Archive for category: Hybridizing

P. officinalis Rubra Plena. Species: P. officinalis. History: Origin very ancient, doubtful. DESCRIPTION IN BRIEF: Bomb, amarante red, very early, good. DESCRIPTION IN DETAIL: Bomb type, the typical old double red of our grandmothers’ gardens. They usually have carpels which are woolly, but well concealed, foliaceous bracts directly under the flower, no stamens or anthers. Color amarante red 4(168), even throughout. Size medium to large. Odor neutral to unpleasant. Foliage glabrous above, pilose beneath, margins entire and green — typical officinalis foliage.

Carsten Burkhardt: "The precise classification of herbaceous peonies in this group is problematic, as many cultivars identified as Paeonia officinalis in the 20th century are actually descendants of Paeonia peregrina. Until the 1930s, all peregrina types were also referred to as Paeonia officinalis. I doubt that a large part of this group has anything to do with Paeonia officinalis at all—starting with the well-known common garden peony 'Officinalis Rubra Plena,' which is either a cultivar of Paeonia peregrina or (more likely) a hybrid of Paeonia peregrina and another wild species, perhaps Paeonia officinalis."

Seedling 16350 F2. Hybrid, blush pink, semi-double. It has stamens, pollen and seeds. Most reliable. Excellent substance, 32" in height. Fragrant, early to midseason bloom. Large medium green foliage. Sometimes the flower has so many petaloids in the center that it is close to double. This seedling came via the Reath Nursery. It was named by David Reath and registerd by Caprice Farm Nursery, August 15, 1991.

Widely distributed from the Iberian Peninsula to the Balkans via France, Italy and Switzerland.
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First bloomed 2006 from seeds collected 2002, first propagated 2007. Parentage; 'Lavender' open pollinated. Has had limited distribution since 2009 to breeders, and a few others, as 'Lavender Baby'. Early bloom season (6 days before 'Red Charm' in 2012). One flower per stem, flower size 5 inches (13 cm). No fragrance. Flowers are single, colored dark lavender, approaching purple tones. Carpels are light green, 3 on average, with dark purple stigmas. Filaments are the same color as the petals at the base, fading to near white at the tips. Has pollen and readily makes seeds under open pollination and also when crossed with tetraploids. Foliage with strongly divided narrow leaflets, grey-green color, with a matte finish. Average height at maturity 18 inches (45 cm).

Growing in bushes and grasslands, but also in open woods, at altitudes from lowlands to 2,300 m, but to 3,400 m in Sichuan Province (Kangding), China. In E Asia: China, the Korea Peninsula, E Mongolia, and Russia (the Far East and SE Siberia).

The most distinct character of Paeonia lactiflora is the cartilaginous thickening along the leaf margins, which are dentate—spinose on these thickenings.
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Parentage: Blushing Princess x Salmon Dream. Blushing Princess is an F2 from P. lactiflora x Gwenda. Gwenda is an F2 from P. tenuifolia x P. mlokosewitschii. Salmon Dream is from Paula Fay x Moonrise. Paula Fay is from P. lactiflora x P. peregrina. Moonrise is an F2 from (another) P. lactiflora x P. peregrina. So Pink Vanguard has 4 species in its ancestry.

Seidl seedling number H-17. Early-Early Midseason, light milky pink, cupped Semi-double flower on a strong growing plant. Long, broad guard petals surround several rows of smaller inner petals having excellent substance, and stamens. Flower resists late freeze damage. Medium tall (40 inches) and erect, the plant is clothed in large blue-green leaflets. Side buds extend flowering. Seeds and pollen, parent of wanted forms.

