Choosing a variety
Notice the difference between open and double flowers. Jan van Leeuwen has white flowers with a yellow centre; Sarah Bernhardt produces double pink flowers. Images for the new varieties are clearly labelled species illustrations and do not prove variety colour or flower form.
Do not plant too deeply
Choose a sunny spot with fertile, well-drained soil and enough permanent space. Do not plant too deeply: the red growth buds of a herbaceous peony should sit just below the surface. Watch a new plant during dry spells and support heavy flowers before the stems flop.
Follow the plant through the season
A herbaceous peony remains a perennial after flowering has finished. Let the foliage keep working after flowering. The stems die back in autumn and the plant emerges again the following spring. The app uses your observations; a calendar date does not prove flowering.
Cut flowers and keep the plant
Peony is treated here as an ornamental and cut flower. Cut only a few stems for the vase from a well-established plant, leaving plenty of healthy foliage. A new planting may not flower abundantly yet; assess the actual buds and flowers rather than the calendar alone.
Remove spent flowers if you do not want seeds to form. Leave healthy foliage until it dies back in autumn, then cut the dead stems back low. This applies to herbaceous peonies; do not give tree peonies the same pruning treatment.
