More elegant than roses and perfect for filling flowerbeds or creating bridal bouquets, what’s not to love about peonies? If you’re thinking of buying peonies to plant in autumn (the best time for spring blooms year after year) then this article contains five of the most gorgeous varieties to choose from.
Before you start, here’s a few things you should know:
- Peonies are perennial plants, so they come back year after year,
- They aren’t evergreen, so they’ll die back over winter,
- The flowers typically bloom in spring and early summer,
- If you plant peonies this autumn, they will bloom the following spring… but their best floral displays begin in year 2 or year 3 of blooming!
The five peony varieties I’m recommending come from Dutch Grown – and I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you if you decide to purchase some. Their peonies arrive as bare root plants typically with three to five nose buds. You plant them in the autumn, and they’ll shoot up with deep green foliage and blooms the following spring.
Best Peonies to Plant in Fall
1. Peony Command Performance
If you want large, beautiful blooms as a floral centrepiece for your garden (or your vase), then Peony Command Performance is a fantastic choice. These flowers have a majestic presence and start in a vibrant shade of red, slowly softening to delicate shades of pink as the flowering period goes on.
The peony plant itself grows to a height of 90cm with strong dark green stems. It’s a hybrid single flowering peony that puts on a show from late spring to early summer.
Find Command Performance at Dutch Grown
2. Peony Bowl of Beauty
While many peonies come with ruffles of petals, Bowl of Beauty has a light-yellow centre with soft fuchsia petals forming a bowl around them. Dutch Grown claim it is one of the most unique varieties and I am inclined to agree – if you want to make your garden one-of-a-kind next year, full of beautiful flowers that no one else is growing, Bowl of Beauty is for you.
These single flowering peony bulbs are a hoogendoorn hybrid with a fragrant scent. They have the RHS Award of Garden Merit, and while they only flower for approximately 1 month in late spring, they are well worth the wait.
Find Bowl of Beauty at Dutch Grown
3. Peony Bartzella
Most peonies are pink, but if you want to refresh your garden, there are options. Peony Bartzella is a mid-summer flowering peony that explodes with an abundance of yellow flowers. Not only is the shade a limoncello yellow, but they also exude a soft lemony scent! To top it off, this peony can be planted in both sun and shade areas this autumn – it thrives in either condition.
This is an intersectional Itoh, semi-double flowering peony that grows to a height of 100cm. Remember, the first year of flowering is rarely the pinnacle of what the plant can achieve.
4. Peony Cora Louise
Cora Louise is another Itoh peony, meaning that it’s a hybrid of an exotic tree peony and a perennial herbaceous peony. The result is an easy-to-care-for plant that stuns with white flowers and purple “flames” against dark green foliage.
Peony Cora Louise is undeniably feminine but doesn’t have the candy-sweetness of the popular blush pink peonies most people gravitate towards. If you want sophistication in your flower beds, this one is worth checking out.
Find Cora Louise at Dutch Grown
5. Peony Rosette Collection
This is a collection of peonies curated by the growers at Dutch Grown. Starting in packs of 3 peony roots, this collection features flowers in shades of white, pink and red. These double peonies are fragrant and colourful, making them ideal for flower arranging and bouquets. If you’re growing flowers to be picked, this is my top choice for you. You’ll get an assortment of colours to work with.
As with all the peonies I’ve mentioned, their best flowering year will be two or three years down the line. If you want to plant something this autumn for extravagant flowers the next spring/summer, check out my list of Easy Spring Flowers to Grow from Bulbs.
Find Rosette Collection at Dutch Grown
Quick Guide to Planting Peonies in Autumn
Planting peonies in autumn is quite simple. First, choose the right spot. Most peonies need sun for at least 6 hours a day, though some varieties can grow well with less (check the variety you choose at Dutch Grown). Make sure there are no trees or shrubs too close, as the roots will compete for soil.
For each bare root peony, dig a hole that’s approximately 50cm deep so that the top of the root (the end that has “eyes”) is a few centimetres below the surface. If you’ve got multiple peonies to plant, space them 1 metre apart to give plenty of space for them to flourish.
Once planted, maintenance is simple. For the first couple years, make sure to water sparingly but regularly – approximately once a week if the rain is light, and twice a week during the hot summer months. Once the peonies are fully established, you can reduce to only watering during periods of drought.
For more detailed information about growing peonies, I recommend the RHS guide.
New to Peonies? Here’s What You Need to Know
If you’re feeling a little lost, don’t worry. Peonies are easy to grow once you know these basics:
- Peonies are either herbaceous (die back to ground level in winter), woody (maintain structure during winter), or an intersectional hybrid that’s somewhere between the two.
- Herbaceous peonies can be pruned back to ground level in the autumn, while woody peonies shouldn’t be pruned at all. The flowers and foliage will naturally fall.
- ‘Single flowering’ and ‘double flowering’ don’t refer to the number of flowers the plant will produce (most produce an abundance once fully established!), but the structure of the blooms. Single flowering has one row of petals, while double flowering has that ruffle appearance with multiple petals.
- Autumn is the best time to plant peonies, but you can also plant them in spring – just bear in mind that they likely won’t flower until the following spring.
If you’re looking to fill your garden with blooms next year, make sure you stock up now. Read my article 10 Best Autumn Planting Bulbs in the UK next.