Cultivating a real passion for peonies.

Byline: By Peter Surridge

By pure chance, I came across a dazzling private collection of peonies in an obscure corner of New Zealand. Most had been bred on the spot by a local couple and never seen outside their garden. I was on a horticultural tour of the country, heard reports about the peony-breeders, and spent one of the most impressive mornings of my visit.

Their collection ranged from huge-flowered herbaceous plants to tall tree peonies smothered in bloom and I returned with a delightful selection of photographs. Peachy (pictured) is one of the loveliest, with delicate peach-pink petals, a huge boss of golden stamens and crimson stigmas. I have yet to see it on sale in Britain.

In Britain, too, peonies are one of the most striking border flowers in spring and early summer. There are many species and varieties in tints of red, pink, white and yellow, and they are reliably hardy.

The common or May-flowering peony, Paeonia officinalis, grows wild in parts of Europe and was once used by herbalists - the red-flowered kind for men's complaints and the purple for women's. This medical use is reflected in the plant's name, said to commemorate Paeon, physician of the Greek gods and discoverer of the plant's curative properties. Officinalis indicates it has a herbal use.

The most popular border peonies are clump-forming perennials, some bred from that species but most from another species originating in Asia, Paeonia lactiflora. The showy flowers are saucer or bowl-shaped, 17cm (7in) or more across, in some cases frilled with many petals. Some are scented and many are good for cutting.

For garden purposes the plants are divided into four major groups based on the flower types - single, semi-double, double and anemone-form.

Among the best are: single, Crimson Globe, a fine bowl-shaped type; semi-double, Krinkled White; doubles, creamy-white Kelway's Glorious and pale pink Ballerina; anemone-form, Avant Garde, in similar colours to Peachy.

Peony roots should be planted in autumn, in a sunny south or west-facing position, ideally in rich earth but in any reasonable ground that does not become waterlogged. Feed them regularly if on light or sandy soil and, in any case, give a general fertiliser in spring. In autumn, cut down the stems.

The plants do not react well to transplanting, so allow them a year or two to settle and start flowering. Divide roots in autumn every five or six years to produce vigorous new plants. Although they look bright and strong when growing well, peonies can be susceptible to viruses, pests such as the grubs of the swift moth, and peony wilt that can destroy new shoots.

National collections of peonies are based as far apart as Somerset and Fife: a wide range at Kelway's Nurseries at Langport - [phone] - and 40-plus species held by Mr and Mrs R Mitchell at Elie- [phone].