Paeonia 'Catharina Fontijn'

Paeonia 'Catharina Fontijn': Pink to White, With Perfume the Whole Way

'Catharina Fontijn' has a spicy fragrance strong enough to stop a dinner party mid-sentence. Fully double, soft pink blooms that slowly fade to blush and off-white. SOMEBODY OPEN A WINDOW. ACTUALLY, DON'T.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Paeonia lactiflora 'Catharina Fontijn'
• Common Name: Garden Peony
• Height: 90 cm (35 in)
• Spread: 90 cm (35 in)
• Flowers: Fully double and saucer-shaped, soft pink fading to blush and off-white, strongly and spicily fragrant
• Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer (May to June)
• Foliage: Deep green and lobed on erect stems
• Features: Strong fragrance, changing flower colour, good cut flower

Where to Plant: Put it where you'll walk past it often, near a door, along a path or beside a bench, so you catch the strong fragrance. Its soft colours blend into pastel borders and calm down bold ones. It's also a good choice for the cutting garden.

Companion Plants: Anemone 'Dainty Swan' carries white flowers at 46 to 61 cm from June to September, carrying on after the soft pink peony. Hemerocallis 'Always Afternoon' adds purple daylilies at 50 to 55 cm from June to August. Sedum 'Blue Spruce' edges the bed at 10 to 25 cm with yellow flowers over the same months. Plant them in full sun.

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. With flowers this full, a peony ring set in place in early spring keeps them out of the mud after rain. 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: 'Catharina Fontijn' dates to 1952 and is credited to van der Valk and van der Zwet. It's a strongly scented double that opens old pink and fades to blush and then off-white.

Final Thoughts: Cut a few for the dining room and skip the scented candles. Deer won't touch it. NOSE, MEET YOUR NEW FAVOURITE.