Paeonia x lactiflora Françoise Ortegat

The Françoise Ortegat Peony lactiflora is a particularly floriferous Chinese Peony (herbaceous Peony), with richly coloured flowers from violet-red to deep pink with Bordeaux highlights, and a pleasant fragrance. It is a very old variety, robust and early flowering, producing a large number of semi-double to double flowers, with ruffled petals surrounding a centre filled with golden yellow stamens. Easy to grow in all regions, Chinese Peonies thrive in loose and rather moist soil, in full sun. Robust and loyal, they may take some time to establish, but they grow year after year and can live for more than 50 years. Surviving trends in taste and the whims of the weather, peony flowers are vibrant, elegant and attractive, enhanced by a gentle and light fragrance.  

Chinese herbaceous peonies mainly come from Paeonia lactiflora, a perennial herbaceous plant native to central and eastern Asia (from eastern Tibet to northern China, and east to Siberia), where it naturally grows in woods and meadows. This plant belongs to the Ranunculaceae or Paeoniaceae family. Herbaceous Peonies are bare-root perennials, clump-forming, with foliage that completely disappears in winter.

The Françoise Ortegat Chinese Peony was obtained by Mr. Parmentier in 1850. The plant forms a herbaceous clump from spring onwards, moderately dense, reaching 90 cm (35in) in all directions. Its large flowers, more or less double, 13 to 15 cm (5 to 6in) in diameter, appear in May-June depending on the climate, lasting for about three weeks. They appear at the end of the stems, but also from a few secondary buds. They start as a large burgundy red bud and then open into a pompom of dark violet-red to deep pink petals, ruffled, surrounding a centre filled with golden yellow stamens. The edges of the petals become silvery or white as the flower ages. The growth of this variety is good and it has remarkable longevity. The young foliage, purple and shiny, unfolds into large dark green, finely cut leaves. They are carried by a petiole that divides into 3, with lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate segments. The leaflets are entire or sometimes lobed. The vegetation disappears in winter, while the buds that will develop in spring persist at ground level. This long-lived perennial plant grows from a large fleshy root that does not appreciate being moved.

Chinese Peonies are among those plants that form the basis of a garden. The Françoise Ortegat peony thrives in borders or alongside pathways, combined with timeless and unpretentious perennials such as Irises, Columbines, bellflowers, perennial geraniums, carnations or Christmas roses. It can also be grown in the vegetable garden to supply cut flowers for the house. Pot cultivation is not recommended, as its needs will not be met. Over time peonies becomes majestic and bloom ever more abundantly, producing up to 60 flowers. By combining different varieties with staggered flowering, it is possible to have blooms for 6 weeks from spring to early summer.