peonies changing color

by sherry bryant
(madison in)

My mom has had a peony for several years and it has always been pink. This year my mom's peony is white. Does she need to amend her soil in some way or was it from the severe ice storm they had last winter? Thanks

Doug says that some peonies will develop different shades of color depending on the amount of sunlight they receive. So deeper reds in more sunlight isn't uncommon.

Some peonies will throw a different coloured bloom (usually only one or two blooms per plant) every now and then. Usually in the same color range - a red peony might produce a more pinkish bloom.

The official answer is that mature peonies do not change color. Sometimes a seedling grows and it might appear to change color.

Frankly, I'm not happy with this answer and am interested in reversion questions.

Bottom line - for your purposes, it's not in the soil. Feed the plant compost in the fall or early spring and make sure it gets watered once a week during the growing season. It will be fine.