Tranquil Dove
Leena Liljestrand once asked me which Saunders peony took my breath away and I was, at the time, unable to answer. Well, Leena, this is it! The shiny foliage is reminiscent of florist’s greenery (myrtle, I think) and the buds are so gorgeous they almost surpass the flowers. The flowers are truly unique, nothing like them.
Although I’ve come to love all peony forms, I seem to be attracted to the unusual and small flowered ones as I also love the Windflowers. Perhaps 2020 was a special year for ‘Tranquil Dove’ as it is not always so lovely. The year 2020 needed this!
| Cultivar: | Tranquil Dove |
| Year: | 1993 (Saunders/Laning/Caprice Farm Nursery) |
| Seedling No: | not known |
| Parentage: | 12B: F2 of Halcyon; Halcyon = lactiflora X “ozieri alba” (likely P. corsica) |
| Flower: | Color: | white with rosy pink overlay and edging |
| Form: | single, 2 rows of petals, small, flat, ruffled edges | |
| Blooms: | Week 4 | |
| Carpels: | pink, woolly | |
| Stigmas: | dark pink | |
| Disc: | dark pink | |
| Stamens: | filaments are red | |
| Plant: | Habit: | upright |
| Foliage color: | dark green, shining | |
| Foliage form: | narrow, pointed leaves, terminal leaves slightly lobed | |
| Height: | 20-24″ (reported); 29″ in 2021, 31″ in 2022 | |
| Recommendation: | Highly recommended |
| Availability: | Several specialty nurseries |
