Peony Hybridizers: Klius Oksana

Oksana Klius

Country:

Ukraine

Short biography:

I am 48 years old. I live in a western Ukrainian town named Ivano-Frankivsk. My daughter is called Yeva. Before 2020 I used to be a lawyer, but now I am fully devoted to my true calling. And that’s hybridization of peonies and irises.

More information:

https://www.facebook.com/oksana.pandorivna

https://www.tiktok.com/@oksana.kvitka

https://www.instagram.com/oksanakvitkairis

Peony hybridizers series

How did you first get involved in peony hybridizing?

My first attempts at hybridizing peonies began in 2018. My inspiration in this craft stemmed from Joshua Scholten and his peony Imperator Augustus.

What was your starting material for your hybridizing?

My starting material for hybridization were the peony varieties of Don Hollingsworth and Nate Bremer.

What are your goals in hybridizing peonies?

My main hybridization goals are:

• early blooming
• tall plants
• large and nice fluffy double flowers

As for colors, I am aiming for pastels, especially soft shades of pink, and a little bit of white as well.

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

How large is your hybridizing program?

Each year I conduct 50 crosses, I tend to not really count the final amount of seeds or seedlings.

Do you have any plants in the market?

The amount of peony roots which I sell isn’t very large. The majority of my sales takes place through my own Facebook page.

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

As of 2025, I have produced 2 seedlings, both of which have proven their good qualities again after being divided and replanted. Their seedling numbers are BP20-4 and HS20-3 and they have not yet been registered.

BP20-4 (Оксана Клюс)

HS20-3 (Оксана Клюс)

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

There are a couple of seedlings which I love, but they certainly need some more time to see if their their good qualities remain after propagation. For now, I am not selling any of these seedlings, however, things are bound to change in the near future.

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

I am working together with other hybridizers by exchanging plants and seeds.

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

There’s several fairly decent plants with single flowers, which I plan on using in my future work. However, I have no plans to register them since I have too many single flowered ones.

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

There’s a very limited circle of hybridizers that I exchange such plants with.

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

I am quite fond of all of Joshua Scholten’s and Nate Bremer’s peonies.

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