Paeonia lactiflora Dr Alexander Fleming

Paeonia lactiflora Dr Alexander Fleming is a very beautiful peony variety, appreciated for both its extraordinary fragrance and the obvious beauty of its flowers. They are large, very double, perfectly round, of a medium pink with a beautiful intensity, nuanced with white in the centre and carmine on the periphery. Its numerous lateral buds ensure long and abundant flowering in May-June, earlier or later depending on the climate. These flowers, carried on sturdy stems, are impeccable in the garden but also in bouquets. Easy to grow, Chinese Peonies thrive in any loose and rather moist soil, in the sun. Robust and faithful, they sometimes take a little time to settle, but they develop year after year and can live well over 50 years, even surviving the one who planted them.

Chinese herbaceous peonies are mainly derived 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.

The Dr Alexander Fleming variety, awarded by the Royal Horticultural Society in England, apparently originates from crossbreeding between the cultivars 'Bunker Hill', a dark raspberry pink, and the famous 'Sarah Bernhardt', a pale silver pink. Its country of origin is still subject to controversy, being between England, France and the Netherlands. From spring onwards the plant forms a herbaceous and bushy clump, moderately dense, reaching about 80 cm (32in) in all directions. Its large fully double flowers, with a diameter of 15 cm (6in), appear in May-June, earlier or later depending on the climate, lasting for about three weeks. They emerge as a large dark pink bud and then open into a carefully disordered pompom where different shades of pink blend together. Their colour is a very fresh medium pink, with white tints on the petals in the centre, while the outer petals are touched with carmine. The vegetation of this variety is good. The young purple and shiny foliage unfolds into large, highly dissected medium green leaves. They are carried 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.

Peonies are among those plants that form the foundation of a garden. In the past every garden, from the humblest to the most elaborate, proudly displayed clumps of peonies that made their way into the house, keeping lilacs and bluebells company in bouquets. Opulent and generous, beautifully fragrant, the Chinese peony Dr Alexander Fleming thrives in flowerbeds or alongside pathways, in combination with timeless perennials such as columbines, bellflowers, foxgloves, bearded irises, carnations, or Christmas roses. It can also be grown in the vegetable garden to supply cut flowers for the house. Growing it in a pot is not recommended, as its needs will not be met. Over time, the peony becomes majestic and blooms more and more abundantly, producing up to 60 flowers. By combining different varieties with staggered flowering, it is possible to have flowers for 6 weeks from spring to early summer.
 

3/5 high quality eyes, sold individually in peat pots.