The development of the herbaceous Peony as a new ornamental crop began in Israel 15 years ago from the introduction of a few Peony varieties popular in Europe. It was shown that, under local climatic conditions, some Peony flower in March-May, and can be exported to Europe as cut flowers. However, for successful commercial production Peony has to be subjected to low temperatures during the winter and to moderate-warm temperatures in summer. To support the rapidly developing branch of Peony cut flower production, several scientific projects have been initiated in Israel in the last few years. The overall aim of these projects is to advance the flowering time of peony and to prolong the marketing period of these cut flowers from Israel.