Peony Hybridizers: Scholten Joshua and Jeremy

Joshua and Jeremy Scholten

Country:

Netherlands

Short biography:

I am 46 years old; happily married with my wife Gosia; we have a 2.5 years old son named ‘Simon’. Together with my 7 years older brother Jeremy we are running Peony Shop Holland B.V. (B.V. = Private Limited Company) and Scholten Peony Breeding B.V.

More information:

https://www.peonyshop.com/

https://www.facebook.com/peonyshopholland

https://www.instagram.com/peony_shop_holland

Peony hybridizers series

How did you first get involved in peony hybridizing?

We already had a tulip business so it was only a small step for us to start with peonies. We learned from books; peony discussion groups on online forums; and articles written by Bill Seidl and Don Hollingsworth. All those together inspired us enough to start early 2000 with the first peony hybridizing ‘moves’.

What was your starting material for your hybridizing?

In the very beginning we started with a limited number of plants like Lemon Chiffon, Pink Vanguard, Carnation Bouquet, The Mackinac Grand, Sunny Boy, Salmon Dream, White Vanguard and Vanilla Schnapps. Later we added upon these with many others as we propagated the latest American hybrids imported by our nursery.

What are your goals in hybridizing peonies?

Our goal is to create very early hybrids with large double flowers in all kinds of beautiful trendy colors; peach, orange, pastel blends and pink. Fragrance has the same importance to us as health, vigour and frost resistance.

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

How large is your hybridizing program?

Thousands of crosses are made annually by our team. Tens of thousands of seeds are then harvested and planted in our greenhouse each year. Yearly we select a few hundred seedlings from the greenhouse for further observation and propagation in our peony fields of 8 hectares (20 acres). We use a custom made iphone app to register and update data on our seedlings under evalutation to streamline the selection process.

Do you have any plants in the market?

We have introduced a few hundred cultivars; all info about them can be found on our website peonyshopholland.com and on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest etc. We also hold international and local exhibitions with flowers to introduce them to growers and private collectors. Recently we’ve  created an indoor display garden in China in collaboration with our good friend and agent ‘Jianli Wang’. The display garden contains hundreds of peony seedlings. It’s named ‘Scholten Luxury Peonies China Showgarden’ and will soon be open to the general public. Peony marketing & sales is mainly done by ourselves and an international team of agents.

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

There are too many beautiful gems I’d like to mention, but I shall try to keep it short: Federica Ambrosini, Hierapolis, Hypnos, In the Lap of the Gods, Marcus Aurelius, Maximus, Milk of Poppaea, Pompeii and Vika. But we have such high demand for them that there may be a long waiting list up to 2035…

Federica Ambrosini (Scholten, 2022). Seedling number 16-15-24. Parentage not given. First bloomed 2015, first propagated 2017. Midseason blooming spectacular, large SEMI-DOUBLE flowers are pink, fading to a blend of light pink and cream yellow. Flowers are 15cm (6”) in diameter, outward facing, and average one per stem. Guard petals are rounded, ruffled, and frilled. Flowers possess on average three very hairy, green carpels with pink stigmas of normal anatomy. Stamens are between 1.25-2cm (0.5-0.75”) in length. Fertile both ways. Plants reach 55cm (21.5”) at maturity, and carry broadly pointed, green foliage with undertones of purple. Foliage at time of emergence is red. Growth habit is upright; mechanical support is unnecessary. Presents good potential as a cut-flower. Named to honor the Italian wedding designer Federica Ambrosini.

Marcus Aurelius (Scholten, 2022). Seedling number 3-9-1-16-584. Parentage not given. First bloomed 2013, first propagated 2015. Early blooming SEMI-DOUBLE to DOUBLE flowers feature salmon-pink colored outer guard petals with peach interior petals, fading to a blend of peach, yellow, and pink, with dark pink striations across petals. Flowers are 18cm (7.1”) in diameter, upward facing, and average one per stem. Guard petals are ruffled and frilled. No fragrance noted. Flowers possess on average three very hairy, green carpels with salmon-colored stigmas of normal anatomy. Stamens are between 1.25-2cm (0.5-0.75”) in length. Fertile both ways. Plants reach 75cm (29.5”) at maturity, and carry broad-pointed, green foliage with undertones of purple. Foliage at time of emergence is red. Growth habit is upright; mechanical support is unnecessary. An attractive color, and presents good potential for cut-flower production. Named for the Roman Emperor.

Hierapolis (Scholten, 2022). Seedling number 3-14-1-16-635. Parentage not given. First bloomed 2013, first propagated 2015. Midseason blooming DOUBLE flowers are a blend of salmon, cream, and orange-yellow. Flowers are 16cm (6.3”) in diameter, upward facing, and average one per stem. Guard petals are ruffled and frilled. No fragrance noted. Flowers possess on average four very hairy, green carpels with light-pink stigmas of normal anatomy. Stamens are more than 2cm (0.75”) in length. Fertile both ways. Plants reach 70cm (28”) at maturity, and carry broadly pointed, green foliage with undertones of purple. Foliage at time of emergence is red. Growth habit is upright; mechanical support is unnecessary. Presents good potential for cut-flower production. Named for an ancient city of the Roman Empire.

