2021 RHS Color Codes for Peony Blooms

Intersectional Peony 'Chief Black Hawk'
I managed to collect a few more peony bloom color codings this year despite mostly taking a break from peony "responsibilities" this year. There were 2 new RHS colors that I added to my Peony Colors page this year. Dark Purple Brown 59A and Yellow Orange 18C were the new colors I hadn't recorded for blooms before. When this happens I have to create new PNG images of the colors to add to the Peony Colors page, so that all of you know what the color "looks" like. I decided to update the RHS Color images codings from the Azalea RGB to the Lilac RGBs, which seemed to be more accurate to me. Look for an upcoming post on that!

	Chief Black Hawk - Dark Purple Brown 59A *
	Houki - Purple 58A
	Lavon - Pink Violet 75C
	Pietertje Vriend Wagenaar - Pink 68C
	Scrumdidleyumptious - Yellow Orange 18C *
	Shimane Cho Juraka - Purple Pink N74C
	Viking Full Moon - Light Yellow Green 2C
	Yankee Doodle Dandy - Dark Pink Red 51B

Also in case you hadn't noticed, I also added Intersectional Peony "Chief Black Hawk" to my Peony Photos page (and it's also the featured peony for this month on our Southern Peony front page!)

2021 Peony 'White Cap' Southern Peony Best Performer - Week 5

Peony 'White Cap'
Southern Peony Best Performer
I must say that this peony 'White Cap' does have one flaw, its stems like to lay flat on the ground. So if you don't mind staking it, and you love the colors, then this is one peony you'll want to grow. This Peony 'White Cap' is growing in some of the most unamended, unloved soil in my garden, and it is still growing like there's no tomorrow! There aren't a lot of peonies that have the kind of rapid growth and tenacity of this peony while growing here in the South. With a huge number of blooms on every stem, making an explosion of color, this peony is a hit!


Peony 'White Cap'
Southern Peony Best Performer

Peony 'White Cap'
Southern Peony Best Performer
Peony 'White Cap' is an herbaceous lactiflora peony, hybridized by Winchell and registered in 1956. The blooms just keep coming and coming on this peony due to the numerous side buds it produces. The bi-color anemone form of the bloom creates an eye-catching color-contrasting combo (hot pinky/purple & white) that really grabs your attention. If you want a peony that stands out in the garden this is it!


Peony 'White Cap'
Southern Peony Best Performer
As you can see from the photos, I have this peony staked up, and it seems to be very happy with the additional support. Some of you may remember last year, I decided to add this article on How to Make a Peony Support Ring from a Tomato Cage (specifically for Peony 'White Cap' as it neared the end of its bloom period). This year as it grew I just tried to make sure I tucked the peony stems into the tomato cage as the stems grew. As you can see it made a huge differnce!


Peony 'White Cap'
Southern Peony Best Performer

Peony 'White Cap'
Southern Peony Best Performer

2020 Peony Blooms Colors on RHS Colour Chart

This is a post that I drafted back in May of 2020. I was able to collect quite a few color codings last year (and a few this year too - look for that post coming soon!) I figured I'd sneak in a couple photos of Intersectional Peony 'Berry Garcia' from 2020 since it was the first peony on this alphabetical list. There are several new colors here that I'd not seen before and needed to add a category for on my Peony Colors page. Some the new colors added for 2020 are: Light Yellow Orange 19D, Pink Purple 72B, and Purple N79C.

Intersectional Peony 'Berry Garcia'

Berry Garcia - Light Yellow Orange 19D
Carl G. Klehm - White N 155B
Chiffon Clouds - Light Pink 56C
Glowing Candles - Light Pink 56C
Gordon E. Simonson - Pink Purple 72B
Joanna Marlena - Light Yellow Orange 19B & Red Pink 49A
Koukamon - Purple N79C
Lake o' Silver - Pink Purple N74B
Leda - Purple Red 55B
Lois Kelsey - White N999D
Lunar Glow - Light Yellow Green 2D
Mock Orange Yellow - Light Orange 26D
Renown - Dark Pink Red 51B
Sarah Bernhardt - Pink 70C
Shimane Cho Juraka - Purple Pink N74C
Smith Family Jewel - Red Pink 48C
Sonoma Welcome - Light Yellow 8C
Super Gal - Purple Pink 68A
Ursa Minor - Purple 71A
Victoire de la Marne - Purple 67A
Westerner - Pink Violet 75C & Light Yellow 8C

2021 Peony 'First Arrival' Southern Peony Best Performer - Week 4

Peony 'First Arrival'
Southern Peony Best Performer

Peony 'First Arrival'
Southern Peony Best Performer
Intersectional Peony 'First Arrival' was supposedly the first ever intersectional peony that bloomed for Roger Anderson from his intersectional peony breeding attempts. It sure is a beauty, and I don't think I've seen another intersectional peony on the market with a color quite like this one. It has a very nice pink color with a bit of a lavender tint. Intersectional Peony 'First Arrival' was hybridized by Roger Anderson and registered with the APS in 1986.


Peony 'First Arrival'
Southern Peony Best Performer

Peony 'First Arrival'
Southern Peony Best Performer
This intersectional peony will fill up the bush with buds, which bloom over a few days giving a fresh set of blooms, while the old blooms fade cleanly from the bush all on their own. This Intersectional Peony 'First Arrival' grows well here in the South. My plant took a few years to settle in, but it really seems to be taking off now. The bush gets larger and has more blooms on it each year! The blooms on this plant are quite variable in number of petals and form, but most of them have a pleasing symmetrical shape with rounded petals. The very center of these blooms have small dark pink/purple flares, giving the blooms a delightful inner glow of color!


Peony 'First Arrival'
Southern Peony Best Performer

Peony 'First Arrival'
Southern Peony Best Performer

2021 Year in Review

Wow, I can't believe it's almost Christmas already!! 1 week from today! Where has the year gone? I hope all of you are doing well. I know that this global pandemic has been hard on all of us. I hope that each of you has taken the time to take care of yourselves and find some time of peace, respite, and relaxation in your gardens. Even in the fall and winter, it is still nice to get outside, take a stroll, get some fresh air, and see what Mother Nature has been doing.

Intersectional Peony 'Keiko'
I'm not sure what the American Peony Society has been up to, but I am really hoping that I am able to join all of my peony friends again at next year's APS Convention. I recently changed jobs this year, and I am hoping for a better work/life balance in 2022. I think many people have been searching for the same thing. As the world has met the challenge of covid and all of its variants, people have reexamined what is most important to them in life.

Even though I didn't post anything the rest of this year, it doesn't mean I didn't take any peony photos in 2021. I actually have over 2,500 photos from 2021 (which is a lot less compared to 2020 - 9,250! - I might have overdone it last year! HA :-D) Anyway, I'm hoping to see what I can get put out at the tail end of 2021. I'm almost on vacation for the rest of the year, Monday will be my last working day in 2021. So I'm hoping to have some time to devote to my peony passion to round out the year.

I have some Southern Peony Best Performers I'd like to tell you about, plenty of nice "head shots" to add to my Peony Photos, and some new Color Classifications that I managed to collect! :-) And that photo above? Intersectional Peony 'Keiko' - one of my favorites!!! Can I nominate her every year for a Best Performer? So consistently beautiful! LOVE IT!!! 💗