Hatsugarasu Tree Peony — 5 Year Old Plant

Hatsugarasu — “first crow of the year” — carries very dark maroon-purple semi-double blooms with a bright ring of gold stamens at the centre. The colour reads almost black in low light, which is the whole point of it.

A five-year-old grafted plant, not a young start — established root, multiple stems, and old enough to flower without waiting several seasons first.

Tree peonies want dappled or morning sun, free-draining soil and shelter from hard afternoon heat. Plant with the graft union two to three inches below the soil surface so the plant can build its own roots. They resent being moved, so choose the position carefully — a settled tree peony can outlive the person who planted it.