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Parentage, Paula Fay X Moonrise; Sib. of F-11; First bloomed in 1974. Hybrid, pale salmon pink, semi-double, flat flower. Reliable, good substance, pollen and seeds. Sturdy stems, 30 inches in height, early bloom with other lobata hybrids, deep green glossy foliage. Seedling of Paula Fay, similar plant habits. The pale salmon pink color shows the cream inherited from Moonrise. Sets seeds very easily. Does not form adventitious buds on root cuttings, therefore slower of propagation. Proven useful for hybridizing. Seedling # F-10

Award of Landscape Merit (ALM) description: 'Salmon Dream' (Reath, D.L., 1979) Herbaceous Hybrid, Early, 30" — A light, salmon pink, semi-double with rounded, gently cupped petals that are creamier at their edges and flatten as the bloom develops. Petals possess good substance and a satin sheen. A center boss of yellow stamens surround light green carpels tipped with light pink stigmata. Younger plants are more apt to produce self-colored petaloides that emerge through its center, giving the bloom a fuller appearance. Stems are strong and erect, standing well during the bloom cycle and creating a tidy compact plant. Flowers nestle just above shiny, medium-dark green foliage that covers to the ground, a beautiful presentation of a bush in bloom. Post bloom bush is attractive. Juvenile stems and leaflets emerge chartreuse green tinged red. Moderate increase in situ. Propagates by division and has proven to be moderately adventitious. 2008 Gold Medal Winner and 2009 Peony of the Year

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Growing in woods of Quercus or Cedrus in limestone areas at an altitude of 600-2,100 m. Confined to S Spain and Morocco.

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Single. Light pinkish lavender, bright, average sized flowers, white pistils with red tops. 22" tall.

(officinalis Rubra Plena x coriacea) Glaucous blue-green foliage, veins very dark, flowers black purple maroon.

(Auten, 1950) - Single - Red - Hybrid. Very tall. A very spectacular black red single. The color holds. On a plant exceptional vigor, with stiff stems. Officinalis x albiflora. List in Bulletin 129.

Parentage; Seedling 5908 x ? Dark red double, semiball. First bloomed 1971. Very sturdy plant, stands straight, carries a heavy load of large unfading bloom on very stiff and strong stems. Three buds to a stem, pollen and sets some seeds. Reliable, the re

Parentage: Pink Vanguard x Lavender Baby. Lavender Baby is (Lavender x open). Lavender is P. lactiflora x P. coriacea.
+Semi-double to double lavender flowers, early bloom time, very floriferous, strikes adventitious buds, well closed buds
-Stems not sturdy enough, poor vase life, rather small buds

Officinalis x lactiflora. Single, early red. Seedling A1A77, second generation Otto Frobel hybrid. This is a very remarkable, small, black single which is a second generation hybrid as stated above and was displayed at the Milwaukee, Wis., show in 1944. M

(Silvia Saunders), 1971. Dainty noddling red windflowers swaying gracefully on thirty-six inch stems. This rare Early Windflower F-2 plant is a delightful garden addition. It should be of interest to the hybridizer.

Seedling RELSW6. Parentage: 'Roselegance' x LSW6. SINGLE. Named for the stature of Napoleon Bonaparte. 'Little Corporal' is a short plant that reaches a maximum height of 20 inches. Foliage is broad with points and is a deep green. Foliage, stature and flower are unique and will not be confused with other reds from P. peregrina lineage. One brilliant single rose red flower is carried on a sturdy stem. Flowers have a large ring of yellow stamens carried on white filaments with red bases. Carpels are green tipped with rose red stigmas. Entire flower is very symmetrical. Flowers face upward. Bloom period is early-mid season. Plants are fast growing and floriferous. Readily produces seed, but no pollen. Of interest for hybridizing due to unusual pedigree. 'Little Corporal's pod parent, 'Roselegance' is extinct and is the product of ('Salmon Dream' x 'Lemon Chiffon'). Pollen parent was Seidl seedling LSW6 ('Laddie' x 'Sparkling Windflower'), a single red. Genetics for double flowers are contained within 'The Little Corporal' via 'Roselegance' and this has been demonstrated in crosses at Solaris Farms. As a short front of the garden peony it is outstanding for color and plant form. Could easily be used in rock gardens.

herbaceous hybrid, single. Parentage, Laddie x Sparkling Windflower. First year bloomed, 1981. Red, single hybrid, has good substance and stem strength. Fertile both ways. It has stamens, pollen and seeds. Height 18-24", early bloom. The foliage is narrow

Usually growing in steppes, meadows, open sandy dunes, shrubs, or at the edges of forests. Paeonia tenuifolia seems to prefer dry habitats, and was found growing at lowlands below an altitude of 900 m. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia (the Caucasus), Serbia, Turkey (European part) and Ukraine.

