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Red Charm Peony is a stunning hybrid that crosses the elegance of Paeonia lactiflora with the robust heritage of Paeonia officinalis, yielding fragrant scarlet-red double blooms that reach a full 9 inches across. This perennial powerhouse thrives in zones 3 through 8, growing into a compact 24 to 36-inch bush that rewards patient gardeners with early to mid-spring flowers year after year. An APS Gold Medal winner from 1956, Red Charm earned its reputation through dependable performance and show-stopping color that pollinators find irresistible.
Full Sun
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3-8
36in H x ?in W
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High
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The 9-inch scarlet-red double blooms arrive reliably each spring with a fragrance that fills the garden, and this hybrid's deer and rabbit resistance means you don't have to wage war against wildlife to enjoy it. Red Charm thrives in large containers or garden beds, giving you flexibility in how you display its dramatic flowers. Its 1956 APS Gold Medal recognition speaks to decades of proven garden performance across a wide hardiness range.
Red Charm Peony is grown primarily for its spectacular spring flowers, which serve as stunning focal points in perennial borders and cutting gardens. The large, fragrant blooms are prized for fresh arrangements, and the plant's compact bush form makes it equally at home in traditional garden beds or substantial containers on patios and entryways.
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Red Charm Peony is sold as a bulb (technically a tuber or rhizome division) and should be planted in fall for spring blooming. Plant at a depth where the eyes or buds are just 1 to 2 inches below the soil surface; planting too deep delays flowering. Set plants 24 inches apart in well-draining soil enriched with organic matter. Firm the soil gently around each plant and water thoroughly after planting.
Cut back Red Charm Peony foliage to ground level in late fall or early spring, after the plant has died back naturally. Remove any stems showing signs of disease as soon as you spot them. During the growing season, deadheading spent blooms encourages the plant to focus energy on root development rather than seed production, though mature established peonies require little active pruning.
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“Red Charm represents the work of peony breeders who recognized the potential of crossing two foundational peony species: Paeonia lactiflora, valued for its large, complex blooms and garden persistence, and Paeonia officinalis, the ancient European peony steeped in centuries of cultivation. This hybrid emerged with enough horticultural merit to earn the American Peony Society's Gold Medal in 1956, a distinction that placed it firmly into the canon of recommended garden peonies and helped establish its presence in nurseries across North America. The variety's recognition at that time cemented its value for mid-century gardeners seeking reliable, showy perennials.”