The Fiftieth Annual Exhibition of the American Peony Society, sponsored and staged by the Minnesota Peony and Iris Society in the large lobby of the Northwestern National Bank of Minneapolis on June 21 and 22, was one of the most beautiful and complete ever held.
June 21 was a little early for the late-blooming peonies in the Twin City area, exhibitors from New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Canada filled in gaps, and everything went off in grand style. All those who attended were full of praise.
Well, over 12,000 people came to the show and saw 4,000 to 5,000 blooms of some 300 named varieties displayed by about 40 exhibitors.
In contrast, at the First Annual Show held in New York City in 1904, seven exhibitors from four states showed approximately 400 blooms, of which only about 100 were labeled.
Probably all of them were of foreign origin. In Minneapolis, less than 20 percent came from other countries this year.
Peony Winners
Grand Champion is the highest honor a variety can win at a show. The peony chose Grand Champion and those chosen Champion or Best in their classes at the Minneapolis show, which is named in the accompanying table.
Also named in the same table are the peonies which won these awards at the Fifth District show in Chicago; the Men’s Garden Club show in Albany, Oregon; and the shows at Grand Forks, North Dakota, Sussex, N. J., and Duluth, Minn.
Double Peonies
Our good friend Minuet, a luscious light pink double, won more honors in all classes than any other variety at Minneapolis.
Elsa Sass, a lovely double white delicately, lightly veiled with yellow and pink—one of the best of all whites—won second most honors.
La Lorraine, a blush double, scored third. Ensign Moriarty, a dark pink double, fourth. Bonanza, a good red double, fifth, and Dorothy J, a large blush, sixth.
Other double peonies that won prizes in the order named were the following:
- Dark pink Pres. F. D. Roosevelt
- Light pink Dolorodell
- White Alesia
- Light pink Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Light pink Nick Shaylor
- White Duluth
- White Mrs. J. V. Edlund
- White Le Cygne
- Dark pink Blanche King
Japanese Peonies
Isani Gidui, now quite scarce, was the highest-scoring white Japanese. Other prize-winning peonies in this class were:
- Moon of Nippon, a late-blooming variety that makes a fine plant and shapely flowers
- Christine
- Gold Standard
- Bu-te (a new one that’s tall and has large, nicely formed flowers)
The pink Japanese peonies also made good records:
- Gypsy Queen
- Gypsy Rose
- Osceola
- Ama-no-side
- Tamate Boku
Best among the few reds are the following:
- Nippon Beauty
- Nippon Brilliant
- Charm
- Dignity
- Fuyajo
Single Peonies
Of the few single peonies displayed, Pico scored highest and Krinkled White next.
Seashell, as usual, was the highest-scoring pink and L’Etincelante the next highest. Kickapoo led the red singles, and President Lincoln and Flanders Fields followed in that order.
The infrequent classes for herbaceous hybrids were all full. Except for Red Charm, no variety among them made a high score only because honors were widely distributed among the very numerous varieties exhibited in each class.
Hybrid Peonies
The hybrids are, undoubtedly, the most long-lasting, brilliantly colored, and spectacular of all peonies.
Some of the finest are the following:
- Crimson semi-double Alexander Woollcott
- Brilliant red single Bright Knight
- Scarlet single Cardinal’s Robe
- Brilliant scarlet-crimson semi-double (one of the best of all)
- Carina
Only two suffruticose tree peonies were shown. They were Gessekai, a semi-double pure white with immense blooms, and Hanakisoi, considered the best scarlet-red.
Hybrids of suffruticose and lutea or its variety Delavayi were shown by Mrs. A. P. Saunders and her daughter Silvia of Clinton, New York.
They were all originations of the late Professor A. P. Saunders. Most of them were in shades of yellow.
For many years a true yellow herbaceous peony has been sought with little success. While the pale yellow species Mlokosewitschi has been known for some time, it has been almost impossible to succeed with it by crossing it with lactiflora (albiflora) varieties.
After over 4,000 attempts, Dr. Earle B. White, formerly of Kensington, Maryland, and now of Daytona Beach, Florida, finally succeeded where everyone else had given up in despair. The result, named Claire de Lune, was shown for the first time in Minneapolis.
Dr. White’s flower is medium-sized, single-petalled, and has a pale moonlight color. It has pale, creamy yellow guard petals, a large center of showy orange stamens, and seed pods tipped with pale pink.
The plant, of medium height, has good stems and is attractive from the time it first comes up and to the end of the season. It blooms with the earliest peonies.
Though the flowers exhibited at Minneapolis had been in storage for some time, they held up without wilting until the show’s end.
This peony has the charm and individuality that few possess. As a result, it received the American Home Achievement Medal as the most distinctive new peony shown.
Oriental Gold Peony
At this point, I want to digress a bit to discuss one peony named Oriental Gold, shown at the June Rose and Flower Show of the Men’s Garden Club of New York held at the Advertising Club on June 7.
Mr. Louis Smirnow of Sands Point, New York, had heard-like everyone else— that a true yellow herbaceous double peony existed somewhere in Japan. So he persevered until he obtained a few plants of it.
He exhibited flowers grown from the plants at the New York show for the first time this past June.
Mr. Smirnow’s peony Oriental Gold is a deeper yellow than Dr. White’s. It blooms in midseason. The plant has good stems and is distinctive in appearance. The flower is medium-sized and has no stamens.
It is probably a hybrid as few if any, species bear double flowers. Its origin is not known, and attempts are being made to get its history.
If this variety has a stigma that can be fertilized, it should prove very valuable to hybridizers.
Back To Minneapolis
The Seedling Committee bestowed Honorable Mention on the following varieties:
- Florence Bruss, a red single, and an unnamed light rose pink double that originated and was shown by Franklin Nursery, Minneapolis
- Another unnamed seedling, light rose pink double shading deeper at the center, originated by Louis Fischer of Croix Farms, Hastings, Minnesota
- Prince Charming, a red Japanese Glasscock hybrid, is shown by Mrs. Elizabeth Falk of Princeville, Illinois.
Gold Medal
The Gold Medal of the American Peony Society for the best 50-60 varieties was awarded to Marvin C. Karrels of Milwaukee.
The Silver Medal for the best 25 to 30 varieties was won by Glenn H. Greaves of St. Paul.
Bronze Medal
The Bronze Medal was presented to Mrs. James Aubrecht of Minneapolis for the best 10-15 varieties and to each flower chosen Champion in the Court of Honor at Minneapolis.
Silver Medal
The Silver Medal for the best collection of five varieties went to Dr. D. Sanford Hyde of Chicago for Dorothy J, Doris Cooper, Elsa Sass, Mandaleen, and Nancy Nicholls.
One of the best of the newest varieties was Mother’s Choice, Glasscock seedling grandparents by Le Cygne.
Another interesting new double was Christina Amelia, a white original by Mr. Christian Olson of North Dakota.
Something Different
If it is permissible to close a report with a plea, I urge gardeners who want something different to plant some of the hybrids and some of the new lactiflora varieties.
Those within the limits of hardiness for tree peonies should add some to their collection.
Tree peonies—the finest of all shrubs for the garden—are hardy in all but the most northern parts of the United States, where they must be given some protection in winter.
Every one of them — pure white, pinks, deep reds, yellows — make shrubs surpassing beauty.
44659 by George W. Peyton