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Key characteristics

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

Perennials

Paeonia lactiflora 'Joker'

Joker Peony

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.

Light

Full sun to partial shade

Water

Moderate

Bloom time

Mid- to late spring

Find this plant

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.