The peony is a beloved flower of early to mid-spring. It is valued for its mammoth size, varying form and sumptuous colors of diverse blooms. If some simple principles are followed, common problems with peonies can be avoided.

The garden peony falls into three broad categories. The most common is the herbaceous peony, itself a plant in myriad incarnations after a century or more of breeding. The foliage dies to the ground each fall, reemerging early next spring. The so-called tree peony is a medium-size woody shrub that drops its leaves each fall but keeps its stems through the winter. A relatively new type, called the Itoh, or intersectional peony, displays the best attributes of the tree peony — beautiful, natural flowers on an elegant plant — but blooms later and for much longer, and it’s quicker to reach blooming age. Its stems are woodier than the herbaceous peony and don’t need staking.