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The History of Peony Cultivation: A florist Guide
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Origins in the Wild
Peonies belong to the genus Paeonia, the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae. Fossil records and genetic studies indicate that the genus is ancient, originating roughly 20–25 million years ago in regions spanning Central Asia, western China, and the Mediterranean Basin.
Today, botanists recognize about 30 to 40 species of wild peonies, divided broadly into herbaceous and tree (woody) types. Herbaceous peonies die back to the ground each winter, while tree peonies (classified under Paeonia suffruticosa) form woody shrubs that persist for decades.
Wild peonies were first valued not for beauty but for their medicinal properties. Roots and seeds were used by early peoples in Asia Minor, Greece, and China as remedies for epilepsy, childbirth pains, and inflammation. The name Paeonia itself derives from Paeon, the mythical physician of the Greek gods who used the plant to heal wounds—a reflection of its ancient medicinal prestige.
Peonies in the Ancient Mediterranean
Greece and Rome
By the 5th century BCE, the peony was well known in Greece. Theophrastus, often called the “Father of Botany,” described two species—one used for its seeds, another for its roots. He advised that the root be dug up only at night, lest the woodpecker attack the digger in revenge—a vivid remnant of the plant’s mythical associations.
In Classical Rome, peonies became staples of the physician’s pharmacopeia. Pliny the Elder described their uses for treating liver complaints, snakebites, and nightmares. Roman gardeners also began cultivating the plant ornamentally in villa gardens, marking one of the earliest transitions from medicine to aesthetics.
By the early Middle Ages, the peony had spread throughout monastic gardens across Europe, valued as both a curative and a protective charm. The seeds were sometimes strung as amulets to ward off evil spirits or convulsions in children.
Peonies in Ancient China
If the Mediterranean gave the peony its mythic name, China gave it its soul. The Chinese began cultivating peonies thousands of years ago—records date to at least the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE).
Initially prized for medicinal purposes, the root of Paeonia lactiflora (known as 白芍 baishao or 赤芍 chishao) was used in traditional Chinese medicine to “nourish the blood” and ease pain. Over centuries, Chinese horticulturalists discovered and selected ornamental variants, eventually giving rise to the flowering peony culture that would shape East Asian aesthetics for millennia.
Tang Dynasty: The “National Flower”
The Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE) marks the golden age of the peony in China. Under Emperor Xuanzong and Empress Wu Zetian, Luoyang became the imperial center of peony cultivation. Thousands of varieties were bred in palace and temple gardens, where poets, painters, and courtiers celebrated their splendor.
The peony earned the title “King of Flowers” (花王) and became a symbol of wealth, honor, and feminine beauty. Poets like Bai Juyi and Liu Yuxi immortalized it in verse, and painters of the Tang and Song dynasties developed entire genres devoted to its image.
Song and Ming Dynasties: Horticultural Sophistication
By the Song Dynasty (960–1279), horticultural treatises described over a hundred cultivars, classified by color, petal form, and bloom time. Peonies became a lucrative industry; merchants traded prized varieties like “Yao’s Yellow” and “Wei’s Purple.”
During the Ming and Qing periods, tree peonies (Paeonia suffruticosa) reached new refinement. Hybridization between wild species produced large, silken blossoms in every hue from snow white to deep crimson and even pale lavender.
Luoyang and Heze (then Caozhou) emerged as centers of cultivation. Imperial gardens in Beijing and Suzhou showcased the rarest forms, often guarded as state treasures.
The Spread of Peonies Beyond Asia
Japan and Korea
Chinese Buddhist monks carried peonies to Japan and Korea around the 8th century CE. In Japan, they became associated with good fortune and bravery, frequently appearing in samurai art and woodblock prints (ukiyo-e). Japanese horticulturalists later developed unique cultivars such as Paeonia lactiflora ‘Shimane Fuji’ and refined planting techniques emphasizing form and balance.
In Korea, the peony symbolized wealth and honor, often appearing on royal robes, embroidery, and palace screens. The flower became a metaphor for virtuous beauty—a motif that still appears in traditional weddings and art.
Arrival in Europe
Peonies likely reached Europe in several waves. Herbaceous peonies (P. officinalis, P. peregrina) were already known in southern Europe since classical times, but ornamental hybrids from China arrived only in the 18th and 19th centuries, via Jesuit missionaries and plant collectors.
By the late 1700s, French horticulturalists such as Étienne Soulange-Bodin began cultivating P. lactiflora from China, giving rise to the modern European peony. The resulting hybrids, known as “French hybrids,” displayed larger and more fragrant blooms than native European species.
The peony quickly became a favorite in Victorian gardens, symbolizing romance, prosperity, and bashful affection in the “language of flowers.”
Peonies in the Modern Era
Western Breeding and Expansion
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, peony cultivation flourished in Europe and North America. Breeders such as Victor Lemoine (France), Edward Auten and Allan Rogers (United States), and Sass Brothers (Nebraska) developed hundreds of new cultivars with refined form, fragrance, and durability.
Hybridization between P. lactiflora, P. officinalis, and P. peregrina produced the first intermediate hybrids—plants combining the vigor of wild species with the elegance of cultivated forms.
In the 1940s, the development of intersectional hybrids—crosses between herbaceous peonies (P. lactiflora) and tree peonies (P. suffruticosa)—revolutionized the field. The most famous of these, the Itoh hybrids (named for Japanese breeder Toichi Itoh), yield robust plants with massive flowers and extended blooming seasons.
Cultural Symbolism
In China, the peony continues to hold an unparalleled position as a national emblem of prosperity, love, and beauty. The city of Luoyang hosts the annual Peony Festival, attracting millions of visitors.
In the West, the flower has come to symbolize elegance and nostalgia, featuring in Impressionist paintings and modern wedding arrangements alike. The peony’s brief but glorious bloom has made it a universal metaphor for transient beauty and the cyclical renewal of life.
Scientific and Commercial Advances
Today, peony breeding integrates genetic sequencing, tissue culture, and micropropagation to ensure virus-free stock and stable colors. Countries such as China, Japan, France, the Netherlands, and the United States remain global leaders in peony research and production.
Tree peonies are increasingly cultivated as landscape ornamentals, while herbaceous varieties dominate the cut flower market, with demand surging each spring. Sustainable cultivation practices now emphasize soil health, organic pest management, and biodiversity preservation in traditional growing regions.
Conservation and Biodiversity
Despite their horticultural abundance, wild peony species face threats from habitat loss, overharvesting, and climate change. Conservationists have identified endangered species in the Caucasus, Central Asia, and western China.
Botanic gardens and research institutions now maintain ex-situ gene banks and seed archives. Programs like the Chinese “Peony Germplasm Conservation Project” and international collaborations aim to preserve the genetic diversity that underpins centuries of cultivation.
The Peony’s Enduring Legacy
The peony’s story is one of enduring transformation: from a wild medicinal herb of the steppes to a botanical masterpiece cultivated across continents. It has been healer, muse, commodity, and cultural symbol.
In Chinese poetry, it embodies royal grace; in European gardens, romantic perfection; in modern science, the triumph of human ingenuity over time.
Its petals—soft, layered, and fleeting—carry millennia of history within them. To plant a peony is to partake in a lineage stretching back to emperors, monks, physicians, and poets.
As long as spring returns each year, the peony will continue to bloom—radiant, impermanent, and eternal in memory.