Paeonia lactiflora Duchesse de Nemours

Paeonia lactiflora Duchesse de Nemours is one of those Peony varieties that bloomed faithfully in the gardens of yesteryear, providing beautiful flowers for festive tables. Surviving the passing fads and whims of time, it remains with us, always lavish, offering its beautiful double flowers, tinged with green when in bud. In this variety the outer petals, shaded with green at the base, spread out like a collar around a heart of small ruffled petals, tinted with soft canary yellow. The beauty of the flowers is accompanied by a pleasant fragrance, which can be enjoyed from the beginning of the peony season. Easy to grow, Chinese Peonies thrive in loose and moist soil, in sunny locations. Robust and faithful, they sometimes take a little time to establish themselves, but they grow year after year and can live well over 50 years, outlasting the person 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 variety Duchesse de Nemours is an old French creation by Jacques Calot, dating back to 1856. The plant forms an herbaceous and bushy clump from spring onwards, reaching about 80-90 cm (32-35in) in all directions. Its anemone-type flowers, 13 cm (5in) wide, appear in May, more or less early depending on the climate, for about two to three weeks. They emerge as large tender green buds. These open up to reveal a flat collar of spread-out petals, wider than those that make up the artfully disordered central 'pompom', where white, pale yellow, and very pale green blend together. The vegetation of this variety is good and its foliage very healthy. The young purple and shiny foliage unfolds into large light green and deeply cut leaves. They are borne on a petiole that divides into 3, with lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate segments. The leaflets are either entire or sometimes lobed. The vegetation disappears in winter, while the buds persist at ground level and will develop again in spring. This very 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. Elegant and beautifully scented, the Chinese peony Duchesse de Nemours thrives in flowerbeds or alongside pathways, associated 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.