Peony meaning: prosperity, romance and a happy marriage
What the peony symbolises in China, Japan and the West, what each colour means, and when to give one.
The peony means prosperity, honour, romance and a happy marriage. In China it is the "king of flowers" and a symbol of wealth and good fortune; in the Western flower language it stands for bashfulness and, more recently, for a long and happy union, which is why it is the flower of the twelfth wedding anniversary and a favourite at weddings. Its brief, lavish bloom in late spring also makes it a symbol of fleeting beauty.
Origins: China, Japan and Europe
Peonies have been cultivated in China for well over a thousand years, first as a medicinal root and then, from the Tang dynasty onward, as the flower of the imperial court. The tree peony (mudan) appears in poetry, painting and porcelain as a stand-in for rank, riches and feminine beauty, and the city of Luoyang still holds a peony festival each spring. The flower reached Japan around the eighth century, where it took on connotations of bravery and good fortune and became a common tattoo motif alongside lions and dragons.
Europe knew a native species, and the name comes from Paeon, physician of the gods in Greek myth, who was said to have been turned into the flower to save him from a jealous teacher. Medieval herbals valued peony root as a remedy, and the great garden varieties we grow today were bred in France in the nineteenth century, which is why so many bear French names.
Colours and their shades of meaning
- Pink is the romantic peony: love, marriage, good luck in a relationship.
- White suggests modesty and is traditionally the "bashful" peony; it is also used to say sorry.
- Red carries the Chinese meaning most strongly: wealth, honour, respect.
- Coral and yellow are modern hybrids and read as cheerful and celebratory.
The Victorian "bashfulness" meaning comes from a story in which nymphs hid in peony petals, and from the flower's habit of hiding its centre in a mass of petals.
When to give peonies
Weddings and the twelfth anniversary are the classic occasions. Peonies also suit a housewarming (prosperity for the new home), a promotion, or any occasion where you want something grander than roses but still soft. Because the season is short (roughly late April to June in the northern hemisphere), a bunch of peonies is a treat rather than a default, and people know it. Buy them in tight bud and they will open over several days; a sugar cube in the water is an old florist's trick that does no harm.
Common questions
Are peonies lucky? In Chinese tradition, strongly so, especially for wealth and marriage. Is it bad luck to have them in the house? No; the one caution in old European folklore is against digging up a peony, which was said to anger the plant and bring misfortune, a story probably invented to protect slow-growing roots. Peony versus rose? Roses speak of love; peonies speak of a good life together.
Sources: histories of Chinese and Japanese garden culture, Victorian flower-language dictionaries, Greek mythological references, and horticultural histories of peony breeding.