Event Calendar

Join APS for a winter series of ZOOM Seminars to pass the long winter days and satiate your peony appetite! Presenters are all APS volunteers and we appreciate their time and expertise within their respective subjects.

Seminars are one hour in length and time will be provided for questions after presentations. Participants must be APS Members and register prior to the meeting. Limited to the first 100 who sign up. Please mute your sound/microphone during the presentation. Prompts from the moderator will be provided at the end of the presentation for Q&A.

Presentations with registration links:

♥  The Peony Legacy of A.P. Saunders;  Presented by Lois Girton; Saturday, January 7, 2023, 10:30 a.m. CST

 A.P. Saunders of Hamilton College in Clinton, NY, is considered “the father of the modern peony” for his numerous interspecies crosses which produced both herbaceous and woody hybrids. Many cultivars are still considered garden-worthy and his fertile hybrids are found in the lineage of most new introductions. This talk by Lois Girton, APS Director and a collector of Saunders peonies, will introduce you to his life and work and prepare APS members for the upcoming visit to Hamilton College during the 2023 APS convention.

Login to the Member Portal to Register:  2023 Zoom Seminars

♥  Seedling Selection in Hybridizing Programs;  Presented by Nate Bremer;  Saturday, February 4, 2023, 10:30 a.m. CST

Selection of superior seedlings in hybridizing programs is an important task which supports introduction of new cultivars into commerce. Consideration of multiple criteria is important in selection to move the peony forward.  Looking beyond the beauty of a flower in selected seedlings important to the future success of hybridizing programs. Criteria for consideration may include:  disease resistance, stem strength, flower durability and longevity, opening qualities, cut flower use, root quality, propagation ease, and overall plant quality and ease of cultivation. This presentation is given by, APS President, director and hybridizer Nate Bremer. Nate has introduced numerous peony selections and is an experienced hybridizer and grower.  Join him for this no-nonsense look at peony selection.

Login to the Member Portal to Register:  2023 Zoom Seminars

♥  The History of Linwood Gardens;  Presented by Holly Watson;  Saturday, March 4, 2023, 10:30 a.m. CST

William Gratwick was a nurseryman and sculptor who developed Linwood Gardens near Pavilion, NY where he grew many woody peonies from Japan and introduced about a dozen cultivars. Through his patronage of the arts, he met the painter Nassos Daphnis in NYC; Daphnis subsequently conducted his very successful lutea hybridization program at Linwood Gardens. Gratwick’s great granddaughter, Holly Watson, is an historian and secretary of the Board of Directors of Linwood Gardens. Her talk will provide background for touring Linwood Gardens during the 2023 APS convention.

Login to the Member Portal to Register:  2023 Zoom Seminars

♥  The Process of Registering Peonies; Presented by Jordan Kabat;  Saturday, April 1, 2023, 10:30 a.m. CDT

Jordan Kabat currently serves as the International Cultivar Registration Authority registrar for the American Peony Society in cooperation with the International Society for Horticultural Science.  Recording new peony cultivars for registration provides for historical reference and is an important task which supplies information for anyone wishing to know more about a particular peony (registered peonies may be found in the online “Peony Registry“). While anyone may register a peony and the process is not difficult, there are details which are beneficial in successful registrations.  Join Jordan to learn about the process and requirements for a successful registration of a new peony cultivar.

Login to the Member Portal to Register:  2023 Zoom Seminars