Tree peonies aren't really trees. They are woody shrubs that in spring display some of the most beautiful flowers ever grown in a garden. This is Kinkaku, which I planted in August of 2007. It gave me two blooms this year, each one about 7" in diameter. They lasted only a few days, but for the rest of the summer the herbaceous peony's foliage will quietly adorn a sunny spot on the south side of my house, impervious to pretty much all pests and disease--like any other tree, even though it isn't a tree.