Peony Registry

Date received: October 22, 2020. Seedling No. Seidl 79H14-1. Parentage: ‘Archangel’ x Saunders 16350 F2. Correspondence with Seidl in 2006 verified 79H14-1 as an ‘Archangel’ seedling, with Bill’s strong belief that 16350 F2 was the pollen parent (Saunders 16350 F2 was registered by Allan Rogers in 1991 as ‘Blushing Princess’ when it became obvious that it was being distributed well beyond the small circle of ardent hybridizers who found it so useful in their work). Cross made in 1979, first bloom about 1983. First divided 2006 or not long before then. SEMI-DOUBLE to DOUBLE flowers on mature plants, buff with pink tints on opening, then fading to white. Medium-sized blooms, moderately deep, becoming more rounded and deeper as flower matures, that visual bulk being added to the flower by means of petals being gently ruffled, subtly crinkled, and held increasingly far apart. Tufts of thin petaloids emerge through the stamen boss and increase with plant maturity. Petals of average substance. Thick stamens are borne on short filaments. Ghost green carpels are tipped with dark red (mahogany) stigmas. Fertile both ways. Light sweet fragrance, rare for hybrids of this type of parentage. Vigorous when well grown, having rapid stem increase. Semi-shiny leaves are medium sized atop the bush, becoming much larger lower down on the stem, reflecting its macrophylla heritage. Stems of medium thickness, project upward and slightly outward. Foliage almost to the ground with stem “legs” well hidden. Height at maturity 30 inches (76 cm) with 36 inch spread (91 cm). Seedling 79H14-1 came into the registrant’s garden in 2006, along with a few other numbered Seidl seedlings sent by Bill. Some of these were subsequently named by him, but he left the registration to others. Bill began publicly referring to 79H14-1 as ‘White Vanguard’ by 2012; the word “Vanguard” reflecting its early blooming at the very advent of the full size herbaceous hybrids season. The use of ‘White Vanguard’ in peony breeding, and its increasing distribution world-wide, pointed to the need of formalizing the name, which is hereby accomplished.