My book is now in print!! I have donated copies to the American Peony Society with sales to support various peony projects including reference gardens and peony research. It is available for purchase on the APS website. I will sign and ship the book directly to you.
Updates/Corrections to Book
‘Earlybird’ The introduction date for ‘Earlybird’ has been variously reported. In the 1939 Saunders Nursery Catalogue we see this listing for the plants that are now named ‘Earlybird’. (I took the 1939 date from Wister’s book The Peonies and some nurseries also use that date.)
Woodwardi X tenuifolia: This strain is in some seasons the first of all peonies to bloom, coming even before the single tenuifolia. The plants are handsome garden objexts with finely cut foliage and a great abundance of bright crimson flowers. Selected colors, sold under name only. (1939 Saunders Nursery Catalogue)
Not until his 1952 catalogue was the name ‘Earlybird’ applied to this strain and all plants now sold appear to have red flowers and may represent only seedling #8807. The APS Registry lists the date of introduction as 1951 but references only the 1952 catalogue. The 1951 date is the correct one and originates with its listing in an article by George Peyton titled “Herbaceous Hybrid Peonies” published in the APS Bulletin #129 in 1951.
‘Camellia’ The photo and plant information in my book for ‘Camellia’ are in error due to my not realizing I had received a misidentified plant from a European nursery. During the 2026 APS convention tour at Winterthur Museum, Gardens & Library, I saw the correct plant which had been purchased directly from the Saunders Nursery in the early 1950s. The flowers are semidouble, white with peach tones, have 3 woolly green carpels with bright dark pink/red stigmas, and very sparse scattered stamens, likely with no pollen. A photo of the correct flower is now in the APS Registry. The plant is not very vigorous.