Cold hardiness

Future

2050

2100

These values are location-based: this location's current hardiness is the baseline, and the 2050 value is a projected future climate for this same location.

Now

Zone 6b

USDA

Published baseline for this location from 1991-2020.

Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer

Well-suited

2050

Zone 7a

Plotwright

Projected zone for this same location in 2050 (2041-2070) using SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry).

Well-suited

In plain terms: This location is in Zone 6b today. Its hardiness profile is cold winters, and coldest nights are typically around -3°F. By 2050, the projected hardiness zone is Zone 7a based on SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry). That is a +0.5-zone shift from Zone 6b to Zone 7a by 2050.

✓

Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.

Heat tolerance

Future

2050

2100

Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.

Loading AHS heat-zone data for this location...

Where this plant fits

Suitable across 40 ecoregions — 35 climate-resilient through 2070 · 5 suited today. Best matches first.

Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests

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Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests

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Arizona Mountains forests

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Blue Mountains forests

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Canadian Aspen forests and parklands

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Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests

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Central Tallgrass prairie

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Central-Southern Cascades Forests

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Colorado Rockies forests

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Cross-Timbers savanna-woodland

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What it needs

Conditions

Light

Full sun / Part shade

Water

Moderate water

Spacing

30"

Habit

Erect, clump-forming herbaceous perennial

Care tips

•

Plant shallow: set the eyes no more than about 2 inches below the soil surface — planting too deep is the most common reason peonies fail to bloom.

•

Give it a cold winter and full sun; peonies need winter chilling and languish in warm-winter climates.

•

Support the large, heavy blooms with a grow-through grid or hoop so spring rain does not flatten them, and cut spent foliage to the ground in fall to limit fungal disease.

Lifecycle

Planting

Grow in fertile, humusy, organically rich, medium-moisture, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade (Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder). Plant the rootstock buds (eyes) only about 2 inches below the soil surface — planting too deep is a common cause of failure to bloom. Plants need a cold winter dormant season to flower well.

Transplanting

Peonies dislike being moved and may sulk for a year or two afterward. If transplanting or dividing is necessary, do it in early fall, replanting divisions with the eyes no more than 2 inches deep.

Early growth

Water to establish through the first season. Provide support (grow-through grids or hoops) for the large, heavy blooms, which may flop or be beaten down by rain (Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder).

Maturity

Mature plants form a clump roughly 1.5-2.5 feet tall and wide, flowering in May. Cut foliage to the ground and remove it from the garden in fall after frost to reduce overwintering disease. Long-lived plants do not need division and can be left undisturbed for many years (Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder).

Propagation

Propagate by division of the crown in early fall, ensuring each division carries several eyes; this is also how named cultivars are increased true to type.

Pollination

Self-fertile

Grown for its showy, fragrant flowers rather than fruit. Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists Paeonia lactiflora as attracting butterflies, and NC State Extension lists it as attracting "Bees, Butterflies, Pollinators" — the conspicuous central boss of yellow stamens offers abundant pollen to foraging insects.

Plants don't grow alone

Pollen forage

Bee

European honeybee (Apis mellifera)

NC State Extension lists Paeonia lactiflora as attracting "Bees, Pollinators"; honey bees work the conspicuous central boss of yellow stamens for its abundant pollen (peony flowers offer pollen rather than significant nectar).

Pollen forage

Bee

Common eastern bumblebee (Bombus impatiens)

The open, bowl-shaped flowers with an exposed stamen boss are readily worked by bumble bees; bumble-bee pollen foraging follows from the bee attraction NC State Extension documents for this plant.

For people

Not eaten by humans

Grown as an ornamental garden and cut-flower perennial, not a food crop. NC State Extension flags Paeonia as a problem (toxic) for cats, dogs, and horses; neither NC State nor Missouri Botanical Garden documents culinary use, and pets should be kept from grazing it.

Native range

AHS heat range

1-9

Climate notes

•

Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists Paeonia lactiflora as a herbaceous perennial for USDA zones 3 to 8, 1.5-2.5 ft tall and wide, in full sun to part shade with medium water; it blooms in May and is native to Tibet, China, and Siberia (not native to North America).

•

Missouri Botanical Garden notes best performance typically occurs in USDA zones 5-7 (often performing well into the northern part of zone 8), and that plants need a cold winter dormant season — they languish in warm-winter climates where the chilling requirement is hard to meet.

•

NC State Extension publishes the hardiness range as USDA zones 3a-8b for herbaceous peonies and flags fungal foliage diseases (powdery mildew on autumn foliage) plus a bud-boring insect that can destroy some flower buds; it also notes the plants are shunned by deer.

In the designer

Growth over time

18-30" tall · 18-30" spread

Mature 1.5-2.5 ft clump with a full flush of May bloom; long-lived and best left undisturbed.

Design roles: Border · Focal point · Pollinator

Peony

At a glance

Related products

Why it matters

Cold hardiness

Heat tolerance

Where this plant fits

What it needs

Lifecycle

Pollination

Plants don't grow alone

For people

Native range

Climate notes

In the designer

Sources & citations