Paeonia suffruticosa Bai Yuan Hong Xia - Tree Peony

Paeonia suffruticosa 'Bai Yuan Hong Xia' is a magnificent variety of tree peony, distinguished by significant growth and a stunning spring flowering. Its sumptuous and ruffled flowers are richly coloured in violet-purple, enhanced by golden stamens. The vigorous and hardy bush is easy to grow in any good garden soil, where it will live for many years without requiring much care, after careful planting. A tree peony plant needs no description, it is simply admired, either as a specimen or at the forefront of a shrub border.

The 'Bai Yuan Hong Xia' tree peony is a beautiful descendant of the Paeonia suffruticosa, native to central China. This extraordinary species, cultivated for about 1500 years in China and two centuries in Europe, has given rise to numerous cultivars with single or double flowers, in all colours except true blue. The wild form has never been formally identified. In contrast to so-called herbaceous peonies, Paeonia suffruticosa produces a woody framework, one or more small trunks, and sparsely branched knotty branches that persist all year round like shrubs. Its foliage is deciduous, emerging in spring and falling in autumn, often taking on beautiful colours at the end of the season. All these plants, native to the Far East, are very cold-resistant. They belong to the family of Ranunculaceae.

'Bai Yuan Hong Xia', particularly vigorous, forms a sparsely branched, rounded bush that can reach 2 metres (7 feet), or even 2.50 metres (8 feet) in all directions under good growing conditions. The short, upright branches bear leaves divided into long lanceolate leaflets, very smooth, strongly veined, reddish in bud and quickly becoming medium green on the upper side, bluish green underneath. 

This variety flowers for 3 weeks in April-May, in the middle of the tree peony season. A 3-year-old plant will bear a single flower in the first year, but 50 after 20 years of cultivation. It starts with very large solitary buds, green and round, which appear at the end of winter at the tips of new shoots and withstand late frosts well. They open into very double corollas, upright or held horizontally, measuring 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10in) in diameter. They are composed of multiple petals in a very dark violet-purple to magenta-red, with a very dark violet base. The flower's centre is occupied by golden yellow stamens, more visible towards the end of flowering. Their light scent is pleasant.

The tree peony is not a plant for impatient gardeners. It takes its time, but years of patience are rewarded by the fabulous spectacle created by this opulent shrub laden with huge flowers in spring. In the garden, the 'Lu Mu Ying Yu' tree peony will be sumptuous when planted against a wall, at the forefront of a hedge or in a border, under tall trees, but always sheltered from winds and in a bright and airy location. Its magnificent flowers will be enhanced by those of other white, pink, or mauve peonies, clusters of mauve or white lilacs, or early-flowering China roses (Old Blush). This variety also pairs well with other perennials that bloom before or after it, such as garden irises or campanulas.