Hypnos (Scholten, 2022). Seedling number 16-17-14. Parentage not given. First bloomed 2013, first propagated 2015. Early-midseason blooming SEMI-DOUBLE to DOUBLE flowers are a blend of salmon-pink and yellow, typically more pink coloration on outer guard petals, with fewer occasional pink petals appearing in the central rows of petals. Flowers are 16cm (6.3”) in diameter, upward facing, and average one per stem. Guard petals are frilled and ruffled. Flowers possess on average three very hairy, green carpels with pink stigmas of normal anatomy. Stamens are between 1.25-2cm (0.5-0.75”) in length. Fertile both ways. Plants reach 90cm (35.5”) at maturity, and carry broadly pointed, green foliage with undertones of purple. Foliage at time of emergence is red. Growth habit is upright; mechanical support is unnecessary. Presents good potential for cut-flower production. Named for the Roman god of sleep.

Maximus (Scholten, 2016). Seedling DT-SB-5-37. Parentage: ‘Dreamtime’ x ‘Sunny Boy’. Raised from seed bought of Bill Seidl (USA), 2009. First bloomed 2011; first propagated 2013. Huge 2 inch (5 cm), blush white buds open into large full-petaled DOUBLE blooms of 7 inch (17½ cm) size. Long-lasting flowers open blush pink, fade to creamy white. One bloom per stem. An average of three carpels, green, smooth, having red stigmas of normal morphology. Has pollen-bearing stamens and makes seeds. Fragrant. Blooms very early in the season before ‘Sunny Boy’ and with ‘Roselette’. Strong thick stems of 30 inch (75 cm) length support the heavy upright flowers. Dark green broad foliage provides appealing contrast to the flower. Named after the fictional character Roman General “Maximus Decimus Meridius,” of the movie “Gladiator”.

Pompeii (Scholten, 2022). Seedling number 5-41-1. Parentage not given. First bloomed 2013, first propagated 2015. Early-midseason blooming SEMI-DOUBLE to DOUBLE pink flowers with ruffled, frilled petals that present a blend of light pink, orange, and light yellow progressing toward the petal edge. No fragrance noted. Flowers are 17cm (6.7”) in diameter, upward facing, and average one per stem. Bud size is 4-5cm (1.6-2”). Two moderately hairy, green carpels with light pink stigmas are present. Has pollen, and produces seeds. Plants reach 70cm (27.5”) at maturity, and carry broadly pointed, green foliage with undertones of purple. Growth habit is upright, vigorous, and does not require mechanical support. Possesses good potential for cut flowers. Named for an ancient Roman city in the south of Italy.

In the Lap of the Gods (Scholten, unregistered). Peony In the Lap of the Gods is a Midseason double pink Peony Herbaceous Hybrid, Out-facing, double pink, smooth flower bud opens to a large double pink flower. Outer Guard petals are frilled, ruffled and rounded. Flower size 6.3 inch / 16 cm, flower bud 1.6 inch / 4 cm, has average 3 very hairy green carpels with normal shaped dark pink stigmas, has pollen, no seeds noticed. 1 flower per stem. Vigorous grower, upright growth habit, healthy green foliage, broad pointed leaves, average height 27.5 inch / 70 cm, first year bloomed 2013, first year propagated 2015, nice garden plant. unregistered seedling.

Vika (Scholten, 2022). Seedling number 9-1-2-16. Parentage not given. First bloomed 2014, first propagated 2017. Early-midseason blooming DOUBLE flowers are pastel pink, with darker pink guard petals. Flowers are 20cm (7.8”) in diameter, upward facing, and average one per stem. Guard petals are frilled and cupped. Fragrance noted. Flowers possess on average two moderately hairy, green carpels with pink stigmas of normal anatomy. Stamens are between 1.25-2cm (0.5-0.75”) in length. Fertile both ways. Plants reach 80cm (31.5”) at maturity, and carry broadly pointed, green foliage with undertones of purple. Foliage at time of emergence is red. Growth habit is upright; mechanical support is unnecessary. Good potential for cut-flower production. Named for the daughter of a close friend of the registrant, and noted to be a personal favorite.

Milk of Poppaea (Scholten, 2022). Seedling number 6-16-1. Parentage not given. First bloomed 2013, first propagated 2015. Early-midseason blooming DOUBLE flowers are a blend of pink and cream-yellow. Flowers are 15cm (6”) in diameter, outward facing, and average one per stem. Guard petals are rounded, ruffled, and frilled. Flowers possess on average three very hairy, green carpels with pink stigmas of normal anatomy. Stamens are between 1.25-2cm (0.5-0.75”) in length. Fertile both ways. Plants reach 75cm (29.5”) at maturity, and carry broad-pointed, green foliage with undertones of purple. Foliage at time of emergence is red. Growth habit is spreading, and benefits from mechanical support. Named for a beauty secret of Emperor Nero’s wife, Poppaea Sabina.

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

Chen Fang Yuan, Maximus Glory, Concordia Augustus

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

I am mainly working with my brother Jeremy 🙂 With all due respect we are not interested in working with other peony hybridizers.

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

Not really, most of the time we need to collect just a little bit more info before registering it.

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

No, it is not in our commercial interest to share such plants.

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

Sunny Boy: I think everyone knows the great potential of this beauty, flower in flower form with large flowers.

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