Peony Registry

Seedling Number: PVLB ‘Pretty Foliage’. Parentage: ‘Pink Vanguard’ x ‘Lavender Baby’. First bloomed 2016, first propagated 2018. Early blooming SEMI-DOUBLE flowers are pale purplish-pink, 15cm (6″) in diameter, are upward facing, and average one per stem. Guard petals are flat and rounded, and are typically 6cm (2.3″) in diameter. Fragrance noted. Flowers possess on average three moderately hairy, green carpels with red stigmas of normal anatomy. Filaments are pink, transitioning to white at the tips. Fertile both ways. A white to pink staminodal disk is visible with few projections. Plants reach 80cm (31.5″) at maturity, and carry broad-pointed, dark green foliage. Foliage at the time of emergence is brownish in color. Growth habit is upright; mechanical support is unnecessary. The cultivar was mainly selected for the many small leaflets that occasionally overlap. The lowest leaf consists of 9+10+12, thus, 31 small leaflets, averaging 2-4cm (0.75-1.5″) in width, and 7-9cm (2.75-3.5″) long. Plants are reliable bloomers and are quite resistant to both frost and botrytis damage to the foliage, buds, and flowers. Floriferous, mature plants often produce 20-25 stems. Bud casings are consistently well-closed (no open buds); sepals have a red edge, and petals in bud are somewhat darker than at blooming stage. Stems are stiff up to some 10cm (4″) below the flower where they become more flexible. Does not lend itself well to cutting, as the upper 10cm (4″) of stem will not stand in a vase, while the petals fail to hold. A healthy plant that propagates well and makes for a good garden subject with its consistent upright carriage. Name suggested by Leena Liljestrand.