Paeonia 'Top Brass'

Paeonia 'Top Brass': Ivory and Yellow, Layered Like a Parfait

Ivory on the outside, canary yellow in the middle and a little pink pompom on top. 'Top Brass' wears three layers like it's on its way to a board meeting. THE PROMOTION HAS ALREADY BEEN APPROVED.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Paeonia lactiflora 'Top Brass'
• Common Name: Garden Peony
• Height: 80 cm (31 in)
• Spread: 90 cm (3 ft)
• Flowers: Bomb-type double; ivory guard petals, a canary-yellow middle layer and a blush-pink centre tuft
• Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer (May to June)
• Foliage: Mid to dark green, on a sturdy clump
• Features: Long-lived, good cut flower

Where to Plant: Plant it where people can see the layers up close: near a path, a patio or the front of a sunny border. It's also worth a spot in a cut-flower bed, since stems cut at the soft-bud stage open indoors. It's long-lived, so give it a permanent home.

Companion Plants: Give this peony a tall backdrop with Filipendula 'Venusta', whose pink plumes rise 180 to 240 cm from June to August. In the middle, Tradescantia 'Concord Grape' offers purple flowers from June to September. Campanula 'Blue Magic'® creeps along the front with blue bells over the same long season. It's a full-height combination for sun to part sun that suits a deep border.

Plant Care: Choose full sun and rich, well-drained soil. Plant the eyes no deeper than 5 cm (2 in) below the surface. Water through the first season while roots establish. Bomb flowers are full and can bend after rain. A peony ring placed early in spring keeps them looking their best. Cut the foliage down in fall and remove it. Let the clump settle for years without moving it. Divide in September if you need to.

History: 'Top Brass' was raised by Carl G. Klehm of Illinois, first bloomed in 1951 and was registered with the American Peony Society in 1968. The Klehm family nursery introduced many of the American peonies still grown today.

Final Thoughts: Sturdy, long-lived and ignored by deer. Basically the only senior executive who never calls in sick. GIVE IT THE CORNER OFFICE.