Top Picks: 23 Perfect Peonies

Add romance to your garden or landscape with peonies. Here are some of our favorite varieties.

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Big Ben

Bowl of Beauty

Blaze

Festiva Maxima

Fern-Leaf Peony

America

Coral Supreme

Sweet Marjorie

Green Halo

Gay Paree

Bartzella

Krinkled White

Paula Fay

Do Tell

Burning Bright

Spider Green

Raspberry Sundae

Coral Charm

Prairie Moon

Pillow Talk

Better Times

Karl Rosenfield

Sarah Bernhardt

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Big Ben

This gorgeous and easy-growing heirloom selection from 1943 offers very large, rose-red blooms.

Name: Paeonia 'Big Ben'

Bloom Time: Early season

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 48 inches tall

Zones: 3-7

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: The fragrance is outstanding and the plant has wonderful vigor, performing well in the garden each year.

Bowl of Beauty

A cheery heirloom selection from the 1940s, 'Bowl of Beauty' offers a cup of pink petals surrounding a creamy center.

Name: Paeonia 'Bowl of Beauty'

Bloom Time: Early season

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 26 inches tall

Zones: 3-7

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: Its charming form and colors absolutely sing spring.

Blaze

A reliable performer with bright red blooms, 'Blaze' offers 6-inch flowers that are perfect for cutting.

Name: Paeonia 'Blaze'

Bloom Time: Early season

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: 26 inches tall

Zones: 3-8

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: The bright color stands out in the garden. And it's better adapted to mild-winter areas than many other peonies.

Festiva Maxima

A classic variety, this peony features large white blooms with flicks of crimson-red. It's an heirloom variety from the 1850s that's still extremely popular today.

Name: Paeonia 'Festiva Maxima'

Bloom Time: Early season

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: 36 inches tall

Zones: 3-7

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: Its pure white blooms shimmer in the garden. It's also a good cut-flower variety.

Fern-Leaf Peony

This beautiful plant offers gorgeous, dark green ferny foliage and rich red double flowers.

Name: Paeonia tenuifolia

Bloom Time: Early season

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 28 inches tall

Zones: 3-7

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: The delicate foliage looks great even when the plant isn't in bloom.

America

A bold, award-winning variety from 1976, 'America' offers single, scarlet-red flowers.

Name: Paeonia 'America'

Bloom Time: Early to midseason

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 42 inches tall

Zones: 3-7

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: The plant has a nice upright habit and beautiful blooms, and it's very vigorous.

Coral Supreme

Coral-colored peonies seem to be all the rage these days and 'Coral Supreme' is one of the best.

Name: Paeonia 'Coral Supreme'

Bloom Time: Early to midseason

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: 36 inches tall

Zones: 3-7

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: The semi-double flowers are a rich, unique color. The strong stems hold up well to the weather.

Sweet Marjorie

One of the new breed of cactus-style peonies, 'Sweet Marjorie' offers pink blooms that are cut and twisted.

Name: Paeonia 'Sweet Marjorie'

Bloom Time:Early to midseason

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 32 inches tall

Zones: 3-7

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: It's one of the most eye-catching and dramatic peonies available.

Green Halo

There are a few newer peonies that look rather un-peony-like. 'Green Halo' is one -- it bears white petals rising out of a nest of green.

Name: Paeonia 'Green Halo'

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Bloom Time: Early to midseason

Size: To 30 inches tall

Zones: 3-7

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: It's unique and will definitely stand out in the garden.

Gay Paree

An eye-catching variety from the 1930s, 'Gay Paree' offers a pink-blushed, ivory-white center boldly surrounded by raspberry-pink petals.

Name: Paeonia 'Gay Paree'

Bloom Time: Midseason

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: 34 inches tall

Zones: 3-7

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: The bright blooms stand out in the garden or in bouquets because of their bold color combination. The strong stems help the flowers hold up well.

Bartzella

A newer peony from the 1980s, 'Bartzella' offers rich, golden-yellow blooms.

Name: Paeonia 'Bartzella'

Bloom Time: Midseason

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 40 inches tall

Zones:3-7

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: Golden-yellow peonies are as rare as they are beautiful.