Paeonia tenuifolia as circumscripted here is a very distinct species. It has the finest leaflets/leaf segments and the greatest number of leaflets/leaf segments of any peony species.
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herbaceous hybrid, double. Parentage: Salmon Dream, lemon chiffon. First year bloomed 1987 Ploidy-tetraploid. Medium rose pink, wide guard petals frame a mound of smaller petals. Ball form or in between. Tetraploid. Fertile pollen. Stamens clustered aroun

Single bright red. Very early. Dwarf, 12 inches. Cross of officinalis Otto Froebel x Tenuifolia, single. Seedling # 32-R-3.

Parentage P01898 (an APS seedling) X Salmon Dream. Semi-double hybrid. First bloomed 1999. Dark maroon red. Good substance, stamens, pollen, seeds, one to three buds per stem. An easy bloomer, 30" with adequate stems, midseason bloom, above average vigor

Veitchi x Emodi. This and the Beresowskyi x Emodi strains are so closely alike that I prefer to offer them under the above names. The early strain blooms at the very beginning of the peony season; the other about a week later. These plants are graceful and unusual. The flowers, which are only moderate in size, resemble beautiful white anemones. They are slightly nodding and are borne on rather tall stems. The foliage is fern-like and very handsome. Sold as a strain only, the plants in each group being all closely alike.

Parentage, Blushing Princess x Sparkling Windflower. First bloomed about 1985. Pink hybrid, good substance, reliable, one bud per stem, seeds. This pink double flower has petals tending to be of uniform size, giving the flower a carnation-like appearance.

(Strain) Single, white (with golden center), small flowers are dollar size, stems erect, flowers nod down. Leaves narrowish and airy (not too dense) fern-like. Dense light yellow stamen ball.

Growing in bushes on dry or rocky slopes at altitudes from 1600 to 3,200 m. The western Himalayas and northeastern part of the Hindu Kush: China (SW Xizang (Tibet) and S Xinjiang), NW India, W Nepal, N Pakistan and E Afghanistan (Nuristan, Chetras) .
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Very dark red Jap. Good upright grower, vigorous, late, 34 inches. An improvement on Fuyajo. Seedling # JE-3.

Award of Landscape Merit (ALM) description: 'Charm' (Franklin, 1931) Lactiflora Group, Late mid-season, 38? — A lustrous and satiny, dark red Japanese form bloom with a center of the same red petaloids, etched yellow. Stiff and relatively straight stems angle outward gracefully to form a very large, harmoniously mounded, fountain of blooms. An eight-year-old plant matures to 40 or so stems that emerge from a relatively compact area. Although individual blooms are at their peak for a shorter duration than those of other lactifloras, plenty of side buds help 'Charm' maintain its striking presence in the landscape. One of the later Japanese form peonies to bloom.

Seedling TF-8. Parentage: (P. tenuifolia 'Plena' x P. tenuifolia 'Rosea')F2. First bloomed 2012, first propagated 2013. Fully double BOMB form. Baby pink flowers are borne 1 to a stem, 3¼ inches (8 cm) in size, up facing to slightly out facing. Two to three carpels on average which are glabrous to slightly tomentose, green and topped with whitish stigmas, the latter sometimes deformed. Disc poorly developed. No pollen, but as a pod parent normally fertile but not with other pink P. tenuifolia, so far. Not fragrant. Blooming time very early, together with or slightly ahead of P. tenuifolia 'Plena'. Finely cut foliage, pale green on emergence, is typical of the species. Average height to 15 inches (38 cm); support not needed. Named after originator's mother who was not the tallest person but the best mother one can imagine.