Song Dynasty from 960 CE to 1279 CE.  At one time, laws prevented common people in Japan and China from growing peonies because they were reserved for the aristocracy and royalty.

 

Peony Species and Hybrids

Paeonia is the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae and includes around 30 species, distributed in the Northern Hemisphere from China and Japan to the Pacific Coast of North America, Europe, and North Africa.  Most species have their roots in China and spread to other areas over time.  Botanists now believe that some of the species, especially those growing around the Mediterranean Sea, may be very ancient natural hybrids of earlier species. The North American species are not in cultivation but like other peony species, remain growing in naturalized areas as wildflowers.

Paeonia officinalis and P. mascula grow wild in Southern Europe, around the Mediterranean Sea, and were known in Europe as medicinal herbs effective at treating fevers at the time of Saint Hildegarde von Bingen in the 11^th century.  Peonies were grown more for their roots than for their flowers at this time, and the flowers were usually single and simpler than the hybrid peonies grown later as ornamentals.  By the 16th century, peonies, including other species found in Greece, the Balkans, and other areas of Europe were grown as ornamentals.

The peonies we grow are hybrids and most count Paeonia lactiflora as an ancestor. Paeonia lactiflora, an herbaceous peony, originated in China and was brought from Siberia to Europe in the late 18^th century by German traveler Peter Pallas.  Originally, its flowers were mostly white, like milk, which is how it was named.  Hybrids of P. lactiflora already had mostly large, double flowers at that time.

 

Ornamental Peonies

From the beginning, when ornamental hybrid peonies were first introduced to England and France in the 18^th century, peonies were often cultivated for the florist trade instead of for gardens.  Modern rowers of cut flowers often harvest stems in bud.  They will remain in bud in cold storage for several weeks, and are later brought out and arranged when the flowers are needed for a special event.  The buds open as the flowers warm.  Peony flowers will open and close according to the available light, closing at night and on cloudy days.

French breeder Nicolas Lemoine worked with P. officinalis and P. lactiflora to develop even more variety among peony hybrids in the early 19^th century.  His plants were selected to have more color and fragrance than earlier varieties.  European breeders were able to import additional peony species from China to hybridize new peonies even further.  The pink peony hybrid ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ was created at this time and remains popular today.

 

Tree Peonies

Tree peonies, P. suffruticosa,  woody, deciduous plants with the familiar showy peony flower, also originated in China.  These beautiful shrubs were reserved only for the aristocrats of Chinese culture over many centuries.  They prefer a cool, mountainous climate and are not as common in Eastern Virginia gardens as the herbaceous hybrid peonies.  Except for their woody stems and greater stature, their leaves and flowers are very much like the herbaceous peonies in color and form but grow much larger.  Tree peonies were first imported to Europe from Japan in 1844 and created a new garden sensation.  Though they weren’t reliably hardy, they could be grown in hothouses.

The Japanese Itoh Peony

Japanese botanist Dr. Toichi Itoh hybridized the Itoh, or intersectional peony,  a hybrid between a tree peony and P. lactiflora, in 1948.  He worked for many years, making thousands of crosses to finally achieve his goal of producing the viable first seeds of his new hybrid, which germinated in 1948.  He passed away before his first plants matured and bloomed, but his family took on his work to nurture the plants to maturity.  They finally bloomed in 1964.

The early Itoh hybrids introduced to the market had mostly yellow flowers. American botanist Louis Smirnow brought a few plants to the US in the late 1960s, with the Itoh family’s permission, and patented them as ‘Itoh Hybrids.’  This herbaceous plant has larger flowers than other herbaceous peonies, more like the flowers of a tree peony, and blooms over a long season from spring until fall.  These hybrid deciduous peonies have exceptional resistance to cold and are also heat tolerant.  Today there are yellow, peach, red and pink varieties on the market, and are usually rated for USDA Zones 5-7.

 

Peonies in America

Peonies were introduced to North America from Europe in the 18th century with great commercial success both for gardens and for the florist trade.  Peony hybrids were grown in the gardens of Colonial Williamsburg and can still be viewed at the Governor’s Palace Gardens and in other CW gardens.

Peonies are so popular that they have almost a cult following.  The American Peony Society organized in Detroit in 1903 to sort out the names of the many peony cultivars at that time.  Even after so many centuries of garden history, Peonies remain popular and are considered easy and reliable heirloom garden plants in gardens private and public gardens world-wide.  They persistently dominate the area where they are planted, growing slowly year to year.  Plants need to be at least five years old to harvest their roots for medicinal use.  But peonies don’t spread themselves around like many perennials do.  Each plant develops in a clump from a single crown.  Though they are introduced species in our area, they are not invasive.  The Calcium oxalate crystals in their leaves make them unattractive to deer, rabbits, and other grazing animals because these crystals burn and irritate an animal’s mouth.

