Bloom Time

Exploring & Choosing Peonies
By Bloom Time

Peonies flower once a year during the peony bloom which occurs in NW Missouri from late April through early June. In other locations peonies may flower ahead of our bloom season or flower much later somewhere else. The time of blooming depends on both the geographic location as well as the genetic programing of each variety. Some peonies bloom earlier when compared to other cultivars grown in the same geographic location. The bloom season starts with the Very Early Season sorts in the south (USDA Zone 7) This includes states such as Northern Texas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. There, the early blooming varieties may start in March. The last domestically grown peonies finish flowering in USDA Zone 2 such as parts of Alaska by late August to early September.  

7 Weeks Of Peony Bloom

Very Early SeasonBloom Week 1
Early SeasonBloom Week 2
Early MidseasonBloom Week 3
MidseasonBloom Week 4
Late MidseasonBloom Week 5
Late SeasonBloom Week 6
Very Late SeasonBloom Week 7
The above table lists the sequence of time measuring the blooming season from the earliest flowering varieties to cultivars flowering last. This time frame is a sequence of 7 distinct groups each containing many varieties.

Bloom Period

Here in NW Missouri (USDA Zone 5b) peonies bloom from late April to early June, which equates to roughly 7 weeks. The sequence of flowering is graded into 7 distinct periods: very early season, early season, early midseason, midseason, late midseason, late season, and very late season. The calculation starts with the opening of the first flower of the season.

Bloom Week

It is calculated from the midpoint, week 4, which is defined by the bloom time of ‘Red Charm’. Each cultivar is assessed by how much earlier or later it blooms compare to ‘Red Charm’. The resulting scale is virtually identical to that of the Bloom Period model. The earliest week is 1, while peonies of week 7 are the last to flower. Bloom week notations with more than one number indicate a long bloom time which sometimes reaches across several bloom weeks.

For more information please click the hyperlink (underlined and highlighted in red color) or
simply click the image of the variety you are interested in.

Very Early Season

‘Early Scout’

Early Season

‘Angela Jo’

Early Midseason

‘Raspberry Sundae’

Midseason

‘Gordon E. Simonson’

Late Midseason

‘Petticoat Parade’

Late Season

‘Sonoma YeDo’

Very Late Season

Sarah Bernhardt’