Paeonia suffruticosa Fen He Piao Jiang - Tree Peony

Paeonia suffruticosa 'Fen He Piao Jiang', which can be translated as "pink powder," is an excellent variety of tree peony, both vigorous and charming, rarely offered for sale. Its lotus-like pink flowers have beautiful dark red macules near the centre around a large cluster of stamens. The vigorous and hardy bush reaches or exceeds the size of a man over time. Easy to grow in any good garden soil. It will live for many years without requiring much care, after careful planting. Plant as a specimen or in the foreground of a shrub border.

The 'Fen He Piao Jiang' shrub peony is a descendant of 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.

'Fen He Piao Jiang', is particularly vigorous, and forms a sparsely branched, rounded bush that can reach 1.80 m (6ft) in all directions under good growing conditions. The short, upright branches bear leaves divided into long lanceolate leaflets, which are very smooth, strongly veined, reddish when buds burst, quickly becoming bright green on top and bluish green underneath. This foliage is decorative even outside of the flowering period. The flowering of this variety is early and long, occurring in April-May, at the beginning of the bush 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, green and rounded buds that appear at the end of winter at the tip of new shoots and withstand late frosts well. They open into semi-double corollas, upright or held horizontally, measuring 15-16 cm (6in) in diameter. They are composed of pink petals with a base maculated with burgundy red. The flower's centre is occupied by golden yellow stamens and is highly visited by bumblebees.

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.