Alliums, Bearded Irises (Iris germanica), Siberian Irises (Iris siberica), Columbines (Aquilegia), Spring Bulbs, Roses, and tiny shrubs and trees are just a few of the companion plants that peonies appreciate.
Can you plant peonies and lavender together?
Peony flowers, a traditional component of the perennial border, give a brilliant splash of color to the environment. By combining them with companion plants like perennials, flower bulbs, or even ornamental grasses, you may add accent elements to your borders that have a particular shape, texture, height, or color.
Peonies only bloom for about 7–10 days, which is not very long. They are categorized with a blooming time that ranges from Very Early to Very Late season, although they do not flower at the same time. Therefore, you can choose to plant a variety of varieties, from Very Early- to Very Late season bloomers, to fill your garden with continuously flowering peonies throughout the season.
Here is a plant combination in white and lavender to help you plan your late spring or early summer garden. It comprises three gorgeous peonies that will bloom one after the other: “Miss America” (Early Midseason), “Cheddar Charm,” and “Bowl of Cream” (Late Midseason).
For a longer show, they are interplanted with three outstanding Tall Bearded Irises with various flowering times: “Belgian Princess” (midseason), “Hold My Hand” (late midseason), and “Twilight Rapture” (Late Season).
A dwarf Delphinium called “Magic Fountain Lavender,” two architectural Lupines called “Manhattan Lights” and “Gallery Yellow,” and Meadow Rue’s dense, fluffy panicles of lavender are blended with all of them (Thalictrum aquilegifolium).
The majority of plants make wonderful fresh cut flowers that can be enjoyed at home!
What can I grow beside roses and peonies?
Peonies, roses, and sage provide a lovely springtime border. Beautiful blooms like crimson peonies, delicate pastel roses, purple salvias, and tall spikes of Digitalis purpurea abound in this English-style border. From late spring to October, there is more than enough to make the garden sing.
Where should peonies not be planted?
The peony has the fattest, most delicious petals and rich green foliage, making it outrageously attractive when it is in bloom. From spring to summer, savor stunning floral displays. Learn how to care for, grow, and plant peony.
About Peonies
Peonies are a perennial that will steal your breath away every year. The plants may even outlive you—some have been reported to survive for at least a century.
When Is Peony Season? When Do Peonies Bloom?
Depending on your location and the kind you are planting, peonies bloom from late spring to early summer.
You may extend the peony season across several weeks and take use of those magnificent blossoms for as long as possible thanks to the abundance of nurseries that provide early, midseason, and late blooming types.
Peonies may thrive as far south as Zones 7 and 8, and they are hardy to Zone 3. The key to success in the majority of the United States is to provide full light and well-drained soil. Peonies even enjoy the winter’s coldness because it helps their buds grow.
Types of Peony Flowers
You can pick from six different varieties of peony flowers: anemone, single, Japanese, semi-double, double, and bomb. The odors of different plants also differ; some, like “Festiva Maxima” and “Duchesse de Nemours,” have seductive rose-like aromas, while others have a lemony scent or none at all.
Where to Plant Peonies
When planted as a low hedge or along sidewalks, peonies make excellent sentinels. As majestic and dignified as any flowering shrub, the peony’s bushy cluster of attractive glossy green leaves lasts all summer before turning purplish-red or gold in the fall.
Peonies work nicely with irises and roses in mixed borders and blossom alongside columbines, baptisias, and veronicas. Plant pink peonies with blue Nepeta or violets, then surround white peonies with yellow irises and a froth of forget-me-nots.
Peonies are not overly picky, but you should pick your place carefully because they dislike disruption and do not transplant well.
Although they can survive in partial shade, peonies like full sun, and they flower at their best in an area that receives 6 to 8 hours of sunlight per day.
Because of its huge flowers, peonies can become top-heavy in severe winds. Therefore, provide shelter. (If necessary, stakes can be used to hold them up.) Planting too close to trees or bushes will cause peony to compete with them for nutrients, sunlight, and moisture.
Grow peony in rich, wet, humus-rich soil that is deep, fertile, and well-draining. pH in the soil should be neutral.
When to Plant Peonies
As long as they are planted correctly and become established, peony plants require minimal upkeep. However, keep in mind that they do not adapt well to transplanting, so you should consider this when choosing your planting location.
- Plant peony in the fall: in the majority of the United States, in late September or early October, and even later in the fall in Zones 7 and 8. Your planting zone can be found here.
- If you need to move an established plant, the fall is the ideal season because the plant will be dormant.
- About six weeks before the ground freezes, peonies should be planted.
- While planting peonies in the spring is absolutely a possibility, the results aren’t always favorable. They often trail behind plants planted in the fall by roughly a year, according to experts.
How to Plant Peonies
- Peonies are typically offered as divisions of a 3- or 4-year-old plant, bare-root tubers with 3 to 5 eyes (buds).
- Peonies should be placed 3 to 4 feet apart to allow for enough air circulation. The development of disease can be facilitated by stagnant, damp air.
