Paeonia brownii
Paeonia brownii is the ugly ducking of the peony world with small drooping red flowers and blue-green foliage.
Paeonia brownii is a western North American peony with small drooping flowers about 1-2 inches across that are tightly packed with pistils, stamens and persistent sepals. The fleshy, bluish-green foliage is deeply lobed on strong sturdy stems. There’s no comparison to the peonies we all know and love. This one is an anomaly and for serious collectors! Growing requirements are a dormant winter under snow, a spring of transient wet, and a hot, dry summer to bake it into dormancy. All this and extremely well-drained soil. Western peony is a near-native to Canada occurring from Washington, Idaho and Montana south to California. Pollinated by wasps and bees. Photo: Wikimedia
Common Name: Western Peony
Family: Paeoniaceae (The Peony Family)
Zone Hardiness: 3-9
Light: Full Sun, Part Sun, Part Shade
Height: 12-24"
Width: 12-24"
Primary Bloom Colour: Red
Secondary Bloom Colour: Yellow
Bloom Time: Spring
Foliage Colour: Green, Bluish
Class: Deciduous
Type: Perennial
Soil Moisture: Average
Stem Colour:
Fragrance: Yes
Berries:
Benefits: Bees
Deer Resistant: Yes
BC Native: No
Native Habitat: Open forests of pine and aspen, amongst sage, mountain brush, and chaparral, and on open, sunny hillsides from 200-3000 metres from Washington, Idaho and Montana south to California.
Award: AGM
Geographical Origin: North America
