Herbaceous vs. Tree vs. Itoh Peonies: Which Is Best?

Herbaceous vs. Tree vs. Itoh Peonies: Which Type Is Best?

Herbaceous, tree, and Itoh peonies all belong to the genus Paeonia, and all can produce extraordinary flowers. But in the garden, they behave very differently.

• Herbaceous peonies die completely to the ground each winter and return from the crown in spring.
• Tree peonies are deciduous woody shrubs that retain a permanent framework of stems.
• Itoh peonies, often called intersectional peonies in everyday gardening, combine traits from woody and herbaceous peonies but usually behave more like herbaceous perennials in winter.

Those differences affect far more than appearance. They influence mature size, flower form, bloom season, planting depth, pruning, staking, price, longevity, and the role each peony plays in a garden.

Herbaceous vs. Tree vs. Itoh Peonies at a Glance

These are group-level tendencies, not rigid rules. Individual cultivars can differ substantially in height, fragrance, flower size, stem strength, bloom time, and mature spread. Gardenia’s Peony Comparison Tool is more useful when you are comparing specific cultivars rather than broad peony types.

What Is a Herbaceous Peony?

Paeonia lactiflora ‘Sarah Bernhardt’

Herbaceous peonies are the classic garden peonies most people recognize immediately. This broad group includes many familiar Paeonia lactiflora cultivars as well as interspecific herbaceous hybrids.

The defining feature is that the stems are not permanent. New shoots emerge from the crown every spring, grow rapidly, flower, carry foliage through summer, and die completely after frost.

That annual renewal makes herbaceous peonies natural companions for other perennials. In winter, the space above the crown is empty. In spring, reddish shoots emerge and quickly form a dense mound of foliage.

Many familiar cultivars mature around 2-4 ft. (60-120 cm) tall and wide, although species, hybrids, and compact selections may be smaller or larger.

Why Gardeners Choose Herbaceous Peonies

• The widest cultivar selection: singles, Japanese forms, anemones, semi-doubles, bombs, and huge doubles are all widely available.
• Excellent fragrance: many of the most strongly scented garden peonies are lactiflora cultivars.
• Superb cut flowers: long stems and classic flower forms make many herbaceous peonies excellent for bouquets.
• A broad bloom season: herbaceous hybrids and lactiflora cultivars collectively span the season from Very Early to Very Late.
• Good value: common herbaceous cultivars are usually easier to find and less expensive than tree or Itoh peonies.

Gardeners interested in fragrance can explore Gardenia’s Fragrant Peonies, while those concerned about flopping should see Peonies That Do Not Require Staking.

What Is a Tree Peony?

The name is misleading. A tree peony is not a tree in the ordinary sense. It is a deciduous woody shrub.

Unlike herbaceous peonies, its stems remain alive above ground through winter. The leaves fall, but the woody framework persists and produces new growth the following spring.

This gives tree peonies a very different role in the landscape. Rather than disappearing after frost, they remain as a permanent shrub structure. Mature plants are commonly 3-7 ft. (90-210 cm) tall and wide, but older specimens and certain cultivars can become larger.

Tree peonies are especially admired for enormous flowers, unusual colors, and dramatic basal flares. Their palette includes white, pink, crimson, lavender, purple, yellow, apricot, and smoky blended shades that are uncommon among traditional lactiflora peonies.

Tree Peonies Tend to Flower Early – But Not Always First

Tree peonies generally bloom before the main traditional Paeonia lactiflora season. That does not mean every tree peony flowers before every herbaceous peony.

Some species peonies and herbaceous hybrids are exceptionally early, and the flowering periods overlap. Cultivar-level timing is therefore more useful than a simplistic sequence of tree peonies first, herbaceous peonies second, and Itohs last.

Gardeners trying to extend the display should use Gardenia’s guide to extending the peony blooming season and compare actual bloom periods.

What Is an Itoh Peony?

Paeonia ‘Bartzella’

Itoh peonies combine characteristics from herbaceous and woody peonies.

The name honors Japanese breeder Toichi Itoh, whose pioneering crosses helped establish this now-famous group. Their ancestry gives them features that gardeners often associate with tree peonies – strong stems, bold foliage, large flowers, basal flares, and unusual colors – while their seasonal behavior is much closer to an herbaceous perennial.