- In a sunny area, dig a generously sized hole that is about 2 feet deep and 2 feet wide. The inclusion of organic matter in the planting hole will improve the soil. Add additional compost to the soil to improve it if it’s sandy or heavy. Add about a cup of bonemeal to the ground. Find out more about soil improvements and getting the soil ready for planting.
- The roots should be positioned in the hole just 2 inches below the soil’s surface, with the root’s eyes facing upward on top of a mound of soil. Avoid planting too deeply! Choose early-blooming species, put them approximately 1 inch deep, and provide some shade in southern states.
- Backfill the hole after that, being careful to prevent soil settlement and a 2-inch root burying. Gently tamp the ground.
- Plant a container-grown peony no deeper than it was when it was in the pot.
- When planting, give everything plenty of water.
How to Care for Peonies
Young peony take time to develop, just like children. In order to establish themselves, blossom, and flourish, they typically require a few years. They eventually leave home on their own, fully grown and adjusted… No, that’s just kids, I suppose.
Peonies benefit from gentle neglect. They don’t require digging and dividing every few years like the majority of perennials do.
- Don’t use any fertilizer. Before planting, till the soil thoroughly while adding compost and a small amount of fertilizer.
- Early summer, after the peonies have flowered and you have deadheaded the blooms, is the ideal time to apply fertilizer (such as bonemeal, compost, or well-rotted manure) to a soil that is deficient in nutrients. Keep fertilizing to a few years at most.
- assist the stems Peonies’ stems, which occasionally are not strong enough to hold their enormous blossoms, are the only part of their structure that may be considered weak. Think of structures that allow the plant to grow through the middle of the support, like three-legged metal peony rings or wire tomato cages.
- Peony blossoms should be deadheaded as soon as they start to fade, cutting to a sturdy leaf so that the stem doesn’t protrude through the foliage. To prevent any infections from overwintering, trim the foliage to the ground in the fall.
- Avoid covering peonies with mulch. For the first winter following planting, you can VERY LOOSELY mulch with pine needles or shredded bark when the winters are bitterly cold. In the spring, get rid of the mulch.
Peonies bloom between late spring and early summer, but by planting a variety of cultivars, you may arrange your garden for a succession of blooms from mid-May to late June. Here are a few options:
- ‘Early Scout’ has red solitary flowers that open incredibly early.
- “Firelight”: very early-blooming, single, pale-pink flowers
- ‘Karl Rosenfield’: double, midseason bloomer with substantial crimson blooms
Is it possible to grow peonies next to hydrangeas?
Peonies and hydrangeas can make excellent planting partners because peonies bloom earlier in the year than hydrangeas. After they are finished, the plant will start to die back, allowing hydrangeas to take center stage.
Peonies prefer a protected location and do well in either full sun or light shade. Additionally, as long as the soil is free draining, they can tolerate most soil types.
Can other plants be planted beside peonies?
Peonies have held a special place in my heart since I was a young child. Maybe it was because my birthday was in June during their bloom period. Or my mother’s recurrent story about the extravagant peony bouquet Dad presented her during their early romance. I adored peony blossoms for their delicate hues, abundant blooms, and wonderful perfume. Peonies were the first perennials I planted in my yard, and like many June brides, I used them in my bridal bouquet.
Peonies are stunning on their own, but they can also be used with other perennials and shrubs that will contrast or enhance their shape, form, or texture. Examples of peony mates from my own garden and those I’ve seen are shown below.
In my garden, pale pink peonies are combined with purple heuchera, the bright leaf of the young weigela ‘My Monet,’ and geranium ‘Biokovo.
Catmint’s spiky shape and delicate blue hue match many varieties of peony, as seen at The Mount.
The powerful architectural form that Digitalis gives contrasts well with peony blossoms.
Peonies, alliums, and pale pink poppies are combined on Shelburne Falls’ Bridge of Flowers.
I like to tuck purple heucheras and Johnson’s Blue geraniums beneath peonies.
Siberian and bearded irises’ enormous blossoms and statuesque forms make them excellent companions for peonies.
Peonies look beautiful against the spires of blue, white, purple, or yellow baptisia blooms.
In Pennsylvania’s Ambler Arboretum, double peonies’ conspicuous blossoms are balanced by the huge allium flower heads.
This spring at Longwood Gardens, a major planting feature was this gorgeous combination of coral peonies and purple alliums.
Hellebores and perennial geraniums are overtaken by a waterfall of pale pink peonies. As long as they receive regular watering, hellebores grow well in sunny areas.
In a Delaware garden, a boxwood hedge provides a regal and peaceful backdrop for peonies.
Rhododendrons and mountain laurels are two shrubs that flower at the same time as peonies and make lovely companions. A number of vintage “beauty bush” (kolwitzia) shrubs, which can be trained into a tree form or left as a weeping shrub, surround the peony garden in Winterthur.
Coral peonies are beautifully framed by the Cotinus ‘Golden Spirit’ smoke tree at Longwood Gardens. In my yard, the weigela “Wine and Roses” contrasts with the peony “Karl Rosenfeld’s” black blossoms.
