Fill your Southern gardens with stunning blooms.
You’ve probably heard it’s too hot in the South to grow peonies.
You’ve heard wrong.
Credit: Gap Photos
Theseprestigious perennialscan thrive here as long as you know how to care for them properly.
People love peonies because they bear huge, glorious spring and early summer flowers in various colors and forms.
They make excellent cut flowers, and many are fragrant.
Credit: Gap Photos
These plants may live for generations, and deer won’t eat them.
These flowers thrive in moist, fertile, well-drained soildon’t plant in clay or sand.
Depending on your climate, heat-tolerant and cold-hardy selections are available to match your regional weather.
Credit: Gap Photos
Herbaceous peonies have a southern limit of USDA Zone 8.
This familiar variety has foliage that dies to the ground in winter.
Tree peonies have woody trunks that don’t die down.
Credit: Photo: Georgianna Lane/Getty Images
They bear flowers the size of dinner plates and grow as far south as northern Florida.
Intersectional peonies are hybrids of herbaceous and tree types.
Wait until fall to cut back the foliage of peonies if you want to see flowers next year.
Credit: Photo: Erhard Nerger/Getty Images
Bag the cut foliage, and throw it out with the trash to remove any disease spores.
Read on for eight of our favorite colorful peonies to brighten to grow in your garden.
Blooming in June, this deer-resistant and fragrant peony is a durable variety.
Credit: Gap Photos
“Coral Charm”
This peony is an early-blooming selection producing notably large flowers.
Select this peony during full bud for an excellent cut flower lasting over a week.
“Kansas”
A long-blooming, reliable selection that thrives in full sun.
Credit:Ralph Anderson
This variety is attractive to butterflies but deer and rabbit resistant.
It is a reliable and vigorous blooming flower that retains attractive foliage until the first frost.
This peony is ideal for bordering a walk or driveway.
Credit: Alison Miksch
“Bartzella”
Choose this variety for a heat-tolerant peony with a long season of vibrant flowers.
This peony blooms on top of strong stems that do not require staking.
In addition to its semi-to-fully-double flowers, this peony features an inviting lemon scent.
Credit: Photo: Dorling Kindersley/Getty Images
These flowers need protection from the wind.
This flower pairs well with roses and other perennials.
“Nippon Beauty”
This prolific bloomer produces an abundance of deep red blooms.
Enjoy this plant’s foliage until the first frost as it retains a dark green, glossy appearance.
Grow this peony in an area protected from harsh winds and heavy rains.
