BLUSH QUEEN
(soft, intimate whisper)
“My cherished admirers, Your selection of my delicate, rare stem is a tender embrace of botanical poetry.”
Flower Form: Hundred Proliferate
Bloom Time: Mid
Plant Height: 3'
Scent: Delicate Fragrance
Parentage: Lactiflora
Giant 8 to 10 inch blush to white flowers are held high on exceptionally long stems. Very prolific bloomer. Flowers open easily and completely when cut. All of these factors make Blush Queen an outstanding cut flower. Dutch cultivar. Hybridizer Hoogendoorn, 1949.
SARAH BERNHARDT
(in a glamorous whisper)
“Dahling, Geigel Hill is the place to be seen. The blooms are simply divine!”
Flower Form: Rose
Bloom Time: Late
Plant Height: 3'
Scent: Fragrant
Historic: Historic Parentage: Lactiflora
Good in the South: Up to Zone 8
Originally cultivated in France this plant has become one of the best known peonies in the world. Widely used as a commercial cut flower because of its relatively strong stems and classic appearance. Hybridizer Lemoine, 1906.
MONSIER JULES ELIE
(with a suave accent)
“Mademoiselle, the fragrance alone is worth the journey. A touch of European charm awaits.”
Flower Form: Crown
Bloom Time: Early
Plant Height: 3'
Scent: Fragrant
Historic: Historic
Parentage: Lactiflora
Very large flowers bloom early in the season. Long used as a staple of the florist trade for its large size, ample number of flowers, and excellent storage capabilities. Stems needs support in the garden. Very fertile, used extensively as seed parent. Hybridizer Crousse, 1888.
FESTIVA MAXIMA
(enthusiastically)
“Let's celebrate! This is the party of the year!”
Flower Form: Hundred Proliferate
Bloom Time: Early-Mid
Plant Height: 3'
Scent: Fragrant
Historic: Historic
Parentage: Lactiflora
For those of you that are lucky enough to have recollections of peonies from your childhood long ago - white ones with a few red flecks - this is likely that cultivar. Festiva Maxima was incredibly prevalent in classic American gardens. One of the most fragrant and beloved peonies. Very large flowers. Hybridizer Miellez, 1851.
DUCHESS DE NEUMOURS
(aristocratic, refined whisper)
“Mes adorateurs, Your discerning selection of my distinguished stems honors the noble lineage of botanical elegance.”
Flower Form: Hundred Proliferate
Bloom Time: Early
Plant Height: 3'
Scent: Fragrant
Historic: Historic
Parentage: Lactiflora
Incredibly fragrant creamy white flowers are held high on strong stems. One of the few peonies from the 1850's still in cultivation. Immature plants will produce flowers that are more anemone or crown in shape. As plants mature, flowers open into clouds of petals that are hundred proliferate in shape. Especially notable as cut flower. Hybridizer Calot, 1856.
SONOMA YEDO
(voice like warm honey dripping with wisdom)
“May my blooms remind you to pause, breathe, and feel the steady pulse of life beneath your feet.”
Originator: Tolemeo, Irene
Group: Itoh-Hybrid
Introduction Year: 2010
Country: United States
Fragrant: Yes
Height: 28"
Bare root size: 3/5 eye
RARE AND EXTREMELY LIMITED IN QUANTITY.
'Sonoma YeDo' is an early mid-season, extremely-double, yellow Itoh hybrid. Itoh are not known for high petal counts. 'Sonoma YeDo' has the highest petal count of all Itoh hybrids to date. It blooms over a long period of time rather than opening all of the blooms on the plant at the same time. Blossoms are six or more inches in size, deep lemon-yellow with an ivory picotee as they mature. No fragrance. Petals are slightly frilled and have pink flares which are normally obscured due to the fullness of the flower, but add a sultry glow nonetheless. STUNNING in the perennial border! Height to 28".
KARL ROSENFIELD
(booming with confidence)
“Come witness a spectacle of color! We're not afraid to make a statement.”
