Paeonia 'Festiva Maxima'

Paeonia 'Festiva Maxima': The Classic White Peony With Crimson Flecks

'Festiva Maxima' is maximum festival: huge white globes with a few crimson flecks in the middle, like it spilled the punch. Fragrant, fully double and grand. THIS IS WHAT MAXIMUM LOOKS LIKE.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Paeonia lactiflora 'Festiva Maxima'
• Common Name: Garden Peony
• Height: 85 cm (33 in)
• Spread: 60 cm (2 ft)
• Flowers: Very large, fully double, globe-shaped white blooms with crimson flecks on a few centre petals, and a good fragrance
• Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer (May to June)
• Foliage: Deep green, divided leaves on a tall, upright clump
• Features: Fragrant, long-lived

Where to Plant: It's an obvious pick for a white garden, a cutting bed or a classic mixed border. It's one of the earlier lactiflora peonies to flower, so it opens the season in a big way.

Companion Plants: Lychnis chalcedonica 'Scarlet' opens bright red heads at 90 to 120 cm from June to August, a bold partner for pure white peony flowers. Filipendula 'Venusta' rises to 180 to 240 cm behind with pink plumes over the same months. Oenothera fruticosa adds yellow cups at 30 to 60 cm from June to August. All three suit full sun or part sun.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun to part sun, in rich, well-drained soil. Set the eyes on the crown no more than 5 cm (2 in) below the soil surface. Planting too deep is the classic reason a peony won't bloom. Water well through the first season. The flowers are heavy, so give it a peony ring in early spring before the stems get tall. Deadhead after bloom. Cut the stems to the ground in fall and clear the leaves away to keep leaf diseases down. Leave it in place. It can grow happily in the same spot for decades.

History: 'Festiva Maxima' was introduced in France in 1851 by the nurseryman Miellez. By the early 1900s it was described as the most popular white peony for cut flowers, and it's still one of the most widely grown peonies in the world.

Final Thoughts: Long-lived, deer resistant and fragrant. Plant it now and your grandkids will still be cutting it. A FAMILY HEIRLOOM YOU CAN SMELL.