Seedling No: 2-R-19. Parentage: Passacaglia x pollen parent unknown. First bloomed 2015, first propagated 2020. Three rows of petals, ruffled, somewhat twisted and notched. Petals purplish-red (RHS: 75A D) bleeding out, leaving indistinct white edges. Color is paler on the backs of the petals, allowing darker veins to show. Prominent black flares extend 15% of petals length. One flower per stem, 6¼ inches in size (16 cm). Five carpels, pale greenish-yellow, and moderately hairy. Stigmas whitish, with normal anatomy. Pollen-bearing stamens, filaments purplish-red at the base, white towards the tips. Fertile. Sheath complete, white. Early/Midseason bloom. Fragrance. Expected height at maturity 59 inches (150 cm) with typical Rockii type leaflets. It was easy deciding on a name for this peony. The twisting ruffled petals with the streaking brought about by the more-darkly pigmented veins, gives a sense of motion that immediately suggested the skirts worn by cancan dancers towards the end of the 19th century. If your imagination will allow, the black flares become the dancers’ undergarments. The dance itself appeared about 1880 in Paris, France, presumably as a protest against the prudish society of the times. Popularized in the cabaret, Moulin Rouge, the music comes from Jacques Offenbach’s Operetta ‘Orphée aux Enfers’ (1858). Pull up your garden chair, call up the operetta, gaze at the flower, and let your imagination take you back to the Moulin Rouge. To be propagated and distributed by W. Giessler, Groß Rosenburg, Germany.
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