Tag Archives: #peonyofthemonth

Peony of the Month – ‘Cytherea’

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What’s love got to do with it?

Staying true to the Greek origins of the word paeonia, this peony with its perfection of form is aptly named. In Greek mythology Cytherea is another name for Aphrodite – the goddess of love and beauty.

And the goblet shaped form of these deep cherry red petals is enough to make anyone fall in love!

As temperatures rise this semi-double unfolds, becoming a more open bowl shape and fades to a rose colour, then salmon pink and finally pure white as the season progresses.

Cytherea is a herbaceous peony. Herbaceous peonies are a timeless classic perennial plant for the garden. They die down in the winter and come back in spring, each year producing better displays than the one before.

Origins

An early mid season bloomer, Cytherea is rare and highly sought after. It was registered in 1953 by Saunders and awarded the APS Gold Medal in 1980.

Professor Saunders is one of the world’s most well-known peony hybridizer, becoming known as the “Father” of the modern hybrid peony. His scientific breeding program with herbaceous and tree peonies was extensive and done with the help of friends at the New York Botanical Garden.

Although he was not the first to cross peony species, he was the first to bring a large variety of species together. He systematically crossed each one with the other, most of which hadn’t been used in crossing before. This resulted in the creation of a huge number of hybrid races and varieties, bringing new colours in and lengthening the flowering time.

An Albiflora x lobata hybrid, Cytherea is just one of those very many beautiful results of Saunders' work. It makes a great cut flower and has a light, sweet scent that makes it even more welcome in a vase on the table.

In the Garden

Cytherea was awarded the APS Award of Landscape Merit in 2009. This award is for peonies that have outstanding landscape and growth characteristics. Some of these characteristics are their disease resistance and the ability to withstand adverse weather. They protect themselves by closing up in unfavourable conditions and open up again when the coast is clear.

Do you have a spot in the garden you’re looking to fill? Although it is quite an intense shade of red initially, it is a remarkably easy colour to pair with other colours in the garden such as yellows, purples and blues.

Let your imagination go wild!

Otherwise you could combine Cytherea with a few other red peonies in different tones such as ‘Buckeye Belle’ with its deep red blooms, ‘Riches and Fame’ in all its fuschia/pink red glory and 'Miss Mary' with its rich red single flowers and golden stamens.

So much choice.

Which ones will you pick?

Peony of the Month – ‘Bowl of Beauty’

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These fantastical pink flowers remind me of something that might feature in a Dr Seuss movie. I expect a whole family of microscopic people to be living within its anemone-like centre.

‘Bowl of Beauty’ is an early flowering, herbaceous peony. Their blooms are massive, measuring up to 20cm across, and have a lovely fragrance. And you’ll be making the bees very happy having this one in your garden with its open, Japanese form.

Registered in 1949 by Hoogendoorn, this Chinese peony is also the recipient of an RHS AGM (Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit).

But what’s an AGM all about?

What’s an AGM?

The Award of Garden Merit is based on assessment of the plants performance under UK growing conditions and the Royal Horticultural Society’s seal of approval for consistent performance. Beginning in 1922, this has been an award for quality to garden plants (including trees, vegetables and decorative plants) by the RHS.

What does it take to nab that AGM?

Before being awarded, the plants go through trials that are often done at Wisley and judged by experts. The plant has to be proven reliable in the garden and the AGM is the RHS’ seal of approval for consistent performance.

The award winning plants must:

  • Be available horticulturally
  • Be of outstanding excellence for garden decoration or use
  • Be of good constitution
  • Not require highly specialist growing conditions or care
  • Not be particularly susceptible to any pest or disease
  • Not be subject to an unreasonable degree of reversion

 

You will find this and more information on the AGM here – RHS AGM

This award is applied to a limited amount of plants each year so if a plant doesn’t have the stamp of approval it doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t a good choice for you.

However, if you see the AGM stamp of approval you can be sure that plant is suitable for most British gardens. And it will most probably do well in yours.

