Types of Peonies – by Class

Peony type is a calendar and habit question: do stems die to the ground each winter, or do woody frameworks stay? Sarah Bernhardt and Yellow Tree Peony share a spring show and not a pruning or planting clock.

Eye depth on lactiflora and Itoh crowns is the stake beneath the calendar — bury deep and you buy leaves, not blooms. Tree graft union depth is a separate planting rule.

Answer the habit questions, then browse 98 peonies. Eyes-up planting depth stays on How to Grow Peonies.

Which peony calendar are you buying?

If you want classic cut-and-come border doubles, stay with lactiflora such as Sarah Bernhardt and Festiva Maxima. If you want stems that remain, open tree peonies such as Yellow Tree Peony and Planting Peonies.

Where do Itoh and species sit on that calendar?

Intersectional / Itoh forms such as Bartzella keep herbaceous-style crowns with hybrid colour — they are not tree peonies. Species such as Fernleaf Peony add foliage timing and a finer spring silhouette.

Unlabeled garden hybrids such as Coral Charm stay in the hybrid band when parentage cues are thin. Colour is a cultivar pick after habit is named.

Habit checklist before you plant

• Classic border doubles → lactiflora (Sarah Bernhardt, Festiva Maxima)
• Yellow / hybrid colour with herbaceous crowns → Itoh (Bartzella)
• Woody framework → tree (Yellow Tree Peony)
• Ferny foliage → species (Fernleaf Peony)
• Unlabeled hybrids → garden hybrid (Coral Charm)

Session-end check: can you say whether stems die to the ground or stay woody — and whether eyes sit shallow — before you pick petal colour? If not, stay on this page until the calendar is clear.

Wrong paeonia buys that look like a types page

Tree peony planted like a border double: Yellow Tree Peony keeps woody framework; burying the graft like a lactiflora crown kills the plant. Union depth belongs on Planting Peonies.

Itoh sold as tree: Bartzella dies back like herbaceous peonies — it is not Yellow Tree Peony. Yellow hybrid colour does not prove woody stems.

Deep bury after purchase: eyes on Sarah Bernhardt and Festiva Maxima want shallow cover. A deep hole “to help establishment” is the classic peony no-bloom mistake — habit first, depth second.

Colour before calendar: Coral Charm and Festiva Maxima can share a warm look and not the same pruning or planting clock. Read the group, not the paint chip.

Spring calendar after the habit fork

Sarah Bernhardt and Bartzella share spring colour moments and different winter silhouettes. Fernleaf Peony adds an earlier, finer foliage act — species timing is a third calendar, not a lactiflora substitute.

Reading the nursery tag

“Peony mix” bags hide herbaceous, Itoh, and occasionally mislabeled tree forms. Sort by stem habit before you plant — mixed bags are how tree grafts get buried.

“Intersectional / Itoh” means hybrid colour on herbaceous-style crowns (Bartzella) — not Yellow Tree Peony wood.

“Tree peony” must show graft or own-root status on the profile. A woody label on a bagged root is worth confirming before checkout.

When to open the catalog

You are ready to browse when you can say herbaceous, Itoh, tree, or species — and you know eyes stay shallow on lactiflora and Itoh, not deep like a shrub rootball. Until then, stay on the calendar questions above.

Group blurbs below state type-group cues from the catalog — not invented colour ATTR buckets. Sarah Bernhardt and Festiva Maxima share lactiflora habit but differ on bloom time and stem strength; open cards after habit is named.

Fragrance near a path is a shortlist on the care cluster after type — do not choose tree peony expecting border-double scent profiles without reading the profile.

Itoh rows such as Bartzella bridge hybrid colour and herbaceous crowns — a third calendar worth naming before any tree peony or lactiflora assumption sticks.

Full catalog by group (98)

Groups use lactiflora / intersectional / tree / species / garden-hybrid signals — not invented flower-colour ATTR buckets. Open a card for hardiness, sun, and height.

Herbaceous lactiflora peonies (51)

Herbaceous lactiflora peonies are the classic border doubles and singles — plant with eyes shallow (about 2.5–5 cm), give full sun and rich drained soil, and expect ants on buds without panic.

Intersectional / Itoh peonies (7)

Intersectional (Itoh) peonies blend herbaceous and tree peony parentage — often bold yellows and sturdy stems. Grow with the same shallow-eye planting depth as herbaceous types.

Tree peonies (1)

Tree peonies (woody stems; delavayi / suffruticosa cues) keep a woody framework above ground — plant to the correct graft/union depth and do not cut them to the ground like herbaceous peonies.

Species peonies (4)

Species peonies (tenuifolia, obovata, officinalis, and other wild-type epithets) often prefer leaner, well-drained sites — still honour shallow planting and patient establishment.

Garden hybrid peonies (35)

Garden hybrid peonies are the default unlabeled herbaceous cohort when lactiflora / Itoh / tree / species cues are not clear — grow with the shared peony care pillar.

Shared care lives on How to Grow Peonies. Depth and timing live on Planting Peonies.

Depth check — finish choosing paeonia

Session-end check: name the paeonia choose fork in one sentence — class, habit, or season job — before colour. If you cannot, stay on the fork until the contract is clear.

Wrong buys: mixed trays hiding two culture rules; florist faces sold as hardy landscape plants; colour-series labels when you needed hardiness or height class. Refuse the pretty tag until the type matches your site.

Answer the winter-stem calendar first — herbaceous, Itoh, tree, or species — and keep eyes shallow on lactiflora crowns. Place Itoh and species on that map, refuse colour before habit, browse the matching group, then grow with the shared care pillar and planting child for depth and timing.