Peony Duchesse de Nemours - Peony Bulbs

About Duchesse de Nemours Peony Bulbs

Paeonia lactiflora ‘Duchesse de Nemours’
Breeder: Calot | Introduced: 1856 | Origin: France | Type: Herbaceous Double Peony | Hardiness: Zones 3–8

🤍 Creamy white, beautifully fragrant and wonderfully French—Duchesse de Nemours has been one of the world's beloved white peonies for nearly 170 years.

Duchesse de Nemours produces elegant double white flowers with a softly glowing cream, pale yellow and occasionally green-tinted center.

The flowers begin in a beautifully cupped, almost globe-like form before gradually opening to reveal layer upon layer of creamy petals.

And then there's the fragrance.

Sweet, fresh and unmistakably peony.

This is an heirloom that earns its place in both the garden and the cutting bucket.

🌸 Flower & Garden Details

Flower Color: Creamy white with a soft canary-yellow to pale-green glow at the center
Flower Form: Double, rounded and cupped
Fragrance: Strong and beautifully fragrant
Bloom Season: Early peony season
Foliage: Lush green
Habit: Upright, vigorous and floriferous
Size: Approximately 30–36 inches tall and wide
Stems: Strong and excellent for cutting
Light: Full sun to light afternoon shade
Hardiness: USDA Zones 3–8
Cut Flower: Exceptional
Best Uses: Cutting gardens, wedding gardens, cottage gardens, perennial borders and mass plantings

🇫🇷 A French Classic from 1856

Duchesse de Nemours was introduced in 1856 by French peony breeder Jacques Calot.

Nearly 170 years later, it remains an important white peony in gardens and the cut-flower trade.

That's longevity.

Its appeal comes from the combination of beautiful flower form, fragrance, strong stems and extraordinary productivity.

The flowers aren't simply white, either. Look closely and you'll see a soft wash of pale canary yellow and green tucked into the center of the bloom.

That subtle coloring gives Duchesse de Nemours the creamy, dimensional appearance that makes it so beautiful in arrangements.

✂️ Made for the Cutting Garden

Duchesse de Nemours has a long history as a commercial cut-flower peony.

And it's easy to understand why.

The plant flowers generously, carries its blooms on strong stems, and the creamy-white color works with practically anything you can grow alongside it.

Imagine it with blush roses.

Lavender sweet peas.

Blue delphinium.

Or simply an enormous vase filled with nothing but white peonies.

Sometimes you really don't need anything else.

💛 Why Grace Rose Farm Loves It

If we were building a classic white cutting garden, Duchesse de Nemours would absolutely be in it.

Charlie’s White gives us those enormous billowy white blooms.

Duchesse de Nemours brings something slightly different: old-world French elegance, creamy coloring and beautiful fragrance.

We also love that it's an earlier bloomer.

Plant several peony varieties with different bloom times and you can stretch what feels like an impossibly short peony season into weeks of flowers for cutting.

And this one has been doing exactly that since 1856.

Some flowers become heirlooms for a reason.

🌿 Planting & Care

Plant peony roots in full sun and fertile, well-drained soil. In warmer climates, a little protection from intense afternoon sun can help flowers last longer.

Pay special attention to planting depth. Position the root so the eyes are only about 1–2 inches below the finished soil surface. Planting peonies too deeply can dramatically reduce flowering.

Space plants approximately 3 feet apart and water thoroughly after planting. Keep newly planted roots consistently moist while they establish, but avoid soggy soil.

Peonies can take a little patience during their first seasons.

Give them time.

Once established, Duchesse de Nemours can become one of those garden plants that flowers in the same spot for decades.