Paeonia lactiflora Solange

The Solange Peony is an ancient variety of herbaceous peony that is as charming in the garden as it is dazzling in a vase. The flowers of this herbaceous peony are gently eccentric and beautiful like roses. They are double, and their colour is as soft as it is unusual, with a cream-white hue curiously washed with fawn and suffused with pink in the centre, and they are firmly held above dark green foliage on sturdy stems. It blooms late but becomes more spectacular over the years, particularly in June.

Chinese herbaceous peonies are mainly derived from Paeonia lactiflora, a perennial herbaceous plant native to Central and Eastern Asia (from eastern Tibet and northern China to eastern Siberia), where it naturally grows in woods and meadows. This plant belongs to the Ranunculaceae or Paeoniaceae family.

The Solange variety was obtained in 1907 by Lemoine. It forms a compact, bushy herbaceous clump from spring onwards, not exceeding 75 cm (30in) in height. Its beautiful flowers, 15 to 16 cm (6in) in diameter, very double, bloom for about three weeks in June. They emerge as a large ivory bud washed with pinkish-fawn, then open into a large, skillfully disordered pompom. The cream-white petals, barely shaded with fawn, are densely distributed and tinged with very pale pink at the base. The fragrance of this variety is very light. The young, purple and shiny foliage unfolds into large, dark green leaves that are deeply lobed. They are carried on a petiole that divides into 3, with lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate segments. The leaflets are entire or sometimes lobed. They disappear in winter, while the buds that will develop in spring persist at ground level. This very perennial plant grows from a large fleshy root that does not appreciate being moved.

Peonies are among those plants that form the backbone of a garden. In the past every garden, from the humblest to the most elaborate, proudly displayed clumps covered in peony flowers that made their way into the house, keeping company in bouquets with mauve lilacs and blue campanulas. Gentle and luminous, the Chinese peony Solange can be planted in flowerbeds or alongside pathways, associated with timeless perennials such as columbines, bellflowers, foxgloves, carnations, or Christmas roses. It can also be grown in the vegetable garden to supply cut flowers for the house. Only pot cultivation is not recommended, as its needs will not be met. Over time, the peony becomes majestic and blooms more abundantly, producing up to 60 flowers.