Paeonia lactiflora Lemon Chiffon

Paeonia lactiflora Lemon Chiffon offers abundant, joyful, and subtly scented flowering. It is a robust herbaceous peony variety, highly ornamental, with early flowering, which integrates perfectly into the garden. It produces a large number of semi-double lemon yellow flowers revealing a centre filled with yellow-orange stamens. This unexpected colour makes it a truly unusual and unique variety. The floral stems are sturdy, which is an asset not only in the garden but also for creating beautiful bouquets. 

Chinese herbaceous peonies mainly come from Paeonia lactiflora, a perennial herbaceous plant native to central and eastern Asia (from eastern Tibet, northern China, to eastern Siberia), where it naturally grows in woods and meadows. This plant belongs to the Ranunculaceae or Paeoniaceae family. Herbaceous peonies, perennial by virtue of their roots, form a clump of foliage that completely disappears in winter.

The Lemon Chiffon Chinese Peony was hybridised by David Reath (Reath's Nurseries in Vulcan, Michigan, USA) in the 1980s and first entered the garden scene in 1981. It won the "Grand Champion" prize in 2000 at the American Peony Society, a major peony exhibition in the USA. The plant forms a herbaceous and bushy clump from spring onwards, moderately dense, reaching 80 cm (32in) in all directions. Its large semi-double flowers, about 15 cm (6in) in diameter, appear rather early in May-June, depending on the climate, and last for about three weeks. They bloom at the end of the stems, but also from some secondary buds. They emerge as a large pale yellow bud and then open up into a fluffy, lemon yellow pompom with a centre filled with yellow-orange stamens. The vegetation of this variety is good, and it has remarkable longevity. The young foliage, purple and shiny, unfolds into large, dark green, highly dissected leaves. They are borne on a petiole that divides into 3, with lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate segments. The leaflets are entire or sometimes lobed. The vegetation disappears in winter, while the buds persist at ground level and will develop again in spring. This long-lived perennial plant grows from a large fleshy root that does not appreciate being moved.

Chinese Peonies are among those plants that form the foundations of a garden. The Lemon Chiffon peony thrives in borders or alongside pathways, combined with timeless and unpretentious perennials such as Irises, Columbines, bellflowers, perennial geraniums, carnations or Christmas roses. It can also be grown in the vegetable garden to supply cut flowers for the house. Pot cultivation is not recommended, as its needs will not be met. Over time peonies becomes majestic and bloom ever more abundantly, producing up to 60 flowers. By combining different varieties with staggered flowering, it is possible to have blooms for 6 weeks from spring to early summer.