Herbaceous Peonies

• Peonies are perennials with a shrublike form and multiple stems. They grow about 3 feet tall and bloom in May with large single or multipetaled flowers in maroon, white, red and pink. The leaves take on fall color and the plant dies to the ground in winter. Tried-and-true cultivars include Festiva Maxima, a white, multipetaled bloom with red streaks in the center; Mons. Jules Elie, a pink double, and Sarah Bernhardt, a fluffy double pink.
  
  

Tree Peonies

• Tree peonies form a woody structure that stays up during the winter after its leaves fall. Tree peony leaves are deeply cut and take on red and purple tones in fall. The flowers are usually larger than those of herbaceous peonies and the plants bloom earlier, growing to about 4 feet tall and wide.
  
  

Itoh Peonies

• Intersectional or Itoh peonies are a cross between tree peonies and herbaceous peonies. They have the leaf form of the tree peony and produce large flowers in tones of salmon, yellow, orange, white and purple. The plants grow only 2 to 3 feet tall and die back in winter. They develop more than one bud per stem, which means a longer bloom period.
  
  

Peony Poppies

• Some annual poppies produce large, frilly flowerheads that resemble multipetaled peony blossoms. These are called peony poppies and are members of the Papaver paeoniflorum genus and species. Peony poppies grow on 3-foot stems and come in pink, purple, white, coral and red. Common varieties include Flemish Antique, with blooms of ivory streaked with salmon, White Cloud and Black Peony, a deep maroon-purple.