The Best Peonies for Pollinators
Why Single and Semi-Double Peonies Are the Best Choice for Pollinators
If you're looking to make your garden more welcoming to bees and other beneficial insects, consider planting single and semi-double peonies. While every peony brings beauty to the landscape, these flower forms offer an important advantage—they provide easy access to pollen.
Single peonies have one row of petals surrounding a center packed with bright yellow stamens, while semi-double varieties have a few extra rows of petals without covering the pollen-producing center. This open structure allows bees, butterflies, hoverflies, and other pollinators to easily land, gather pollen, and move from flower to flower.
In contrast, many fully double peonies have been bred with so many petals that the stamens are hidden or replaced by petals altogether. These lush blooms are spectacular in the garden and in bouquets, but they offer far less food for pollinators.
Peonies are among the first large perennial flowers to bloom in late spring and early summer, providing an important source of pollen when many pollinator populations are actively growing. Including single and semi-double varieties in your garden helps bridge the gap between spring bulbs and the peak of summer flowering plants.
The good news is you don't have to choose between beauty and supporting wildlife. Single and semi-double peonies come in a wide range of colors, sizes, and bloom times, allowing you to create a stunning display while giving pollinators a valuable food source.
As a bonus, the flowers of most single and semi-double peony varieties aren’t nearly as heavy as the double ones, meaning they are much less likely to flop. In general, single and semi-double peonies do not need any support in the garden.
By planting even a few pollinator-friendly peonies, you'll enjoy not only gorgeous blooms each spring but also the welcome sight and sound of a garden buzzing with life.
Peony Nice Gal won the Award of Landscape Merit and justly so as this compact plant always puts on a mass of blooms just above the strong 32” tall stems all throughout the bloom season. The petal edges become frosted as the flower ages adding to its dramatic display in your garden.
Peony Nice Gal produces large double blooms in clear rose pink with a gentle fragrance. The flowers are beautifully formed and very showy in the garden.
A dependable variety that performs well for both cutting and landscape planting.
Plants grow 32–34" tall with vigorous growth. No staking required!
Bloom date rating is week 5.
Registered: Krekler, 1965
Zone: 3-8, Full Sun
3–5 eye roots are shipped or available for pickup in fall.