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Scarlet Peony

Paeonia peregrina

Also called Balkan Peony

Scarlet Peony (Paeonia peregrina) is a Balkan herbaceous perennial with deeply divided leaves and single, glossy red spring flowers. It is hardy and tolerant of dry, rocky soil, provided it has a cold winter dormancy and some shelter from hot afternoon sun.

Family: Paeoniaceae (Peony family)
Grows as: Perennial
Light: Part shade, Full sun
Water: Water well during establishment and spring growth, then allow the soil to dry slightly between waterings; avoid waterlogging.
Soil: Well-drained, moderately rich loam or gritty garden soil; tolerates lime-rich, rocky ground.
Temperature: Hardy to about -25 °C; needs winter chill to flower well.
How easy: Easy
Safety: Toxic: All parts, especially roots and seeds, contain paeoniflorin and related compounds that can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea if eaten.
Native range: C. Italy to Moldova and Türkiye
Climate: temperate

About

Paeonia peregrina is a species of flowering plant in the peony family Paeoniaceae, native to Southeastern Europe and Turkey. It is an erect, herbaceous perennial with 9-lobed, deeply divided leaves. Single, glossy red flowers, 10–13 cm (4–5 in) in diameter, with prominent yellow stamens, are borne in spring (May in the Northern Hemisphere).

Where it grows

Paeonia peregrina is a Balkan species native to south-eastern Europe, distributed from Italy, Albania, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania to Turkey (Anatolia) and Moldova.

Other Paeonia plants

Anomalous Peony · California peony · Paeonia cambessedesii · Paeonia corsica · Paeonia daurica subsp. mlokosewitschii · Tree Peony · Dian mu dan · Himalayan Peony · Chinese peony · Paeonia ludlowii · Peony · Chinese Peony

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Paeonia peregrina by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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