Paeonia lactiflora Top Brass

Paeonia lactiflora Top Brass is a nearly fifty-year-old herbaceous peony variety that proudly displays its very different flowering, unique both in terms of the variable shape of its flowers and in being almost tricoloured. They have a variable shape, sometimes double and rounded, sometimes in the so-called Japanese form, but always highly fragrant. Mostly ivory white, they have a heart tinged with soft pink that is adorned with canary yellow petaloids. A majestic Chinese peony like no other, it illuminates flowerbeds during the second half of May and performs very well in a vase.

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 family of Ranunculaceae or Paeoniaceae.

The Top Brass variety was obtained in the Netherlands in 1968. The plant, vigorous, forms an herbaceous and bushy clump  from spring onwards that can reach 1m (3ft) in all directions. Its flowers, 14 to 15 cm (6in) in diameter, appear around late May depending on the climate, lasting for about two weeks. They emerge as a large white bud before opening into flowers of variable shape, sometimes fully double and rounded, sometimes almost single, but always showing a pompom-shaped centre. The stamens, more or less visible depending on the doubling of the flowers, are transformed here into small, finely fringed, canary yellow petals. Other petaloids protrude from the centre that are white, more or less numerous, and tinged with pink. All these small petals occupy the heart of the flower, composed of large rounded petals arranged in a corolla, ivory white tinged with pink at the base. The fragrance in this variety is pronounced and very pleasant. The young purple and shiny foliage unfolds into large, dark green, highly divided leaves. They are borne on a petiole that divides into 3, with lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate segments. The leaflets are entire or sometimes lobed. They disappear in winter, while the buds that will develop in spring persist at ground level. 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, the Chinese peony 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.