Flower Form: Rose
Bloom Time: Mid
Plant Height: 3'
Historic: Historic
Parentage: Lactiflora
Good in the South: Up to Zone 8 This historic peony is fabulous in the garden and as a cut flower. Considered one of the best magenta reds. Tons of flowers, stands upright with little to no support. Hybridizer Rosenfield, 1908.
BEST MAN
(rich, velvety baritone voice with confidence and warmth)
"One must always be ready to support the stars of the show while occasionally stealing the spotlight oneself.”
Best Man' commands attention with its deep, romantic coloring and lavish double blooms. Opening in early summer, its rich burgundy-red petals unfurl in densely packed whorls, glowing in the sun with a velvety sheen. The flower’s elegance is matched by its strength—tall, sturdy stems hold the blooms high above lush green foliage, offering garden drama with enduring charm.
When fully open, the attractive yellow stamen add an additional focus. Very sturdy 32-inch stems easily support the blossoms keeping 'Best Man' a best choice for the perennial border or cutting garden. Blooms late-season.
GARDENIA
‘(a smooth, melodious alto with a subtle blend of accents– think Audrey Hepburn meets Grace Kelly)
"Bloom where you're planted, but always with style."
Gardenia peony is very eye-catching from across the garden, with red stems and giant, creamy white flowers. This blush-white double is one of the finest for cut arrangements.
As the name implies, the flowers have a gardenia form, growing to 6–6½" across. The winner of many championship ribbons, the exhibition-quality blooms emerge from strong stems and are well clothed in foliage.
Blooms late-season.
MRS. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
(mid-Atlantic accent that blends aristocratic polish with democratic warmth.)
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their blooms," she might observe, with a quiet confidence born of weathering many seasons.”
The rich fragrance and rose-like form of this APS Gold Medal winner make it distinct in the garden and terrific in bouquets. Full double, large flower opens many rows of broad, cupped petals, grading smaller inward, form a loose, low silhouette flower that reveals a faint golden cast gleaming in center. The flower is of nicely tailored form and exhibition quality, much loved for its color and form. Side buds extend flowering season. Yields fine stems for the vase and is an excellent choice for the cut flower garden. Also known as Peony ‘Mrs. F.D.R.’
It matures into a graceful, cupped flower of pale, silvery pink. Free-flowering, vigorous, 3-5 eye roots, 30-34”, mid-season, zones 3a-7b(8bWC), from Iowa.
SARAH BERNHART WHITE
(voice would be a rich, expressive soprano with theatrical vibrato.)
"The garden is my stage, and I shall bloom MAGNIFICENTLY!"
White form of the famous Sarah Bernhart with double flowers of soft cream white, nice fragrance, very commonly cultivated as a cut flower.
Herbaceous perennial with erect stems and dark green foliage. In spring, beautiful, large double 5-7" pure white flowers emerge that smell delightfully sweet. Great in a mixed herbaceous or shrub borders, as an informal hedge and as cut flowers.
White Sarah flowers mid to late season and would make an excellent cut flower and fantastic garden display. This herbaceous lactiflora is hard to find making it one of the more exclusive peonies available!
CELEBRITY
(with a dazzling, media-trained voice - equal parts charismatic and calculated.)
"Darling, these petals practically photograph themselves! It's all natural, of course... just a little dew and a whole lot of star power."
This is the one for fragrance and sheer head-turning beauty. Celebrity has large, 6" fuchsia-raspberry flowers with whorled and fringed, pale pink to white petaloid segments. It is a garden luminary.
Gigantic rose-pink blooms surround the white tufted centers of this aptly named beauty. It'll be the star of your long-running garden show with its delightful fragrance and attractive foliage — perfect for borders, beds and cut flowers. nursery-grown in the Netherlands for two years prior to export. Each rootstock has varying amounts of roots and three to five eyes for optimum flower production the first spring
Mid. (May/June.) HZ: 4-8. 32" tall and 3' to 4' wide.