Peony, the state flower of Indiana

How to recognize it

Garden peonies are long-lived perennials that grow into bushy clumps of glossy, dark green leaves. Their flowers are large and fragrant, in white, blush, pink and red, and newer varieties add coral and yellow. The flower forms range from singles, with five or more petals around a cluster of golden stamens, to full doubles, packed with so many petals that the heavy blooms often need staking. After flowering, the foliage stays attractive until it dies back in early fall.

Peonies are famously long-lived. A single plant can keep blooming in the same spot for more than 50 years.

A flower from Asia

Garden peonies are not native to Indiana. They come from Asia, where they have been grown in China, Siberia and Japan for more than 2,500 years, and they reached Europe and the United States around 1800. The most common garden kind is Paeonia lactiflora and its hybrids. Because the Indiana law names only the genus, Paeonia, any peony is the state flower.

Where to see them

Peonies are planted in gardens all over Indiana. The best time to see them is late May and early June, and cemeteries are a good place to look: peonies have long been a favorite for decorating graves at Memorial Day.

Growing peonies in Indiana

Purdue Extension advises planting bare-root divisions in October, with the buds no more than two inches below the soil surface. Planting too deep is one of the most common reasons peonies fail to bloom. Ants are often seen crawling on peony buds; they are attracted to nectar on the buds and do no harm, but the flowers do not need them to open.

From zinnia to peony

Indiana’s first state flower, adopted in 1931, was the zinnia, an annual garden flower native to Mexico. In 1957 the General Assembly replaced it with the peony. The law, now IC 1-2-7-1, did not specify any particular variety or color, leaving all peonies to share the honor.