Paeonia 'Bowl of Cream'

Paeonia 'Bowl of Cream': Giant Cream Doubles, Whipped and Fluffy

'Bowl of Cream' makes blooms so big and so fully double you'll need both hands to hold one. Cream white petals hide golden stamens deep inside. THIS PEONY DOES NOT DO PORTION CONTROL.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Paeonia lactiflora 'Bowl of Cream'
• Common Name: Garden Peony
• Height: 80–90 cm (31–35 in)
• Spread: 90 cm (35 in)
• Flowers: Very large, fully double rose-form, cream white with hidden golden stamens, mildly fragrant
• Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer (May to June)
• Foliage: Dark green and divided, forming a tall, wide clump
• Features: Huge cut flowers, mild fragrance, American Peony Society Gold Medal (1981)

Where to Plant: White peonies glow at dusk, so plant this one near where you sit in the evening. It suits white gardens, wedding-style plantings and cutting gardens, and its cream tones go with almost anything.

Companion Plants: Give 'Bowl of Cream' a sunny or part-shade bed with blue leadwort in front and violet and lavender behind. Ceratostigma plumbaginoides carpets the front at 20 to 30 cm with gentian-blue flowers from August to October. Veronica 'Very Van Gogh' adds rosy-purple spikes at 46 to 51 cm in July and August. Hemerocallis 'Entrapment' brings lavender-purple daylilies at 60 to 70 cm in July and August. Calamagrostis 'Eldorado' rises behind at 120 to 150 cm with gold-striped blades.

Plant Care: Plant it in full sun for the most flowers. Part sun works, with fewer blooms. Give it fertile, well-drained soil with some compost mixed in. Set the crown so the pink buds, called eyes, sit no more than 5 cm (2 in) below the soil surface. Planted deeper, peonies tend to sulk and skip blooming. Water regularly through the first season, then only during long dry spells. These flowers are big and heavy, so set a sturdy peony ring over the clump in early spring, before the stems need it. Ants on the buds are normal and do no harm. In fall, cut the stems to the ground and clear away the leaves to reduce diseases such as botrytis. Peonies dislike being moved. If you must divide, do it in early fall, keeping three to five eyes per piece.

History: 'Bowl of Cream' was bred by Carl G. Klehm of Illinois and registered in 1963 as a full double rose type in clean cream white. The American Peony Society awarded it a Gold Medal in 1981.

Final Thoughts: Cut a couple and your vase is full. Plant it once and the deer will look elsewhere. ONE STEM IS A WHOLE BOUQUET.