 

Hybrid Herbaceous Peonies

Hybrid peonies grown in Virginia gardens come in a wide range of seven different flower forms and many colors including white, pink, red, yellow, purple, and bi-color combinations.  Flowers generally develop at the end of each stem, but more flowers may later develop from the leaf axils where leaves grow from the main stems. Each flower has several sturdy sepals, growing behind the numerous petals and the flower’s many stamens.  Within the circle of stamens is a disc which holds several carpels, each containing a very small style.  The carpels later develop into separate, dry follicles which hold the ripening seeds.  These structures are easy to recognize on the single and Japanese style flowers, but a bit harder to see on the double, triple, and ‘bomb’ style flowers.

Botanists suggest that the disc, holding the carpels, may not produce nectar.  However, the developing flower bud is covered in a sort of peony nectar which attracts ants.  The ants don’t hurt the bud in any way and scientists believe that they may discourage other insects that might damage the buds.  Make sure to shake off peony buds and flowers well before bringing them indoors so ants don’t come in on the flowers.

 

Growing Peonies

Buy peonies as bare-root crowns or potted plants in growth.  Peonies require patience because it may take two or three years for a newly planted division to bloom again.  Once planted, peonies bloom reliably for decades with little additional care.  Plant them in full to partial sun in deep, fertile, moist soil that drains well.  Peonies prefer acidic to neutral loam.   They appreciate afternoon shade.  Plant them where they will get air circulation rather than against a wall.  Feed plants with compost and keep them well watered in the spring as they set their new growth and flower buds for the season.

Peonies perform best in USDA Zones 5-7 but can grow as far north as Zone 3 with winter protection and as far south as Zone 8 with special care. Now that Williamsburg is part of Zone 8, we will need to take more care in choosing new peony varieties.  Plant new peony crowns no more than 1” deep.  Don’t mulch peonies for winter in our area, as they need a certain amount of cold weather to bloom well.  There are some hybrids that handle the heat of coastal Virginia better than others, so look for those with low requirements for chilling hours.

Support the stems with woody prunings or commercial plant supports once new growth emerges in the spring to keep flowering stems from flopping over in wind and rainstorms.  Peonies hold their leathery, deep green leaves until frost.  Remove flowers as they fade but leave the stems to continue feeding the crown all summer.  Remove the foliage once it dies back in early winter and store any plant supports until next spring.

 

Peonies for Love and Beauty

Most of us don’t think of peonies as edible or medicinal.  Rather, we grow them for their beauty.  A Peony will bloom over a period of 7 to 14 days, and then will remain an attractive evergreen presence in the garden for the next 5 to 6 months.   Like Iris, we appreciate its foliage as a component of a good perennial garden even when its period of bloom is brief.  Extend the season by planting a variety of different peony hybrids with slightly different bloom times .  Horticulturalists introduce new hybrids all the time and so there is no end to the variety of flowers available to us.

A peony plant in bloom makes a wonderful gift at Mother’s Day because it is a gift that will live and provide flowers for many decades to come.  Plant peonies with confidence that they will survive and thrive in our area.

All photos by Master Gardener Tree Steward Elizabeth McCoy

 

Peonia Hybrids for Zone 8  or Cooler Gardens

White Flowers:  ‘Baroness Schroeder’, ‘Miss America’, ‘Duchesse de Nemours’, ‘Festiva Maxima’, ‘Shirley Temple’

Pink Flowers:  ‘Felix Crousse’, ‘Sarah Bernhardt’, ‘Karl Rosenfield’, ‘Kansas’, ‘Monsieur Jules Elie’

Red Flowers:  ‘Buckeye Belle’, ‘Red Charm’, ‘Ole Faithful’

Coral Pink Flowers:  ‘Flame’, ‘Soft Salmon Saucer’, ‘Pink Hawaiian Coral’, ‘Coral Charm’, ‘Coral Sunset’

From the North Carolina Extension Gardener Toolbox

 

For More Information:

Aitken, Richard. Botanical Riches: Stories of Botanical Exploration. Lund Humphries. 2008.

Brinkley, M. Kent and Gordon Chappell, Photography by David M. Doody.  The Gardens of Colonial Williamsburg.  The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. 1996.

Dutton, Joan Parry.  Plants of Colonial Williamsburg: How to Identify 200 of Colonial America’s Flowers, Herbs, and Trees.  The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. 1979.

Kingsbury, Noel.  Garden Flora: The Natural and Cultural History of the Plants in Your Garden.  Timber Press. 2016.

 

A note on the title of this article: 

“If you google the history of Mother’s Day, the internet will tell you that Mother’s Day began in 1908 when Anna Jarvis decided to honor her mother. But “Mothers’ Day”—with the apostrophe not in the singular spot, but in the plural—actually started in the 1870s, when the sheer enormity of the death caused by the Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War convinced writer and reformer Julia Ward Howe that women must take control of politics from the men who had permitted such carnage. Mothers’ Day was not designed to encourage people to be nice to their mothers. It was part of women’s effort to gain power to change society. ….

“While we celebrate the modern version of Mother’s Day on May 12, in this momentous year of 2024 it’s worth remembering the original Mothers’ Day and Julia Ward Howe’s conviction that women must have the same rights as men, and that they must make their voices heard.”

Dr. Heather Cox Richardson, May 11, 2024