A Master Gardener's Journal

by Eleanor Tickner, Delaware County Master Gardener

Let me break it to you gently, readers. There’s been a great deal of hybridizing done on my favorite flower, the peony, beyond the late May and early June blooming family heirloom varieties that our grandmothers grew.

One notable improvement is the landscape worthy plants which have shorter and/or stronger stems that require no mechanical support. Another improvement is the hybrid varieties known for their earlier blooming times as well as their intense and delicious colors.

Coral Sunset is a great example of a colorful modern hybrid. The newest peony introductions are the intersectional hybrids, which are a cross between tree peonies and herbaceous peonies. But let me start at the beginning.

European settlers brought ornamental herbaceous peonies to North America in the late 1700s. While these were grown in many pioneer gardens, the popularity of peonies really exploded in Europe with the lactiflora hybrids during the 1830s. American nurseries began offering new varieties of their own by the 1850s, and by the turn of the century, the US had become the major peony producer in the world.

A.P. Saunders of Clinton, NY is considered by some to be the father of the modern hybrid peony. Four examples of his hybridizing efforts that are still available commercially today are Chalice, Legion of Honor, Cythera, and White Innocence. Don Hollingsworth of Maryville, Missouri has registered almost fifty varieties with the American Peony Society, including Garden Treasure, Lorelei and Command Performance.

The Klehm family of Wisconsin has registered numerous varieties, including Raspberry Sundae, Brother Chuck and Sweet 16. Among the many American hybridizers, Sam Wissing, William Krekler, A.M. Brand, Lyman Glasscock, Edward Auten, Orville Fay and David Reath are notable for their contributions. Learn more about these men and their hybridizing efforts in Allan Rogers’ book, Peonies.

Intersectional peonies (I-hybrids) were first hybridized by Toichi Itoh in Japan by crossing a tree peony with an herbaceous peony. After 20,000 crosses he succeeded in producing a yellow herbaceous peony--the holy grail of the early peony I-hybridizers. Intersectional peonies have strong stems, a full rounded shrub-like habit and do not require staking. The flowers tend toward semi-double and many are fragrant. They are more difficult to propagate than are herbaceous peonies, hence the relatively high price. Look for I-hybrids by Roger Anderson (Bartzella), Bill Seidl (Viking Full Moon), Don Hollingsworth (Garden Treasure), Chris Laning (Old Rose Dandy) and Don Smith (Singing in the Rain).

And how do you determine which varieties to plant in your garden? Visit local gardens, like Scott Arboretum and Winterthur. Join the Mid-Atlantic Peony Society. The APS Gold Medal winner’s list is also a good place to look as well as magazine articles. Fine Gardening and Organic Gardening magazines had peony articles recently.http://midatlanticpeony.org/

An easy way to determine which vendors to buy from and what varieties are commercially available today is to go to the American Peony Society (APS) website. Click “links”, then “commercial members”. Look at their online catalogues.

With encouragement, your interest can easily expand to include 1500 peony plants consisting of about 250 varieties. Come to A Peony Garden in Gradyville, PA and see for yourself the variety available in the flower often referred to as the Queen of the Garden.

Eleanor is the owner of A Peony Garden.

Do you have a gardening question? In Delaware County, call our Master Gardeners hortline at 610-690-2671 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 AM-12 NOON.

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