Peonies in bud and bloom look magnificent against the maroon leaf of a Japanese maple named “Crimson Queen.”
An ivy-covered stone wall that provides both decorative and practical support for the peonies in my cutting garden. On chilly spring days, it provides warmth and protects the peonies from the wind.
How are peonies arranged in a landscape?
Peonies (Paeonia), which are prized for their gorgeous blossoms and long lives, are an excellent accent to any outdoor area. Herbaceous peonies, Itoh or “intersectional” peonies, and tree peonies are the three primary varieties of peonies that are frequently grown by gardeners. Winter-cold areas are excellent for herbaceous peonies. Peonies from the Itoh region and tree peonies are more adaptable and do well in warmer areas. Planning and site preparation are the first steps in successfully using peony in landscaping, regardless of the cultivar or type you choose to plant.
Pick plants that will thrive in your climate and garden area. Herbaceous peony require frigid winter conditions to thrive and are often hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture zones 3 through 8. Tree peonies (Paeonia suffruticosa), hardy in USDA zones 5 through 9, and Itoh hybrid peonies, hardy in USDA zones 4 through 8 or 9 depending on the type, are two cultivars that require less cool time if you live in a warmer area.
Peonies can be grown as a single specimen or mixed in with other plants, such evergreens and perennial flowers, in a planting bed. In the fall, plant the peony. A few days prior to planting, deeply till the planting area, add several inches of compost, and apply a high-phosphorus fertilizer dose. Before putting bare-root or container-grown peony plants in the garden, let the soil settle for a few days. In warm climates, plant Itoh peony 2 inches deep; in cold ones, plant them 3 inches deep. The graft line of tree peonies should be buried 6 to 8 inches beneath the soil’s surface when they are planted.
Grow peony in containers for a compact outdoor space or as a decorative addition on either side of a doorway or garden path. As long as gardeners select a pot that is at least 18 to 24 inches in diameter, all peony cultivars do well in pots. Pick a container that can hold the plant’s root system in place. Use a pot that is broader than it is deep when growing Itoh or herbaceous peonies. Containers for tree peonies must be both equally deep and broad.
Can you plant peonies and azaleas together?
There are numerous peony design and planting alternatives. Additionally, we’ve compiled a list of peony and plant combos that can both work and look fantastic. While there are various floral combinations that can be used with peonies, that is not the only one. There are actually tons of wonderful plant options to match with peonies! Consider growing some of these alongside your peonies:
Low growing bushes Ideas for evergreen shrubs to pair with peonies:
Peonies go well with miniature rhodies, evergreen azaleas, and evergreen viburnums. Just make sure to correctly plant each one.
A herbaceous peony is likely to grow shorter than a small evergreen shrub. If you want the evergreen to shine through the winter while the herbaceous peonies take center stage from spring through October, place the shrubs behind them. This is effective because you’ll probably mow this type of peony down for the winter. And once the peonies have awakened from the winter dormancy, several evergreens make a lovely backdrop.
Site the shrub in front of a tall tree peony because it will likely grow much taller than a little evergreen bush. In this manner, the tree peony and the little evergreen will both shine out throughout the year. Alternately, choose a larger evergreen bush to place behind your tree peony. When the peony is leafed out and in bloom, this might serve as a backdrop. Additionally, even when the peony is dormant, the evergreen ought to be evident.
Heavy, floppy peony flowers can also be supported by strong shrubs like these. especially when the spring rains weigh them down. To completely realize this support plant, though, you might need to surround peonies with a few little shrubs.
Also keep in mind that plants like these have a blooming season. Make sure the shrub blooms at a different time from the peony if their bloom colors don’t match precisely.
Evergreen Grasses and plants that resemble grass that go well with peonies:
To complement your peonies, grassy plants like Carex ‘Cappuccino’ can offer year-round interest and a fluffy texture. They also don’t spread very quickly. Evergreen grasses look great when planted next to a peony. However, they won’t be able to support any droopy peony blossoms very well.
ferns that thrive next to peony
Deer ferns that are smaller and evergreen look lovely put behind flowers. While your peonies are dormant, evergreen sword ferns and shield ferns provide interest to your landscape. Your regenerating peonies and evergreen ferns will both sprout new growth in the spring. In addition, ferns complement your tree and herbaceous peonies well when they are in bloom.
Planting groundcovers beside peonies:
Care should be taken when choosing these. Under peonies, creeping Jenny and other groundcovers with vivid colors look fantastic. But be ready to thoroughly and painstakingly winnow away unwanted groundcover roots a few times every year.
Along with peony, cultivate these perennials:
Come back. Combining herbaceous plants with peonies is a lot of fun. Consider choosing perennials that bloom far in front of peonies, such as evergreen hellebores. Alternatively, combine peonies with summer-blooming perennials. When combined with penstemons and agastaches in flower in the summer, peony summer and fall leaves creates a stunning backdrop.
Alternatively, put your peonies’ backs to taller summer perennials. When designed in this fashion, peonies stand in front of tall summer bloomers like marshmallow, hollyhock, or sunflowers like a lovely evergreen shrub.