In everyday horticulture, the terms Itoh peony and intersectional peony are often used interchangeably. More precisely, intersectional is the broader term for hybrids between different sections of Paeonia, while Itoh refers to the familiar group derived from crosses involving herbaceous and woody peony ancestry.

Most Itoh peonies form broad, rounded mounds with sturdy stems. Mature plants are commonly 2-4 ft. tall and may spread 3-5 ft. wide, so their width deserves as much attention as their height when planning a border.

The foliage is another major strength. Itoh leaves are often dense and handsome long after flowering ends, giving the plant a substantial presence through summer.

Why Itoh Peonies Can Seem to Bloom Longer

Many Itoh cultivars carry numerous flowers and side buds that open in succession. A mature plant may therefore remain visually effective for longer than a cultivar that produces one concentrated flush.

That does not mean every Itoh automatically has a longer bloom season. Duration still depends on cultivar, weather, side-bud production, and the number of flowering stems.

Gardenia profiles such as ‘Bartzella’, ‘First Arrival’, and ‘Garden Treasure’ show why cultivar-level comparison matters even within the Itoh group.

Flower Size: Which Type Produces the Biggest Blooms?

If maximum individual flower size is the priority, tree peonies generally have the advantage. Their blooms can be exceptionally large, sometimes approaching dinner-plate proportions.

Itoh peonies are also impressive, commonly producing flowers around 6-8 in. (15-20 cm) across, with some cultivars larger.

Herbaceous peonies vary much more widely. Some classic doubles are enormous, while species and compact hybrids may produce much smaller flowers.

Flower size should not be judged in isolation. A very large flower on a weak stem may collapse after rain, while a slightly smaller bloom on a strong plant can remain far more effective in the garden.

Flower Color: Where Each Peony Type Excels

No single group wins across every color. Each has particular strengths.

• Herbaceous peonies: exceptional choice in white, blush, shell pink, rose, crimson, dark red, coral, and cream, with an increasing range of yellows.
• Tree peonies: especially rich in purples, lavenders, smoky reds, yellows, apricots, and flowers with dark basal flares.
• Itoh peonies: particularly strong in yellow, gold, peach, coral, cream, pink, and multicolor effects.

Some Itoh flowers also change color as they age, so a mature plant can display several shades at once as fresh and older blooms overlap.

Stem Strength and Staking

This is one of the most practical distinctions between the three groups.

• Herbaceous peonies: Stem strength varies enormously. Some hybrids and single-flowered cultivars stand beautifully unaided, while tall lactiflora cultivars with large double flowers may bow or collapse after heavy rain.
• Tree peonies: Usually self-supporting once established because their flowers are carried on a permanent woody framework.
• Itoh peonies: Generally excellent for stem strength, with broad, sturdy plants that rarely require routine staking.

Gardenia’s Peonies That Do Not Require Staking compares this trait at cultivar level.

Planting Depth: The Difference That Matters Most

Herbaceous, tree, and Itoh peonies should not all be planted the same way.

Herbaceous Peonies

In most climates, position the uppermost eyes roughly 1-2 in. (2.5-5 cm) below the finished soil surface. Planting substantially deeper is one of the classic reasons an otherwise healthy herbaceous peony produces foliage but few flowers.

Tree Peonies

Many tree peonies are sold as grafted plants. These are planted much deeper than herbaceous peonies so the woody scion can eventually form its own roots.

The graft union is commonly positioned several inches below soil level, often around 4-6 in. (10-15 cm), although exact recommendations vary with plant form and supplier.

Own-root tree peonies are treated differently, so identify whether the plant is grafted before planting.

Itoh Peonies

Itoh peonies are generally planted with the crown and upper buds relatively shallow, but exact depth depends on the form of the division and the position of the buds.

Follow the grower’s instructions for the specific plant rather than treating an Itoh exactly like either a conventional herbaceous division or a grafted tree peony.

For detailed planting instructions, see Gardenia’s Peony: How to Grow and Care with Success.

Pruning and Winter Cleanup

The peony’s winter structure tells you how to prune it.

• Herbaceous peonies: allow foliage to decline naturally, then cut stems to ground level after dormancy.
• Tree peonies: retain the permanent woody framework. Remove dead, diseased, damaged, weak, or badly placed wood as needed.
• Itoh peonies: cut dormant top growth back close to the crown, much like an herbaceous peony.

One of the most serious mistakes gardeners can make is treating a tree peony like an herbaceous peony and cutting all living woody stems to the ground.

