Botanical Family: Paeoniaceae (Peony Family)
Related To: peonies are the only group of plants in their family
Born In: the 30-odd wild species of peony are mixed in distribution between Asia, Southern Europe and Western North America
Bred By: Victor Lemoine, a famous French flower breeder in the 19th century worked with peonies among many other species; A.P. Saunders, a professor at Hamilton College in New York, is regarded as the father of modern peony breeding, having introduced 320 varieties in his long career; Nassos Daphnis, a Greek immigrant to New York who carried on the work of Saunders, had developed hundreds of varieties by the time he died in 2010 at the age of 96
All-Star Varieties: 'Gertrude Allen' (a 'Japanese' type peony with showy yellow stamens); 'Coral Charm' (a 'semi-double' type with glowing sunset-colored petals); 'Raspberry Sundae' (a 'bomb' type peony whose flower appears as a fluffy ball of petals
|'Gertrude Allen'||'Coral Charm'||'Raspberry Sundae'|
Fun Fact: If you've ever wondered why there always seem to be ants crawling on the flower buds of your peony plants, don't worry; they are not causing any harm. When curled up in a tight bud, the nectar is squeezed from the flowers, a sugary treat that the ants have come to enjoy.