'BLACK WHIRLWIND' 黑旋风 Tree Peony (Paeonia x suffruticosa 'hei xuan feng/black whirlwind')

'Black Whirlwind' has a very large, bluish-scarlet, single to half-double flower with a black flare. Petals extend more or less horizontally and have a light pleating, basal blotches of purplish-black, and are somewhat lobed. The center is a beautifully dense cluster of golden-yellow anthers topping visually significant red filaments, and pink and creamy-yellow stigma. The shrub has an upright growth habit with many woody branches. Suckers freely to form a dense shrub if allowed. Flowers are lightly fragrant. Stems are strong enough to resist wind and to hold flowers well above the leaves. Height to 3 feet. (Chen Dezhong/Cheng Fangyun, China, 1994).

USDA Zones 4-8 would be very successful zones for this peony. It can tolerate somewhat warmer areas than most other peonies. Where they are grown in Shandong, China is similar to the American interior mid-Atlantic and mid-western regions with cold, dry winters and hot, humid summers. Typical winter low temps are in the teens Fahrenheit with dips into single digits and with summer temps often exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit. It will likely thrive in higher growing zones if attention is paid to afternoon shade and deep mulching to keep the ground cool and moist.

Bare roots are available for shipping in late-fall and winter only. Tree peonies are sold by the branch number and not by the 'eye' as herbaceous and intersectional peonies. Typically, you will find single-branched tree peonies for sale. We pass these 'whips' over and opt for much larger and more mature 3-5 branched stock that you can expect to bloom the first or second year after planting. We were able to find 'Borrowing Arrows From a Straw Boat' grown out for extra years and at an exceptionally large size! It's more pricey, but also that much further ahead for your garden! Tree peonies are also excellent choices for container grown specimens on your patios and decks. 

Zones 4-8

Grafted bare root trees with 3 or more 18"-28" branches.

We do not ship potted peonies.