Paeonia 'Monsieur Jules Elie'

Paeonia 'Monsieur Jules Elie': Huge Rose-Pink Puffs Worth Bringing Inside

'Monsieur Jules Elie' is very large, very pink and very formal, with an incurved silvery-pink centre that looks like a pastry chef's best work. Moderately fragrant and fully double. MONSIEUR WOULD LIKE A TABLE BY THE WINDOW.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Paeonia lactiflora 'Monsieur Jules Elie'
• Common Name: Garden Peony
• Height: 90 cm (3 ft)
• Spread: 90 cm (3 ft)
• Flowers: Very large, fully double, light rose-pink with an incurved, silvery-pink centre; moderately fragrant
• Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer (May to June)
• Foliage: Glossy, deep green and divided, forming a full, rounded clump
• Features: Long-lived, excellent cut flower

Where to Plant: Give it a spot near the front or middle of a sunny border, where those blooms can be seen up close. It makes a classic cut flower, so pick stems when the buds feel soft, like a marshmallow. After bloom, the leafy clump acts as a tidy green hedge for later neighbours.

Companion Plants: Plant 'Monsieur Jules Elie' in a sunny or part-shade bed with purple veronica, mauve daylilies and small gold daisies. Veronica Magic Show® 'Purple Illusion' adds rosy-purple spikes at 41 to 46 cm in June and July. Hemerocallis 'Always Afternoon' brings mauve-purple daylilies at 50 to 55 cm from June to August. Rudbeckia 'Little Goldstar' adds compact golden daisies at 35 to 40 cm from July to September. Miscanthus sinensis 'Adagio' rises at 120 to 150 cm with very narrow, silvery blades.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun for the best flowering, in rich, well-drained soil. Set the eyes (the pink buds on the crown) no more than 5 cm (2 in) below the soil surface. Planting too deep is the most common reason a peony refuses to bloom. Water regularly through the first season. Once established, it handles dry spells well. The flowers are heavy, so a peony ring placed in early spring keeps them out of the mud after a rainstorm. Cut the foliage to the ground in fall and remove it to reduce leaf disease. Peonies dislike being moved. Divide only if needed, in September. Ants on the buds are harmless.

History: 'Monsieur Jules Elie' was registered by the French nursery Crousse in 1888. French growers of the 1800s turned Paeonia lactiflora, a species native to northeast Asia, into the big, fragrant doubles gardeners still plant today, and this one has stayed in catalogues for well over a century.

Final Thoughts: A long-lived cut flower that deer won't bother. Plant it where it can be admired properly. KINDLY ADDRESS HIM AS MONSIEUR.