Paeonia lactiflora Tom Cat

Paeonia lactiflora Tom Cat is a variety of herbaceous Peony of the "Japanese" type that offers abundant, refined, and subtly scented flowering. It is a mid-season variety that produces a large number of wide flowers composed of a corolla of rounded, carmine red petals and a heart composed of fine petaloids in a mix of cream white and purple, with few stamens. Its unusual flower colour and shape make this variety unique. The flowers rise above the foliage on stiff stems, both in the garden and in a vase. Easy to grow in many regions, Chinese Peonies are robust and faithful perennials. They may take a little time to establish, but they grow year after year and can live for more than 50 years.

Chinese herbaceous Peonies mainly come 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, perennials by virtue of their roots, form a clump of foliage that completely disappears in winter.

The Tom Cat Peony was hybridised by Carl G. Klehm in 2000, in Illinois (United States). The plant forms a bushy clump from spring onwards, moderately dense, reaching 70 cm (28in) in all directions. Its large flowers, 16 to 18 cm (6 to 7in) in diameter, appear in mid-season in June, depending on the climate, and last for about three weeks. They bloom at the end of the stems, but also from a few secondary buds. They emerge as a pinkish red bud.  This variety has good vegetation and remarkable longevity. The young foliage, purple and shiny, 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 vegetation disappears 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.

Japanese Peonies are among those plants that form the foundations of a garden. The Tom Cat Peony can be planted 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. By combining different varieties with staggered flowering times, it is possible to have flowers for 6 weeks from spring to early summer.