Peony Hybridizers: Kruglov Galina and Ivan

Galina and Ivan Kruglov

Country:

Russia

Short biography:

We are Galina and Ivan Kruglov, a family of collectors and breeders who have been growing peonies for over 25 years. I am Galina, and I manage all correspondence, social media, and the website. We are 69 and 70 years old. We came to peonies from other professions: I graduated from Moscow University with a degree in physics and hold a PhD, and Ivan is an agronomist and teacher.

More information:

https://peonyflora.ru
https://vk.com/id651743934

Peony hybridizers series

How did you first get involved in peony hybridizing?

My first experience hybridizing peonies was before 2010. I read materials on peony hybridization from the APS and the International Peony Hybridizers Newsletter. Besides peonies, we have collections of other floral crops. Since 2006, we have been hybridizing phlox (phlox paniculata), and now have over 100 original varieties.

What was your starting material for your hybridizing?

The source material for hybridization was our large collection of peonies, which at that time included about 1,000 varieties of foreign and domestic selections.

What are your goals in hybridizing peonies?

Our goal is to create new, beautiful varieties of herbaceous peonies of the lactiflora group and interspecific hybrids with high and excellent decorative qualities, good health, and resistance to adverse weather conditions, for landscapes and cut flowers.

Do you mostly depend on open pollination or do you mostly make controlled crosses? 

How large is your hybridizing program?

Our hybridization program isn’t very extensive: we conduct several dozen crosses each year and observe open pollination of some interesting varieties. We have many seedlings, but we haven’t counted them. We grow the seedlings until they flower; after selection, we grow about 400 seedlings.

Do you have any plants in the market?

We sell plants ourselves, only on the domestic market in Russia.

Can you describe a few of your plants that you consider the best or most beautiful and which are available now?

Волшебный Сон (Magical Dream) (Kruglov, 2026)

Magic Dream (Kruglov, 2026). Intraspecific hybrid of p. lactiflora. Double, bomb-shaped, creamy-pink, lightening toward the end of flowering. Height 75 cm, flower diameter 14-15 cm. Medium flowering time.

Жемчужинка (Zhemchuzhinka) (Kruglov, 2025)

Zhemchuzhinka (Kruglov, 2025). Intraspecific hybrid of p. lactiflora. Double anemone-like, creamy pink with a pink dusting effect. It becomes lighter toward the end of flowering. The bush is 60 cm tall, the flowers are 11-12 cm. The stems are strong. The flowering period is mid-late.

Забава (Zabava) (Kruglov, 2026)

Zabava (Kruglov, 2026). An interspecific hybrid. Simple in form, bicolor, with densely textured petaloids and wavy edges, the color is salmon pink. A wide ring of lower stamens in the center is abundant in pollen. Flower diameter is 16-17 cm, bush height 70-80 cm. Early flowering.

Фокстрот (Foxtrot) (Kruglov, 2026)

Foxtrot (Kruglov, 2026). Intraspecific hybrid of p. lactiflora. Double, anemone-like, bicolor. The outer petals are wide, smooth, dark pink (rose, dark rose), while the inner petals are the same tone – narrow and twisted, separated from the outer petals by a band of short, salmon-colored petals. Flower size is 14-15 cm, bush height 90 cm. Stems are strong. Bloom time is early to mid-season.

Within your current seedlings, what are the most promising ones?

Other promising seedlings by Ivan and Galina Kruglov, as yet unnamed:

Are you in contact or working together with other peony hybridizers? 

Yes, we are in contact with many leading breeders in Russia, and we would like to communicate with others as well.

Do you have unregistered plants that are not good enough to introduce but have something ‘special’?

Yes, we have a small number of fertile seedlings with outstanding individual traits that have not undergone variety testing but are being used in further hybridization.

Would you like to exchange such ‘hybridizers plants’ with other hybridizers? 

We are not against such an exchange, we grow several such plants.

Name a few peony varieties from other hybridizers which you especially like?

I really like Roger F. Anderson’s peonies – ‘Roger’s Red’ (Anderson / Swenson Gardens, 2019), ‘Melissa’ (Anderson, 2010)

Final question. Any remarks or suggestions you may have…

We deeply respect and appreciate your extensive work on this project to popularize peony culture. We wish you continued success!

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