Reviews of the awarded plants are done regularly to ensure that the list stays up to date. This is because some plants may no longer meet this criteria or have been replaced by better cultivars.

After a recent peony trial, the RHS awarded an Award of Garden Merit  to 45 varieties of peony, 39 of which we are currently growing!

Some of these are mentioned here (thanks Country Living!)

Have you got any AGM holders going and growing in your garden already?

If not, maybe you’ll want to start with this beauty…

Peony of the Month – ‘Red Charm’

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What about a bit of red to spice your Spring garden up a bit?

It’s not every day you come across a red as true as the one worn by ‘Red Charm’. Like that Little Red Riding Hood in the dark forest, ‘Red Charm’ stands out in the garden and is very attractive to visitors.

Be they wolf, butterfly or human…

A cross of the well-known P. ‘Rubra Plena’ it was registered by Glasscock in 1944 and became an APS Gold Medal winner in 1956.

And 65 years later it’s still going strong... The wonder of peonies! We can’t gush enough about these plants. They really are our favourite.

‘Red Charm’ is an indulgent, herbaceous perennial that is early flowering and sturdy. It produces lots of deep, ruby red cup-shaped flowers with ruffled centres that keep expanding as the flower opens. The flowers are bomb-shaped and very large, sometimes reaching up to 20cm across. Although it opens a scarlet red colour, as the flower matures it becomes darker and darker ending up a deep plum or purple.

Once established it can reach up to 90cm in height and its bushy growth habit and fine, dark green leaves remain lovely into Autumn. This makes ‘Red Charm’ a great choice if you would like to create a small hedge or need some structure along a pathway. You could also pop it in a flower bed with a mix of other perennials for a striking display.

It’s likely that you will enjoy having this reliable and vigorous beauty in your garden so much that you will come to depend on being dazzled by its beautiful flower and foliage displays year after year.

This exquisite lady in red with its substantial, waxy-textured petals and strong stems makes an excellent, long-lasting cut flower and has a pleasing, subtle fragrance.

If you’d like to add ‘Red Charm’ to your collection, here are some guidelines for planting this herbaceous peony:

  • Plant in full sun or part shade in a sheltered position
  • Any fertile soil will do, as long as it is free draining
  • Plant with the crown (top of the root) no more than 5cm below the ground. With container grown plants, simply plant them at the same level they are in the pot they arrive in
  • Don’t bury it with mulch. Peonies like organic matter but don’t mulch over the crown as it might not flower the next Spring
  • Once you are ready to plant your peony in the garden, start by digging a hole twice as big as the root ball of the plant and put some organic matter or compost at the bottom of the hole. It is often a good idea to mix some fertiliser (such as our Professional Peony Feed) with the compost
  • Place your peony in the centre of the hole, ensuring that the crown is level with or just below the surface level, backfill with compost and soil and firm into place. Water well but don’t over-water; remember that the root will rot if it gets too wet
  • Peonies will also be happily planted in a container so you can follow the same process, just make sure you feed your container grown peonies once a year to make sure they have enough nutrients

 

And there you go!

In this case, red means ‘go’!

Grow peony grow!

Peony of the Month – ‘Morning Lilac’

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Does your garden need some purple in its life?

Do you want to add an intersectional and/or a midseason bloomer to your peony collection to compliment your early and late flowering varieties?

Well, this unusual and rare purple princess– Paeonia ‘Morning Lilac’ – may just be the perfect addition.

With its huge, semi-double, strong purple flowers with a darker purple edging it’s no wonder it nabbed that RHS Award of Garden Merit. And that finely cut divided green foliage provides excellent Autumn colour and interest, turning a beautiful red in both Spring and Autumn.

‘Morning Lilac’ was created by crossing extremely rare Lactiflora ‘Martha Washington’ and Lutea Hybrid ‘Golden Era’ in 1990 by Anderson and registered in 1999. It is a fragrant and floriferous variety that produces myriads of large blooms – up to 15cm across - all over its top and sides.

Sound like a welcome guest? We thought so too.

