Peony 'Blue Lagoon'

I purchased this peony as a bare root 3-pack from WalMart in the late spring of 2008. The photo was obviously altered to look more blue,...Read More but I was curious and the closeout price was too good to pass up.

The flowers of course aren't blue. LOL If they were they would have been worth a fortune. They do start out as a nice medium pink with a very slight lavender tinge if the weather is cooler. The color fades to a light pink as the blooms age. The flowers are semi-double. The foliage is an attractive dark burgundy red as it emerges in the early spring. The leaves mature to a medium green.

The growth habit is strong and fairly upright. It is a vigorous grower, which tends to make me suspect it may originally have been surplus rootstock put in a fancy package.

IMO it's a basic, middle of the road peony.

I had good luck with this Peony in fertile aerated/well draining soil.

Mulch heavily but make sure the crown is at soil le...Read Morevel and not covered. Will not grow, remains stunted in heavy clay soils.

Do not allow to dry out to the point of wilting or the leaves will brown at the edges and it will look terrible! Here in the zone 6-7 area it needs some very light shade or a partly sunny location or the leaves will burn.

The instructions that came with this plant state that it “should be top dressed with a balanced fertilizer when new growth begins to green. Fertilize again when in bud to promote large blooms.”

This is a double flowering Peony, the flowers are pretty heavy and it will need a cage or Peony Loop for support or the flowers will dip down to the ground.

The instructions that came with this plant state that at the end of season “After the Peony has gone dormant, prune back stems to 3 or 4 inches long. Cover crown with mulch and remove again when new growth appears the following spring. Mulch heavily to avoid freezing during the winter months.”

Ants love this plant (well, they love all Peony!) so don't put this near the house. Ants are necessary to Peony, they open the blooms and pollinate the flowers so don’t spray to kill them.