Paeonia lactiflora Catharina Fontijn

The Peony Catharina Fontijn (Katharine Fonteyn) is a variety of Paeonia lactiflora widely used in floristry and landscaping, due to the elegance of its flowers, the robustness of its stems, but also its good tolerance to poor and sandy soils. This variety, which is very floriferous, bears large double flowers in spring, perfumed and of an exceptional soft pink colour. Opening widely, they display a multitude of pearly petals in various shades of pale pink, and reveal its mature golden stamens. Its early flowering begins in early May. Over the years, this variety offers an increasingly generous flowering.

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 Peoniacae family.

The Catharina Fontijn variety is a Dutch horticultural creation dating back to 1952. The plant forms a herbaceous and bushy clump from spring onwards that can reach 90 cm (35in), or even more, in all directions. Its large flowers, 14-15 cm (6in) in diameter, very double and with excellent longevity, appear around early May, depending on the climate, and last for about two weeks. They are born as a large pink bud, then open into a wide double corolla, in a gradient of fresh pink to white-pink. The petals are concave, with the inner ones being paler, narrower, and sparser. The vegetative growth of this variety is vigorous. The young purple and shiny foliage unfolds into large, very 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. 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. Catharina Fontijn is a prolific variety, very easy to multiply by division in September.

Peonies are among those plants that form the foundations of a garden. In the past every garden, from the humblest to the most elaborate, proudly displayed clumps of peonies covered in flowers that made their way into the house, keeping company in bouquets with purple lilacs and blue campanulas. Elegant and sturdy, the Chinese peony Catharina Fontijn settles into flowerbeds or alongside pathways, associated with timeless perennials such as columbines, bellflowers, perennial roses, carnations, or perennial delphiniums. 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. It can live in the same spot for 50 long years.

3/5 high quality eyes, sold individually.