Cricket Hill Garden
Paeonia lactiflora, 'Kelway's Glorious' herbaceous peony PICK UP
Notable characteristics: An heirloom peony from 1909 with good, strong stems and rich fragrance. Large flowers, petals are first tinged with pink, then open to a ruffled white, for a beautiful transformation.
Cultivar description in the 1909 American Peony Society registration reads:
"Strong, rose like fragrance. Very large. White with a creamy suffusion in depths, crimson streaks on outside of guard petals, and occasionally a few faint crimson edges in center; free-flowering. Strong stems. Good dark green foliage with green veins... is generally considered one of the finest varieties."
Cultivar group, hybridizer and year introduced: Lactiflora, Kelway's Nursery (UK), 1909.
Growth habit and size at maturity: Grows to 3' tall and 3' wide. May require some support when flowers are fully open. Ideal for the cutting garden.
Flower form and size: Full double, 5" and upward facing. Excellent variety for cut flowers.
Flower fragrance: Rich, clove-rose scent.
Bloom time: Mid- to late season hybrid peony, blooms in our USDA zone 6a garden in the first week or two of June.
Zone hardiness: Proven in USDA zones 3-9.