The word “peony” triggers memories—sentimental recollections of grandma, fragrance, and beauty. And just as quickly, visions of unwelcome ants and storm-trodden blossoms face down in the dirt enter your mind. But the first impression is always of this exotic flower’s beauty.

The peonies we are most familiar with are the herbaceous types, some call “bush peonies.” These are not truly bushes, but perennial plants that die back to the ground in Fall and sprout from a substantial root system the following Spring.

Often called the Memorial Day Peony because its bloom time commonly coincides with that holiday, Paeonia officinalis ‘Rosea Plena’ offers large, double, rose-pink blossoms. The first peonies brought to America by the colonists were forms of Paeonia officinalis, a European plant with herbal uses.

Another double red peony, Paeonia tenuifolia, or fern leaf peony, arrived in the U.S. with European immigrants. The Ukrainian native blooms very early on a delicate-looking plant, less than 24” tall. The plant requires excellent drainage and will go dormant as early as August.

Introducing Peony to America

In the early 19^th century the most versatile and valuable peony arrived on the American public’s radar. French and British traders introduced Paeonia lactiflora from China in a time when the discovery of (and appetite for) so many Oriental treasures led to two devastating conflicts called the Opium Wars.

For the first several decades in the 19^th century, the French led the world in the introduction of new peony varieties. Nearly all of them were derived from Paeonia lactiflora. American florists saw opportunity and began importing plants from France and, later on, from England. It wasn’t until the early 20th-century that American breeders began to make their marks. Eventually, they generated thousands of varieties. They mostly used them for the cut flower trade.

Anyone over the age of 60 might have memories of their mothers or grandmothers taking bouquets of peonies to decorate graves of their loved ones on what originally was called Decoration Day. The holiday, established after the American Civil War to honor those who died in the conflict, was declared a national holiday in 1971. But well before that time, florists did a lively business selling peonies for grave decorations.