[pbs] More on complex peony crosses
Jim McKenney
jimmckenney at jimmckenney.com
Thu Mar 1 17:57:24 EST 2007
JamieV wrote although P. 'Pageant is an P. officianalis X (P. lactiflora
x P. macrophylla), which is then similar to your version of P. 'Athena's
parents and P. 'Roselette (Saunders 1943) is listed as P. lactiflora X
(P officianals x P. macrophylla). Saunders was apparently always
'pushing the envelope' as he lists complex parentage, but not always the
order of the cross. He even crossed P. emodi x P. lactiflora, which I
have tried but never got it to take.
My source gives Roselette as lactiflora ×(tenuifolia × mlokosewitschii); for
Pageant, it gives the same parentage you give, but indicates that this is an
F2 hybrid.
Dont give up on lactiflora × emodi: Saunders himself seems to have gotten
fewer than twenty hybrids from this cross evidently its doable but not
easy. Saunders described P. emodi as self-sterile, but my plant sets viable
seed on its own pollen. By the way, I assume Saunders used pollen of P.
emodi on plants of P. lactiflora, but Im not sure. P. emodi is one of the
earliest peonies to bloom here in Maryland; it blooms weeks before the
lactiflora sorts.
My source for this information is The Peonies, edited by John Wister, 1962:
it has lots of detailed information about Saunders, his methods, his
sources, his notebooks and his hybrids.
For those of you who have followed this thread, let me add some human
interest. Saunders was the product of a distinguished Canadian family of
intellectuals. He taught chemistry at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y.,
spoke German and played the violin when he was not hybridizing peonies.
Jim McKenney
jimmckenney at jimmckenney.com
Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where severe storm warnings
are in effect throughout the night.
My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com
Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS
Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org
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