2013 Peonies with Flares

A feature that I have found quite interesting for some time is flares, small sunbursts of color that start at the center of the bloom on the peony petals and flare out. The flares can be small or large, wide or thin, long or short, and of varying colors. I used to not really like the flares, being a purist in terms of color, but in the past couple of years, I have really begun to appreciate and love the variation in color. The presence of flares is really most noticeable in single and semi double type peonies. If you like to grow peonies, here is another feature in peonies for you to collect! Some of my favorite peonies displaying colorful flares are Peony 'Bartzella' (midseason), Peony 'Firelight' (early), Peony 'Golden Frolic' (early-mid), and Peony 'Morning Lilac' (early-mid). Enjoy!

Peony 'Bartzella'	Peony 'Firelight'
Peony 'Golden Frolic'	Peony 'Morning Lilac'

2012 APS Peony Court of Honor Winners

There were quite a lot of good entries this year in the 2012 American Peony Society Exhibition and so many different colors! As you already know from my previous post, Peony 'Hephestos' won the Grand Champion Best in Show Ribbon as well as Best Red Lutea Hybrid. However there were several other entries that made the APS Court of Honor. They were: Best White Lactiflora - Peony 'Puffed Cotton', Best Blush Lactiflora - Peony 'Mrs. Frank Beach', Best Pink Lactiflora - Peony 'Vivid Rose', Best Red Lactiflora - Peony 'Maestro', Best White/Blush/Yellow Hybrid - Peony 'Prairie Moon', Best Pink/Coral Hybrid - Peony 'Coral Supreme', Best Red Hybrid - Peony 'Illini Warrior', Best Yellow Intersectional/Itoh - Peony 'Sonoma Halo', Best White Suffruticosa - Peony 'Koshino-yuki', an unnamed variety exhibited by Timothy Stanek that was simply labeled "Apr Db" (presumably meaning Apricot Double) which was also awarded a Certificate of Merit ribbon, Best Pink Lutea Hybrid - Peony 'Ruffled Sunset', and Best Yellow Lutea Hybrid - Peony 'Souvenir de Maxime Cornu'. I think my favorite is the Apricot Double seedling. Which one is your favorite?

Peony 'Puffed Cotton'	Peony 'Mrs. Frank Beach'	Peony 'Vivid Rose'
Peony 'Maestro'	Peony 'Prairie Moon'	Peony 'Coral Supreme'
Peony 'Illini Warrior'	Peony 'Sonoma Halo'	Peony 'Koshino-yuki'
Peony "Apr Db" (My Favorite)	Peony 'Ruffled Sunset'	Peony 'Souvenir de Maxime Cornu'

2012 Peony Colors

So far this year I seem to be on top of things for the most part. I have missed recording the colors of some of my early peonies in the past couple of years. It seems like by the time I remember to do it, the early peonies are finished blooming. However this year I have gotten the chance to record the colors of several of my early blooming peonies, including one of my favorites, Peony 'Lavender'. I still missed Peony 'Early Scout' this year. Perhaps I will get that one next year! I plan to update my Inventory page with the RHS colors and bloom types data from my surveys soon, and I plan to add the bloom season eventually, when I collect enough data for the bloom seasons for my growing zone.
Peony 'Honor'


Peony 'Roy Pehrson's Best Yellow'


Peony 'Firelight'

2012 Peony 'Lavender'

I had a feeling that another one of my peonies had bloomed today. Good thing I checked them this morning before work (and took my camera with me). :) My favorite color is purple, and of course my lavender peony, Peony 'Lavender' bloomed today, and how beautiful it is! This is only the second year I've had this plant bloom for me, but it is just as lovely as last year, although I think there is one less bud. It bloomed much earlier though. Last year it was April 18th, and this year it bloomed today, April 2nd. I think it may have more stems than last year, though. I just checked my data and I don't have the RHS color for it or 2 of the other 3 (Early Scout, Chalice, Ludovica) peonies that are also in bloom now. So I just got out my color chart so that I can get an accurate color for the Peony 'Lavender'. It has such a beautiful and unique color to it.

Peony 'Lavender'


Peony 'Lavender'

2010 APS Court of Honor Peonies

There were several beautiful peonies on the Court of Honor this year, but I think my favorite was Peony 'Coral Sunset'. Only one peony made it to the Court of Honor from the amateur class, Peony 'Bartzella'. There were so few entries into the tree peony category that only two of them made it to the Court of Honor, Peony 'Waucedah Princess' and Peony 'Tria'. Actually there were very few tree peonies in the whole show. Some tree peony categories had no entries. So anyone interested in showing tree peonies should enter next year since there is very little competition.

Peony 'Lancaster Imp'	Peony 'Frances Mains'?	Peony 'Topeka Garnet'?
Peony ''?	Peony 'Coral Sunset'	Peony 'Rosedale'
Peony 'Bartzella'	Peony 'Love Affair'
Peony 'Waucedah Princess'	Peony 'Tria'

2010 Peony Bloom Color Coding

Today I was busy checking my peony blooms against my RHS mini color chart. I am in the process of trying to catalog all of the bloom colors by the RHS chart. That way the color descriptions of each peony are more accurate and can be more easily compared to one another. I think I may invest in the complete RHS color chart later on (which would be quite an investment £174.00 vs. £26.00) because the range of reds and pinks would be larger. For now, I think the information I'm gathering with the mini chart will be helpful.