Peony Registry

Received August 31, 2020. Seedling No. CH-18. Parentage unknown. First bloomed 1980’s, first propagated 2015. Has been distributed under this name to a number of botanical gardens in Europe. The name and description have also been previously published in two Czech magazines, Zahrádká? and Zahradnictví. Blooms at the beginning of the Lactiflora season. SINGLE flower form, 3-4 blooms per stem, size 6 inches (15½ cm), dark red (RHS:59B). Three rows of rounded petals, some flat, some slightly cupped, some gently ruffled, all adding a three-dimensional effect to the blooms. Center of pollen-bearing stamens occupy about one quarter of the flower. Filaments reddish purple at the base, yellow at the top. Average of 4 carpels, yellowish green (RHS:145D), very hairy. Reddish-purple stigmas (RHS:60A), normal anatomy, fertile. Staminodal disc well-developed, dark pink. Fragrance. Early foliage purple, sparsely pubescent. Leaves mature green by flowering season with stems and petioles retaining a purplish tint. Narrow upright growth to 37 inches (94 cm). Support not needed. Spain was once part of the Habsburg Empire, and after 1620 many aritocratic families from Spain emigrated to Bohemia. This peony is named its tall, slender, and erect aristocratic bearing, as well as the dark flower which can interpreted as analagous to the dark hair of Spanish women. Carmen, with its Spanish origin, was selected to round out this image.