Tree Peony ‘Yellow’

Chris Mousseau

I purchased a tree peony two years ago. I grew one in a previous garden, it had huge pink flowers, but I wanted a yellow one this time. I like yellow flowers. I bought one labelled Paeonia suffruticosa Yellow. I thought it would be a cheery, daffodil yellow.

It didn’t bloom the first year, which wasn’t surprising. It didn’t bloom last year, even after setting buds, which was disappointing. This year, things looked hopeful. Buds emerged. They grew larger…and larger..

And then it opened. Yellow, but such a pale yellow, almost white, especially in direct sun. I was surprised.

Honey bees were attracted to the huge blooms, although the fragrance was, to my nose, slight. Perhaps it was all that enticing pollen…

They don’t last long, these gargantuan blooms, these tissue paper thin petals. They started to fall, slowly, gently in the breeze, just a few days after opening.

Until just the seed head remained. Until next year.

15 Comments

  1. Color surprises happen – I didn’t realize the “Coral Sunset” peony would fade to pale cream within 24 hours, but it is still beautiful, as is your Yellow tree peony. I especially like the first picture, with the raindrops.

    1. In the end, I liked the colour. The plant itself appears, to me, to be somewhat majestic, like a minor prince thrice removed, so the subtle, muted, delicate shade of yellow is well suited.

  2. I like yellow, too. Sunflower yellow always is pleasing, but this may be my favorite shade of yellow. I call it lemon chiffon pie yellow, and it’s especially pretty here.

      2. You’ll likely see them after the leaves fall. Not at the ends of branches, but at leaf nodes, starting several leaves down from the tip of each branch.

Comments are closed.