Comparative analysis of the volatile components of six herbaceous peony cultivars under ground-planted and vase-inserted conditions

•A total of 26 volatile components were detected, divided into eight types.•Citronellyl acetate and phenylethyl alcohol were characteristic aroma components.•All eight volatile component types were detected in G-‘YLH,’ covered all types.•The ground-planted had more types of aroma compounds than the vase-inserted. In this paper, we explore the release of volatile components in different flowering stages between ground-planted and vase-inserted herbaceous peony. A dynamic headspace sampling technique combined with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was used to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze the volatile components of ground-planted and vase-inserted flowers of Paeonia lactiflora ‘Yulinhong,’ Paeonia lactiflora ‘Yingmohong,’ Paeonia lactiflora ‘Zhaocaixia,’ Paeonia lactiflora ‘Taohua Feixue,’ Paeonia lactiflora ‘Fenchi Jinyu,’ and Paeonia lactiflora ‘Lanju.’ A total of 26 volatile components were detected in the four flowering stages of the herbaceous peony of the following eight types: alcohols; esters; aldehydes; ethers; hydrocarbons; phenols; ketones; terpenes. Among these, citronellyl acetate and phenylethyl alcohol were observed to have the highest content and were determined as characteristic aroma components of the six cultivars. All eight volatile component types were detected in G-‘YLH,’ covered all types; G-‘LJ’ contained five types, second only to G-‘YLH,’ G-‘THFX’ and V-‘THFX’ contained three and four types, respectively, and only two types were observed for V-‘YMH’ and V-‘FCJY.’ Comparisons of the volatile composition at different periods under ground-planted and vase-inserted conditions revealed G-‘YLH’ to exhibit the highest number of volatile components for both conditions, with seven and five types detected, respectively, followed by G-‘YMH,’ G-‘ZCX,’ G-‘FCJY,’ and G-‘LJ.’ This work provides a theoretical basis for further molecular biology research on new herbaceous peony scent cultivars and the development and application of herbaceous peony floral products.