Peony Chestine Gowdy - Peony Bulbs

About Chestine Gowdy Peony Bulbs

Paeonia lactiflora ‘Chestine Gowdy’
Breeder: O.F. & A.M. Brand | Introduced: 1913 | Type: Herbaceous Peony | Hardiness: Zones 3–8

🩷🤍 Blush pink, creamy white and touched with raspberry—Chestine Gowdy looks like an entire peony bouquet packed into a single flower.

Chestine Gowdy is a remarkable American heirloom peony with enormous, beautifully layered flowers that change dramatically as they open.

Soft rose-pink outer petals surround a creamy-white collar, while deeper raspberry-red edging and blush-pink petals create a spectacular three-toned effect. As the flower matures, the center expands and lightens, giving each bloom an extravagant, almost confection-like appearance.

And then there's the fragrance.

Sweet, rich and wonderfully peony.

🌸 Flower & Garden Details

Flower Color: Blush to light rose pink, creamy white and raspberry-red accents
Flower Form: Large, fully double with a distinctive high crown
Fragrance: Excellent—sweet and highly fragrant
Bloom Season: Late peony season
Foliage: Deep green
Habit: Tall, vigorous and floriferous
Size: Approximately 36–42 inches tall × 30–36 inches wide
Stems: Strong and well suited for cutting
Light: Full sun to light afternoon shade
Hardiness: USDA Zones 3–8
Cut Flower: Exceptional
Best Uses: Cutting gardens, cottage gardens, perennial borders, wedding gardens and heirloom collections

🩷 An American Heirloom from 1913

Chestine Gowdy was introduced in 1913 by O.F. and A.M. Brand of Minnesota, one of the important names in early American peony breeding.

Even among thousands of peonies, its flower form is remarkably distinctive.

When the bloom first begins opening, it has a shorter, almost conical appearance. Then the center continues expanding upward and outward until the mature flower develops an unusually high, elaborate crown.

Early peony experts described mature flowers as sometimes becoming taller than they are wide.

More than 110 years later, it's still easy to see why this flower caught their attention.

💛 Why Grace Rose Farm Loves It

Chestine Gowdy looks like someone designed a peony specifically for arranging.

You get soft blush pink.

Creamy white.

Touches of raspberry.

And all of it wrapped into one wonderfully fragrant flower.

We especially love pairing it with Charlie’s White. Charlie's gives you that enormous creamy-white foundation, while Chestine Gowdy introduces blush, cream and berry tones.

And because Chestine Gowdy is a late-blooming peony, it also helps extend the cutting season.

Plant enough of them and there's really only one sensible response when they bloom:

Find a vase. Preferably a very big one.

🌿 Planting & Care

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

Position the root with its eyes approximately 1–2 inches below the finished soil surface. Peonies planted too deeply may produce vigorous foliage but few flowers.

Space plants approximately 3 feet apart to provide room for the clump to mature and good air circulation.

Water thoroughly after planting and keep newly planted roots consistently moist—but never waterlogged—while they establish.

Peonies may take a season or two to settle into the garden. Once established, however, they can live and flower in the same spot for decades.