Krinkled White

A classic, 'Krinkled White' is from the 1920s but is still popular today thanks to its pure white petals and sunny yellow center.

Name: Paeonia 'Krinkled White'

Bloom Time: Midseason

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: 32 inches tall

Zones: 3-8

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: The sturdy stems hold beautiful white blooms that are a perfect pairing with 'Blanc Double de Coubert' shrub rose. 'Krinkled White' is also a good choice for the South as it needs a little less cold than most.

Paula Fay

A vigorous variety with semi-double reddish-pink blooms, award-winning 'Paula Fay' was released in the 1960s and is a now a garden classic.

Name: Paeonia 'Paula Fay'

Bloom Time:Midseason

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 35 inches tall

Zones: 3-7

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: It's tough to beat the brilliant color of the blooms and reliable nature of this selection.

Do Tell

'Do Tell' is an award-winning unique peony from the 1940s known both for its Japanese form (wide petals with a mass of finer petaloids in the center) and pink color blend.

Name: Paeonia 'Do Tell'

Bloom Time: Midseason

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: 36 inches tall

Zones: 3-7

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: It's beautifully fragrant and offers a striking color combination in the garden.

Burning Bright

This cute pinkish-red peony from the 1940s offers lush single blooms with a cheery yellow center.

Name: Paeonia 'Burning Bright'

Bloom Time: Midseason

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 34 inches tall

Zones: 3-7

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: The bright color adds an extra dose of color to the garden.

Spider Green

A relatively new peony, 'Spider Green' is unusual for its twisty lime-flushed white petals.

Name: Paeonia 'Spider Green'

Bloom Time: Midseason

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size:To 26 inches tall

Zones: 3-7

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: The flowers are intricate and interesting, and the stems are strong so the blooms hold up well to weather and as a cut flower.

Raspberry Sundae

It looks good enough to eat! 'Raspberry Sundae' was bred in the 1960s and bears beautiful creamy-pink blooms.

Name: Paeonia 'Raspberry Sundae'

Bloom Time: Midseason

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: 36 inches tall

Zones: 3-7

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: The flower form is unique with a rounded cluster of petals exploding from a cup of paler-pink petals.

Coral Charm

This award-winning, beautiful semi-double peony offers rich, coral-color blooms. It was bred in the 1960s and is still very popular today.

Name: Paeonia 'Coral Charm'

Bloom Time: Midseason

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 40 inches tall

Zones: 3-7

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: The unique salmon-color blooms really stand out against other peonies.

Prairie Moon

An unusual peony bred in the 1950s, 'Prairie Moon' bears semi-double, soft ivory-yellow flowers.

Name: Paeonia 'Prairie Moon'

Bloom Time: Midseason

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 38 inches tall

Zones: 3-7

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: The color is beautiful and it has a wonderful soft scent.

Pillow Talk

With its large, double pink blooms, it's no wonder this gorgeous variety won a top award from the American Peony Society.

Name: Paeonia 'Pillow Talk'

Bloom Time: Mid- to late season

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: 32 inches tall

Zones: 3-7

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: The large pink blooms are slightly bicolored and beautifully fragrant. Its strong stems also make it a good cut flower.

Better Times

A classic from the 1940s, 'Better Times' offers bright pink blooms on tall stems.

Name: Paeonia 'Better Times'

Bloom Time: Mid- to late season

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 38 inches tall

Zones:3-7

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: The plant is very showy and it's an especially good cut-flower variety.

Karl Rosenfield

A beautiful heirloom from the early 1900s, 'Karl Rosenfield' bears double red blooms.

Name: Paeonia 'Karl Rosenfield'

Bloom Time: Mid- to late season

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 32 inches tall

Zones:3-7

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: The blooms are a great color, nicely fragrant, and excellent for cutting.

Sarah Bernhardt

An old-fashioned heirloom from the early 1900s, we think 'Sarah Bernhardt' is still one of the loveliest peonies there is.

Name: Paeonia 'Sarah Bernhardt'

Bloom Time: Late season

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: 36 inches tall

Zones: 3-7

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: The flowers are a gorgeous shade of soft pink and filled with rich, sweet fragrance.

Top Picks: 23 Perfect Peonies

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