Peony health benefits and therapeutic value

Medicinal peonies (Paeonia officinalis) are more than just beautiful spring flowers, they also boast many properties that help care for health and live better.

Their petals are edible both raw and cooked, and flowers as a whole can be eaten steamed. Essential oil is also derived from the plant. Let’s see what benefits these all share to soothe our ailments.

• Gardening: growing peonies for them to thrive

Health benefits of peony

Historically, peonies have been used for their antispasmodic properties, to treat epilepsy and prevent seizures. Today, peony extracts are used both in medicine and in cosmetics.

• Peonies are particularly beneficial to skin and their antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties are interesting to fight tissue aging and sooth skin rashes.
• Peony roots have antispasmodic, analgesic and sedative properties. The roots soothe digestive tract and gastric pain, help fall asleep and extend sleeping cycles.
• Peonies are recommended in cases of irritability and restlessness.
• Peony flowers are used to prepare a soothing syrup that is effective against coughing.

Growing peony to benefit from their medicinal properties

There are over forty varieties of peonies, but only medicinal peonies demonstrate therapeutic health benefits.

• This is an easy plant to grow, that does best in part sun or light sun, rich, cool and well-drained soil.
• Remember to stake peonies because the weight of the bloom can break their stems. Freely add compost at the foot of the plant at the beginning of fall: this will help it flower more in spring.
• Peonies do quite well in pots more than 16 inches (40 cm) across.
• Take note that peonies are quite the stick-in-the-mud: if a plant blooms where it is, don’t try to move it around. Moving it to a new place will disturb it to the point that it won’t recover from the shock.

Gardening: growing peony