Paeonia lactiflora Morning Kiss

The Morning Kiss Peony is a beautiful herbaceous  Chinese Peony that offers generous, pastel pink, highly scented flowering. It is a mid-season variety that bears large double flowers, in a rather dense pompom shape, with ruffled petals towards the centre that surround a heart of golden yellow stamens. The flowers of the beautifully named Morning Kiss peony change from pink to pale pink and then white as they mature. They are carried on sturdy stems. Easy to grow in most regions, Chinese Peonies thrive in loose and rather moist soil, in full sun. Robust and loyal, they sometimes take a little time to establish themselves, but they grow year after year and can live for more than 50 years.  

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. Herbaceous peonies, perennial by virtue of their roots, form a clump of foliage that completely disappears in winter.

The Morning Kiss Chinese Peony forms an herbaceous and bushy clump from spring onwards, moderately dense, reaching 90 cm (35in) in all directions. Its large double flowers, 18 to 20cm (7 to 8in) in diameter, appear around mid-June depending on the climate, and last for about three weeks. They bloom at the tip of the stems, but also from some secondary buds. They emerge as a large pale pink bud, then open into a double corolla, fairly dense, composed of ruffled petals towards the centre, changing from pink to white. At the centre is a heart of golden yellow stamens. This variety has good growth and remarkable longevity. The young purple and shiny foliage unfolds into large, dark green, deeply cut 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 foliage disappears in winter, while the buds persist at ground level and develop 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 Morning Kiss 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.