Coral Charm Peonies

The coral charm peony is one of the most fascinating late spring flowers.  Over the course of just a few days, it transforms itself from an intense coral bud to a bright watermelon pink bloom then turns a soft apricot tone and finishes as a faded cream color.  The blooms are large and lacy with many layers of petals and are stunning in arrangements.

Coral Charm peonies are herbaceous perennials and prefer full sun.  They grow about 24" tall and 2-3 ft wide when mature.  Peony plants often take a year or two to get established and usually produce few or no blooms the first year.  In four or five years the plant will be fully mature and have many blooms if it receives enough sun and proper care.

Peonies form a lovely complement with ranunculus and snapdragons as they are all flowers that thrive in late spring.  The round shape and large scale of the peony blooms overshadow the smaller ranunculus and the stalky snapdragons when arranged, but the three flowers together provide visual interest.

Observing the changing beauty of these flowers inspired me to create this acrylic painting on canvas, titled "Coral Charm".  Additional information can be found here.