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, deciduous plants with woody stems which 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 1-2 weeks before those of the herbaceous peonies. ‘Luoyang Hong’ is a tree peony, named after the Chinese city of Luoyang in Henan province, where peonies have been cultivated for over a millennium. Its magenta flowers are semi-double, measuring 8-10” across. Tree peonies often need to settle in one to two years before producing flowers and, once established, grow to a mature size of 5 feet in 5-8 years. Plant in sun to part shade with the eyes no more than 2” below the soil surface and protect from strong winds and afternoon sun. Deer resistant.