Holiday

The first peony I purchased as ‘Holiday’ turned out to be something else entirely, possibly ‘Iphigenia’, although I’m still hoping it is ‘Red Currant’, a very rare Saunders peony. I expect my ‘Iphigenia’ to bloom in 2021 and to settle the question.  I’ve seen the photos of ‘Holiday’ at Hamilton College and am very much looking forward to the first blooms from my small and struggling plant.

The information in the description comes from the article by David Reath and Silvia Saunders and from Silvia Saunders’ notes on woody peonies. 

Cultivar: Holiday
Year: 1948
Seedling No: 8041 lutea hybrid
Group: Tea Rose
Flower: Color: “cream with rosy tints and edged rosy” (Reath and Saunders), small rosy flares (Silvia Saunders)
Form: full double
Blooms: [BLOOM]
Carpels: green
Stigmas: cream
Sheath: none (Reath and Saunders)
Stamens: none (Reath and Saunders)
Plant: Habit: [HABIT]
Foliage color: coppery tones
Foliage form: ferny (Silvia Saunders)
Height: dwarf (reported)
Recommendation: Collectors’ plant
Availability: Rare