ROCK GARDEN PEONIES

Rock Garden Peonies

These rock garden peonies are the shortest varieties we grow! Very charming, herbaceous perennials, our rock garden peonies have foliage, texture and blossoms sized in perfect proportion to their smaller stature.

Rock-garden varieties are named for their short heights (generally below 21") and their adaptability for today's smaller landscapes and gardens.

We ship healthy, freshly dug, bare root plants in the fall.

Recommended to be hardy in USDA Zones 3-7.

Hybrids

Hybrid peonies are the result of crossing or breeding two peony species together. This progeny has vivid, oriental poppy-like blossom colors of salmon, peach, coral, clear pink, fire-engine red and soft moonlight yellows. They bloom early in the season with shorter bush stature and lighter green vibrant foliage than regular garden peonies. Their planting and care are similar to growing any peony well. Hybrid peonies are excellent in the mixed perennial border or used in groups around patios, walkways and pools.

Professor A. P. Saunders Hybrids

A chemistry Professor at Hamilton College, Clinton, New York during the early part of the 20th century, Professor Saunders is today considered the "Father" of the modern hybrid peony. He carried out extensive, scientifically based breeding programs with both herbaceous and tree peonies with the assistance of friends at the New York Botanical Garden. His tree peony work centered on the intercrossing of two species, the yellow flowered P. lutea and the orange-red P. delavayi with existing classical Japanese Moutan varieties. The resultant progeny produced a range of flower colors from lemon and golden yellow to ivory and pearl shades frequently blended and suffused with purple and pink, plus a few strawberry-red cultivars. In all cases, the flowers are displayed above attractive cut-leaf foliage. Eventually his daughter, Silvia took over her father's nursery, and after several decades Professor Saunder's hybrids are still in great demand by gardeners worldwide.