The American Peony Society’s Annual Get Together
Diverse People With a Shared Interest in Peonies
Annual Banquet and Auction
Each year American Peony Society members gather at a different venue, with one thing in mind-PEONIES. Popular with members, the annual convention provides opportunities to see member and commercial gardens in full bloom, show flowers in the APS Flower Show, attend peony related seminars and visit with other members.
Tours to regional gardens are big draw, that provide member peony enthusiasts with opportunities for photographing their favorite plant, as well as, allowing time to discuss related topics.
Members and the public are treated to annual the APS Flower Show and Exhibition. Not everyone shows peony flowers, but all agree that it is one the high points of the peony bloom season.
For the more academically minded or those motivated to learn more about peonies, members may decide to attend one of any number of seminars and presentations. Seminars are designed for a broad range of interests and provide opportunities for beginner to expert.
A member banquet and auction is held to celebrate and support the American Peony Society, which serves as the annual membership meeting. Members often meet people in person that they have read about, while sharing a great meal. To support the American Peony Society, members are able to bid on often rare and unusual peonies in the annual member auction.
Current Flower Exhibition Information ++
Exhibition and Show Information
The American Peony Society’s Annual Flower Show and Exhibition is a great way to show off the beauty of flowers growing in your garden, but a few preparations may be helpful to make the experience successful and enjoyable. Getting to know the show schedule, which supplies entry information is a great place to start getting organized. The schedule may change slightly from year to year to better accommodate ever changing and growing entry diversity.
The Peony Exhibition also is the place to meet with fellow peony enthusiasts to discuss what flowers do best for you. It is about the only place to see so many varieties at one time. The show is judged and all are encouraged to enter. It does not matter if you grow only a handful of peonies or thousands, it only takes one perfect peony to be selected ‘Best in Show’. In addition to the cut flower show, you have the ability to bring out your artistic self with the arrangement section. Each year, a new theme is created so flower arrangements can be artistically displayed. APS will supply the peonies for this section.
Interested in helping out at the exhibition? Volunteer a few hours or more and get a first hand knowledge of entering flowers and hang out with fellow peony enthusiasts. Volunteer duties include clerking, classification, runners and general show prep.
Additional Resources
American Peony Society Annual Show Results
Honoring the Best in Peony Flower Showmanship
The Annual Show
Each year exhibitors trek to the American Peony Society’s Annual Flower Show and Exhibition to present their finest blooms for evaluation by a team of judges. While peony flowers are generally beautiful, showing them to perfection requires time, effort, skill and sometimes a little luck. Many variables are involved in creating the best presentation of a single flower which may include: a well formed flower, appropriate size, pristine condition, correct maturity, color, petal configuration, and preparation for judging. Of course growing a healthy plant plays a part in the entire production of perfect blooms.
Many flowers each year receive ribbons in recognition of excellent showmanship. Visitors to the Flower Show and Exhibition are treated to the final results by seeing hundreds of blooms prepared to perfection. We hope you are inspired viewing the entries since it is APS goal to enrich everyone lives through plants and in this case the enchanting peony flower.
APS wishes to thank and honor those who show the fruits of their efforts and hope others join in this unique activity. Take a look at the results, much can be learned about best cultivars for showing, the people who show and other entry information. Please see the resource block below for specific annual show results.
Court of Honor & Best in Show
With great anticipation and excitement, the exhibitors prepare their flowers for judging the evening before judging. Judges evaluate each bloom in various divisions and award worthy flowers that meet definitive criteria. The best flowers from each division are selected and further awarded, and further selections are made to determine a number of other awards.
The Court of Honor contains the best from each class group regardless of Schedule Division. Thus it is made up of the best of the best, and it is from the Court of Honor that the ultimate “best of the best” is selected to be the Grand Champion of the show. This award is the highest honor a peony can receive in our annual flower exhibition.
To receive the Best In Show award, a peony must receive a 1st place award in its exhibited class of those classes presenting single blooms. Judges then select from all of the 1st place winners of the single bloom classes for representation on the Court of Honor. The Court of Honor consists of winners according to color and type from each peony group. The Court of Honor is then evaluated to determine the single flower representing the most outstanding show qualities. The winner is designated as “Best in Show” or “Queen of the Show”.
APS Peony Exhibition Results
American Peony Society Conventions in Coming Years
Plan to Get Your Peony Fix
2025…Beaver Dam, Wisconsin
2026…Philadelphia, Pennsylvania