‘Charles Burgess is an herbaceous peony with Japanese-style blooms. Its wide dark burgundy petals surround a ring of stamens edged in light gold. Although delicate in appearance, Japanese peonies have extremely strong stems, keeping them erect during wind and rainstorms. Peony bloom times are classified as early, mid, and late; ‘Charles Burgess’ is a midseason bloomer. It grows to 30 inches tall, taking on a shrubby appearance throughout the summer, then dies to the ground in the fall. Plant in sun to part shade with the eyes no more than 2 inches below the soil surface. It is deer resistant.

Peonies are popular garden plants, known for their stunning flowers, their cold hardiness and the huge variety of their colors, forms, and habits. They are divided into two main groups: herbaceous, which die to the ground in the fall; and tree peonies, which are deciduous plants with woody stems that they retain throughout the winter. A third category—the Itoh or intersectional peonies—display the extravagant blooms of tree peonies on herbaceous stems. All peonies bloom between April and June. Flowers on tree peonies appear one to two weeks before those on herbaceous peonies.