An all-time favorite, award-winner Peony 'Sarah Bernhardt' (Paeonia lactiflora) is outrageously beautiful in bloom! The very large, 8 in. wide (20 cm), and delightfully fragrant, rose-pink double flowers, with delicately ruffled inner petals occasionally flecked with raspberry will take your breath away every spring.

Understanding the Context

The Sarah Bernhardt peony has a dramatic flower meaning behind its striking moniker. It was named in honor of a popular French actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The variety was created by Victor Lemoine in 1906 and named in celebration of his favorite performer. Grow the Peony Plant Sarah Bernhardt with confidence.

Key Insights

Expert tips on planting, care, and blooms for lush, fragrant spring flowers. Good companion plants for Sarah Bernhardt Double Peony include: Hydrangea (Hydrangea); Mock Orange (Philadelphus); Phlox (Phlox); Coneflower (Echinacea); Bellflower (Campanula). For fluffy pink blooms in herbaceous perennial form, the ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ peony is perfect. This fragrant variety grows to a short shrub each year, and when late spring rolls around, it blooms with multilayered flowers that are unforgettable to anyone who sees them. 'Sarah Bernhardt' is aherbaceous (soft stemmed) peony cultivar.

Final Thoughts

It is a shrubby plant that, each year, will typically grow to 3' tall by mid-spring, bloom, display attractive foliage throughout the summer and early fall, and then die to the ground after frost. Peony season is fleeting but that didn’t deter fashion designer Katerina Shukshina from crafting a top made from the blooms. Through a collaboration with the gifting marketplace Flowwow, she — ... Join the American Peony Society Today! Captivated by Peonies? Join our family of passionate enthusiasts, including, botanical gardens, public gardens, gardeners, collectors, hybridizers, educators, scientists, floral designers and commercial growers.