Intersectionals really are the best of both worlds with their massive flowerheads, richly coloured foliage and compact growth habit. They can grow up to 90cm tall and are tough – more tolerant of cold weather than tree peonies and also not bothered by the heat. On mature plants you can expect to see between 40 and 50 flowers over flowering season. And the flowers last twice as long as other peonies – going on for four to five weeks with lots of small side buds.

So if you’re set on adding some of this purple peony love to your garden to perhaps compliment your ‘Coral Charm’ and lovely yellow ‘Bartzella’, this one would fit in rather nicely.

Nothing like a pop of purple to jazz things up a bit!

Just make sure to implement these top tips for growing your intersectional successfully:

  • Buy a well-established, mature peony plant
  • Plant in a sunny or part-shaded sheltered position in any free-draining soil
  • Don’t plant your intersectional peony too deep – ensure the crown is no more than 25mm below the surface
  • Feed your peony once a year in the Spring, Summer or Autumn
  • Cut back intersectional peonies in the Autumn
  • Water your peony consistently while buds are forming in the Spring but take care not to over water as peonies don’t like having wet ‘feet’ or roots

With this little bit of care you can expect to enjoy gazing at these beauties in your garden for many years to come.

And that’s what we love about peonies – they just keep giving back so much more than we put in.

Enjoy your gardening and let us know how it goes!

Peony of the Month – ‘Love Affair’

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‘Love Affair’.

What a grand bloom.

Its name takes me back to the time when I first fell bud over stem in love with peonies.

I remember the moment this love affair began quite vividly.

My grandfather taught me a lot about horticulture and gardening, showing me how to sow seeds, grow vegetables and, with chrysanthemums, how to pinch them out and curl the petals to get the perfect bloom. Today I use what I learnt from him with my peonies.

Of course, the biggest thing he left me with is his love and passion for gardening.

My after-school job was watering the hanging baskets at the local garden centre and I absolutely loved it. I got to spend time in the nursery with the plants and with people who loved plants.

So when it came to choosing A-levels, I really wanted to study horticulture and botany but my career advisers and teachers said I needed to do something a bit more "sensible" in terms of any future career so I ended up studying law.

But fundamentally it wasn't what I wanted to do. I was always looking for ways to grow plants and be outside.

After switching careers, buying this nursery and starting to experiment with growing various perennials, I recall one day spotting peonies from afar and thinking “What is that flower?!”

It ruled the nursery, towering above everything else.

It’s a love affair that has not faded and I suspect it never will.

‘Love Affair’ is a sumptuous, fragrant, semi-double Itoh Hybrid. When mature the flowers may become nearly double. This variety is particularly sought-after as there aren’t many whites among Intersectionals, making it very unusual and rare. Its snow white petals can, at times, have a hint of pale pink of the carpels in the centre, highlighted by golden stamens.

You’ll see blooms on this vigorously growing beauty mid-season to late mid-season and can enjoy the dark green foliage on its compact, medium bush (about 70cm) throughout the growing season.

Developed and registered by Hollingsworth in 2005 (parentage Lactiflora ‘Gertrude Allen’ x Lutea Hybrid ‘Alice Harding’) this Intersectional Hybrid appeared around 1990 as a branch sport of the American Peony Societies yellow flowered ‘Prairie Sunshine’. ‘Love Affair’ and ‘Prairie Sunshine’ seem just about identical in all respects apart from the petal colour, however the symmetry of ‘Love Affair’ with its wonderfully broad, rounded guard petals and copious rows of inner petals makes it a superior Intersectional Hybrid.

Intersectional Hybrids are also known as Itoh peonies as they were named after a Japanese breeder, Mr Toichi Itoh, who created the first hybrid in the 1940’s, crossing Paeonia x lemoinei (a hybrid tree) with Paeonia lactiflora Kakoden (a white flowered herbaceous).

There were many others involved along the way in making this “impossible dream” of creating the perfect flower come true, but we’ll talk about this more in a future post.

So what have we learnt?

Well, if lawyers can become horticulturists and impossible flowers can come about, any dream will do and can come true!

Wouldn’t you agree?