Paeonia 'Border Charm'

Paeonia 'Border Charm': Red-Flared Yellow on a Wide, Low Mound

'Border Charm' is low, spreading and yellow, with dusky red flares at the base like it's blushing at its own good looks. It keeps its leaves handsome until hard frost, too. SMOOTH TALKER, LOW PROFILE.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Paeonia (Itoh Group) 'Border Charm'
• Common Name: Intersectional Peony, Itoh Peony
• Height: 45–60 cm (18–24 in)
• Spread: 75–90 cm (30–35 in)
• Flowers: Single to semi-single, yellow with paler edges and dusky red flares at the base
• Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer (May to June)
• Foliage: Large, dark green and deeply cut, lasting until hard frost
• Features: Low, spreading habit, long-lasting foliage

Where to Plant: This is a front-of-border peony. Its stiff stems arch outward, so it works along a path, at the top of a low wall or spilling over rocks, much like a small flowering shrub. Give it elbow room, because it gets wider than it is tall.

Companion Plants: Iris 'Superstition' opens deep purple flowers at 90 cm in June and July, a rich contrast to soft yellow peony blooms. Salvia 'Rose Marvel' adds rose spikes at 30 to 35 cm from June to September. Helictotrichon 'Sapphire' brings a fine, grassy mound at 60 to 100 cm that flowers from June to August. Plant this trio in full sun.

Plant Care: Plant it in a sunny spot with fertile, well-drained soil. Set the crown so the eyes sit about 2.5–5 cm (1–2 in) below the surface. Water regularly the first season, then only during long dry spells. Fertile soil keeps it at its most vigorous. Itoh peonies have semi-woody stems, and next year's buds can form low on them. In late fall, cut the stems back but leave a few centimetres above the soil, and clear away the old leaves. Division is rarely needed. If you do it, wait several years and cut the crown in early fall with a sharp knife or spade.

History: Itoh peonies are named for Japanese nurseryman Toichi Itoh, who first crossed tree peonies with herbaceous peonies in the 1940s. 'Border Charm' was bred by Don Hollingsworth of Kansas City, Missouri, and registered in 1984.

Final Thoughts: Plant it along the front edge where the charm can work on everybody walking by. Deer resist it. Pollinators don't. FLIRTING IS FREE.