Peony Registry

Seedling number RRL-PB. Parentage unknown, though cultivar is noted to have P. rockii subsp. rockii (linyanshanii) in its background. First bloom date is unknown, first propagated 2014. Early mid-season blooming SINGLE to SEMI-DOUBLE flowers are lavender, 20-25cm (8-10″) in diameter, outward facing, and average one per stem. Dark maroon-black flares with blurred margins emerge from flower centers and transcend approximately 20% of the total petal length. Guard petals are ruffled, frilled, and notched, and are wavy overall. Fragrance noted. Quite floriferous and consistently so. Flowers possess on average five sparsely hairy, white carpels with white stigmas of normal anatomy. Stamens are between 1.5-2cm (0.5-0.75″) in length, with filaments that are cream in color. Sheath is complete, and also white in color. Fertile both ways – produces very large, shiny black seeds. Plants reach more than 150cm (60″) at maturity, and carry foliage that is deep green with long petioles and great distances between lance-like leaflets – a characteristic seen in P. rockii subsp. rockii. Hardy stems may be expected to endure very low temperatures, and plants can be expected to reach more than six feet (190cm) in both height and width in ten years – the size of the plant and its flowers contributing to the name. Dormant vegetative bud covers are large and like small balloons, feeling empty when squeezed between one’s fingers in late autumn and through the winter. Upon spring’s arrival, beautiful stems develop from within the seemingly empty vessels. Presumably, this is an adaptation which protects buds from low temperatures and adverse weather conditions during winter dormancy.