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Peony Flower

Peony

    Scientific name: Paeonia

Peony plants offer big, fluffy, fragrant flowers in a wide range of colors, forms and sizes. These are long-lived perennial bushes have a history of popularity as a garden plant.

    The official state flower of India.

Meaning of Peony

     In their native China, peonies are often referred to as the “queen of flowers”.
    A few stories about the name origin;
    1. Some say that the name peony originated from Paeon that the physician of the gods in Greek mythology. He was a student of the Greek god of medicine, Aesculapius. According to an old tale; Paeon healed Pluto using a peony root, Aesculapius became too envious and tried to kill him. Zeus saved him from death and transformed him into a peony plant that many people loved and adored.
    2. The other story: According to another myth, a beautiful nymph named Paeonia caught the attention of Apollo. But she became self-conscious and turned red as soon as she realized that Aphrodite had been watching them flirting. Aphrodite got angry and transformed Paeonia into a red peony.

Symbolism of Peony

     The symbolic meaning;

Meaning of Peony By Color

  • Yellow; new beginning and good fortune (It is a good idea to give this peony to new home owner friend as a gift.)
  • Red; passionate love and romance, anniversaries
  • Pink; happy marriage, honor and fortune
  • White; beauty, this color also represents same. That is why, they are great gift for sincerely apologize, forgiveness and simply say "I messed up".

Some Varieties of Peony Flower

  • Early Scout; very early-blooming, red single flowers
  • Firelight; early-blooming, pale pink single blossoms
  • Karl Rosenfield; mid-season blooming
  • Norma Volz; mid-season blooming; large, white flowers
  • Elsa Sass; late season blooming; double, pure white
  • Rare Flower of Frosty Dew; late season blooming

Grow and Care

  • Planting; Peonies make fine sentinels lining walkways or a lovely low hedge. Plant peonies in the fall.
   Dig a generous-sized hole across full sun spot. do not plant it deep. Then back fill the hole, tamp the soil gently. They can manage with half a day, they bloom best in a sunny spot that gets 6 to 8 hours of sunlight each day. Provide shelter from strong winds
   It needs to plant deep in the soil, humus rich soil.
   pH level should be neutral.
  • Watering; Well drained moist soil. Continue weekly watering throughout the summer after the flowers have wilted and died.
  • Fertilization; It needs to be fertilized. Spare the fertilize well in the soil. Best fertilization is in early summer after peonies blooms. Do not fertilize more than every few years.
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