Northwest Blooms · Perennials
Paeonia lactiflora 'Joker'
Joker Peony
- Height
- 30–36 inches tall
- Width
- 30–36 inches wide
- Flower color
- Opens rich, deep pink and matures to white with pink picotee edges
- Foliage color
- Glossy deep to medium green
- Bloom time
- Mid- to late spring
- Light
- Full sun to partial shade
- Water
- Moderate
- Maintenance
- Low, deadhead spent blooms, cut foliage to ground after frost, mulch before first winter; strong sturdy stems so usually no staking needed
- Growing zone
- USDA zones 3–8
- Wildlife
- Highly attractive to bees, butterflies, and other pollinators; deer-resistant
About this plant
Paeonia lactiflora 'Joker' unfolds its fully-double blooms in a dynamic display of color that begins with rich pink tones and transitions to creamy white centers edged with delicate pink picotee. It blooms from early to mid-spring and the lightly fragrant petals are arranged in a perfectly rounded form that enhances their appeal both in the garden and in floral arrangements.
'Joker' earned the American Peony Society's Gold Medal in 2021 for its garden performance. The cultivar features strong production, typically presenting one well-formed bloom per stem on a compact, tidy plant habit. Its reliable rebloom pattern and deer-resistant foliage make it a practical yet ornamental addition to landscape beds or cut-flower gardens.
Works well in
Borders · Cottage Gardens · Pollinator Gardens · Cut Flower Gardens
Companion plants
Astilbes · Foxgloves · Bergenias · Sedums · Columbines · Lungworts
Design tip
Spring bloom is its headline moment, and it reads best in a group rather than as a single plant. Because it is easy about light, use it to carry a planting from a sunny end of the bed into the shadier side.
Where to see it
This plant can be seen at Peonies at Glencoe Farms.