Longevity: All Three Are Long-Term Plants

Peonies are not short-lived perennials.

• Herbaceous peonies are famous for persisting around old homes, farms, cemeteries, and abandoned gardens for decades. A well-sited plant can remain productive for generations.
• Tree peonies can become equally enduring shrubs when climate and site suit them.
• Itoh peonies have a much shorter modern cultivation history, so there are fewer century-old specimens from which to judge maximum lifespan. Established plants are nevertheless long-lived and can remain productive for decades.

Why Tree and Itoh Peonies Usually Cost More

Herbaceous peonies are generally the least expensive because they are widely propagated, commercially established, and available in enormous numbers.

Tree peonies often cost more because propagation is slower, and many are produced by grafting, which requires additional labor and production time.

Itoh peonies were historically extremely expensive because the original crosses were difficult to produce and plants were scarce. Modern propagation has made them much more accessible, but desirable Itoh cultivars are still usually priced above common herbaceous peonies.

Exact dollar figures are not especially useful because price varies by cultivar rarity, root size, plant age, container size, nursery, and availability. Relative price is more meaningful:

• Herbaceous: usually lowest cost
• Tree: moderate to premium
• Itoh: commonly premium

Best Peonies for Small Gardens

Compact herbaceous cultivars are often the easiest fit where space is limited, but moderate-sized Itohs can also work beautifully.

Tree peonies need more forethought because a mature plant can become a substantial woody shrub. Itoh peonies are relatively low but can spread broadly, so their width should not be underestimated.

For a small garden, choose by actual cultivar dimensions rather than by peony type alone. Gardenia’s Plant Finder and Peony Comparison Tool allow you to compare mature height and spread.

Best Peonies for Cut Flowers

Herbaceous peonies remain the traditional favorite for cutting.

Many cultivars combine long stems, abundant buds, fragrance, and classic flower forms prized for bouquets and wedding arrangements. They can also be harvested in soft-bud stage and stored for later opening.

Itoh peonies can also be cut, but their shorter, broader, stockier architecture often makes them especially valuable in the landscape.

Tree peony flowers can be spectacular in arrangements, but cutting long stems removes part of the permanent woody framework, so gardeners usually harvest them more selectively.

Best Peonies for Landscape Structure

Tree peonies and Itohs have the advantage when foliage and plant architecture matter almost as much as flowers.

• Tree peonies: Best when you want a true shrub that anchors a border or provides permanent woody structure.
• Itoh peonies: Excellent for dense, rounded foliage that remains attractive well after flowering.
• Herbaceous peonies: Ideal in perennial borders, but the entire plant disappears during winter dormancy.

Which Peony Type Best Matches Your Priorities?

There is no universally superior type. The useful question is what role you want the plant to perform.

Can Herbaceous, Tree, and Itoh Peonies Grow Together?

Yes – and mixed collections can be especially rewarding.

Combining the three groups creates differences in height, foliage, flower shape, architecture, and seasonal timing. Tree peonies may begin early, herbaceous hybrids and lactiflora cultivars provide much of the classic spring display, and Itohs can overlap with the middle and later portions of the herbaceous season.

The result can be more interesting than a garden planted with only one peony type.

If extending the season is the goal, use Gardenia’s peony succession-planning guide and Gardenia’s Peony Bloom Calendar rather than assuming type alone predicts flowering order.

Three Peony Mistakes to Avoid

• Do not plant every peony at the same depth. Grafted tree peonies require much deeper planting than herbaceous peonies.
• Do not prune every peony the same way. Herbaceous and Itoh growth is cut back after dormancy; living tree-peony stems are retained.
• Do not assume peony type determines exact bloom time. Cultivar genetics matter enormously, and the groups overlap.

These three mistakes explain many problems that occur when gardeners buy a peony by flower color or cultivar name without first identifying whether it is herbaceous, woody, or Itoh.

Frequently Asked Questions

References and Further Reading

• American Peony Society – Peony terminology, including herbaceous and intersectional peonies
• American Peony Society – Herbaceous Peonies
• American Peony Society – Woody Peonies
• American Peony Society – Woody Peony Culture and planting guidance
• Iowa State University Extension and Outreach – Peony Types and Cultivars
• Missouri Botanical Garden – Itoh Peony characteristics and growth habit

Updated: August 2026 • Reviewed by Gardenia Editors