Paeonia 'Shirley Temple'

Paeonia 'Shirley Temple': Pale Pink Ruffles Made for Vases

Named like the mocktail your aunt orders when she swears she's taking it easy this year. Big, ruffled blooms open soft rose and fade to white like a blush wearing off. SWEET, BUBBLY AND TOTALLY SOBER.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Paeonia lactiflora 'Shirley Temple'
• Common Name: Garden Peony
• Height: 90 cm (3 ft)
• Spread: 90 cm (3 ft)
• Flowers: Large, fully double and ruffled; open light rose and fade to white; lightly fragrant
• Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer (May to June)
• Foliage: Deep green and divided, forming a bushy clump
• Features: Long-lived, good cut flower

Where to Plant: The blush-to-white colour fits romantic borders, white gardens and cottage plantings. Grow it in a cutting bed too, since stems picked at the soft-bud stage last well in a vase.

Companion Plants: Plant 'Shirley Temple' in a sunny or part-shade bed with a dark cranesbill, mauve daylilies and tall golden heliopsis. Geranium 'Boom Chocolatta' adds dark leaves and blue flowers at 61 to 66 cm from June to August. Hemerocallis 'Always Afternoon' brings mauve-purple daylilies at 50 to 55 cm from June to August. Heliopsis 'Summer Nights' rises behind at 120 to 180 cm with golden-orange daisies. Sesleria autumnalis adds chartreuse tufts at 30 to 45 cm.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun in rich, well-drained soil. Keep the eyes no more than 5 cm (2 in) below the soil line. Water regularly for the first season. The double flowers can get heavy in rain, so a peony ring placed in early spring is a good idea. Cut foliage to the ground in fall and remove it. Peonies don't like being moved. Divide only when needed, in September.

History: 'Shirley Temple' dates to around the 1940s and takes its name from the child film star, though records of its exact origin vary between peony references. Like most garden peonies, it descends from Paeonia lactiflora, a species native to northeast Asia and grown in gardens for centuries.

Final Thoughts: Deer won't touch it, it lives practically forever and it looks fantastic in a vase. Plant it and ORDER ANOTHER ROUND.