Chinese Peony Tree Views
Peonies come in many different sizes and habits as well. The tiny, fern-leaf peony with its fine, delicate foliage is small and less than a foot and a half tall. Other shrubby varieties like tree peonies are considerably taller. Many, especially the large Chinese types with their oversized blooms, require staking. Japanese type peonies with lighter flowers often have a more upright habit and are not as likely to need support.
A tree peony is a flower that grows on a shrub type bush. The Japanese tree peonies were brought to Japan in the early sixteen hundreds. Japan renamed a lot of these trees and also changed the way that some of them grow including but not limited to a different aesthetic design and fragrance differences. The trees have a few differences and many similarities due to their close relation. Some Japanese Peonies actually are exactly the same as Chinese peonies but with Japanese names.
Peonies are a plant that once considered exotic has made itself known on many continents. The Chinese Tree Peony was transplanted to Japan where changes were made to it for aesthetic purposes. The main differences being the loss of fragrance and that the tree blooms with one or two flower stems instead of three or four. No matter where they are located peonies tend to be a picky plant that likes full sun, the right fertilizer and no transplanting. If you waver from this the tree will not produce blooms for you the following season. So Japanese Tree Peonies versus Chinese Tree Peonies, the only thing that separates them is a few scientific changes.
Originally cultivated for medicinal use, tree peonies eventually gained popularity as ornamentals in the gardens of Chinese emperors. Although the first tree peony was brought to Japan for medicinal use in the 700s, they were not introduced as ornamental cultivars until the 14th century. Today, tree peonies are used outside China primarily for looks. Wild peonies in China are threatened by loss of habitat and by root collection for continued medicinal use.