PEONIES
PEONY OF THE YEAR 2025
SOFT SALMON SAUCER
Soft Salmon Saucer, voted by the membership as the 2025 Peony of the Year, is a beloved variety celebrated for its delicate, saucer-shaped blooms. Its soft salmon-pink petals, accented with a golden center that deepens toward the base and vibrant yellow stamens, create a striking and elegant display. Blooming early and abundantly, the flowers feature a subtle fragrance making them as delightful to the senses as they are to the eyes.
Standing at 32 inches tall, Soft Salmon Saucer boasts good foliage, strong substance, and excellent garden reliability. This herbaceous hybrid, prized for its elegance and productivity as a cut flower, is especially popular in floral design.
This exceptional variety was bred by Ontario hybridizer Lyman Cousins (1889–1973), a prolific figure in peony breeding, and registered by Klehm in 1981. A Canadian-bred treasure, Soft Salmon Saucer continues to captivate peony enthusiasts with its grace, style, and unique charm, securing its place as a top choice for gardens and bouquets alike.
Soft Salmon Saucer
Photo by Kate-Lynn Clark
Soft Salmon Saucer
Photo by Nick Maycher
PEONY OF THE YEAR 2024
PROSPERITY MAUD
Our selection for Peony of the Year 2024 goes to Prosperity Maud, an F2 hybrid registered by Ménard/D’Aoust in 2003. The hybrid, whose exact parentage is unknown but is related to Monsieur Jules Elie, bears single-petaled flowers of an unusual apricot hue that hold their colour well.
This peony does not require staking and is lightly fragrant. Pollen and seeds are abundant. It is no surprise that this was the unanimous selection by our voting members. The peachy-apricot hue continues to gain popularity with peony collectors for its warm and gentle tones in the garden. Along the same line, Pantone, the leading expert on colour for brands, chose PANTONE 13-1023 Peach Fuzz as the Colour of the Year. The inspiration comes from the global need for nurturing, empathy, and compassion during this time of turmoil. And we can see why, as reflected in our Peony of the Year selection.
Collectors and enthusiasts may not find Prosperity Maud widely available in the catalogues, as the plant was part of a collection owned by La Pivoinerie D’Aoust, which was later acquired by En Fleurs in 2017. It can be purchased in limited supply from En Fleurs or Halifax Perennials, but if you aren’t able to get hold of it, you can see it in all its glory in the Ornamental Gardens section at the Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, or at Whistling Gardens, Wilsonville, Ontario. While the originator, Maurice Ménard, passed away in 2002 and was not able to see the success of his efforts, we are truly grateful for the lasting legacy he has given peony gardeners around the world and for the work of Lindsay D’Aoust for registering and propagating the peonies he developed.
Read more about Maurice Ménard in the Winter 2024 Issue of the Newsletter (Members only).
Prosperity Maud
Photo by Joan Campbell
PEONY OF THE YEAR 2023
JOHN'S DREAM
The first CPS president, John Simkins, set the bar high when he and his volunteers organized our society, which turned 25 years strong in 2023. He was committed to the peony in its many forms, a love affair that has globally propagated a movement of peony aficionados. With amazing foresight, tireless work ethic, courage, conviction, and connections, he proved his ideas were perfect. How fitting that his peony John’s Dream was chosen as the CPS choice for the 2023 Peony of the Year.
Hazel Cook recollects the story of this beautiful peony:
John's Dream
Photo by Hazel Cook
"If you were fortunate enough to attend a presentation by John Simkins in the 1990s to early 2000s, you had an opportunity to purchase some of his small potted peony seedlings ($1 or $2 mystery plants). We purchased a tree peony seedling at a local horticultural meeting and some of our friends also bought seedlings at a show at the Royal Botanical Garden in Hamilton. As Joe and I began giving presentations, we often saw flower shows with impressive peonies, results of John’s hybridizing. Some gardeners shared roots of their plants so we could evaluate them in our growing conditions.
In June 2008, a friend invited us to see her peony seedling, now a mature plant with many blooms. Pat de Villiers’s peony was about 12 years old. She had dug it once at three years when she changed houses. It had always grown vigorously but took several years to bloom after the move. The seedling was the first yellow or single peony in her garden. She was afraid to divide a mature peony but wanted to share it with her family. Thus in autumn, we returned to dig the peony and help her divide it. We were pleased to receive two pieces of root.
Our divisions, recorded as JS08-01 grew well and we were excited to take two blooms to the American
Peony Society convention in 2010. Seedlings can only be officially judged if there are three stems but it
was worth the effort to experience the reaction of several top breeders/growers crowding around the
blooms discussing its uniquely wonderful characteristics. One even had his fingers in the centre which is
definitely against all rules. JS08-01 is actually a unique Japanese form rather than a single, and it
produces pollen as well as seed, thus fertile both ways. The pollen from the show blooms was shared
with the breeders for hybridizing that year. Serious discussion surrounded its merit suggesting it should
be included in the Court of Honor. Thus JS08-01 had started to advance the world of peonies with its
first showing. In subsequent years, the best seedling entry advances to the Court of Honor although not
qualifying for the ‘APS Best in Show’.
At the 2016 APS convention, JS08-01 received an Award of Merit and was subsequently registered. It has
been offered for sale and distributed to many commercial and private gardens ever since. The
registration information by Simkins / Cook is available on the American Peony Society webpage." (Norman and Hazel Cook are owners of Blossom Hill Nursery)
Le Cratère
PEONY OF THE YEAR 2022
Etched Salmon
PEONY OF THE YEAR 2021
Beatnik
PEONY OF THE YEAR 2020
CANADIAN PEONIES
Aphabetical list of registered peony varieties to 2023 (PDF)
SEED SALE
Stay tuned for the announcement of the annual seed sale.
ROOT SALE
Every year, a list of donated peony roots is being compiled and sent to members via email.
Please remember that the sale is open to Canadian members only and submissions from individuals without an active membership will not receive responses.
Donors are always welcome to contact us.
CANADIAN CONTENT VIDEOS
(TO BE ADDED)
Who We Are
We are a Society dedicated to the growth and development of Peonies. We are always looking for new members and enthusiasts to join the Society, so join us and come and share your passion!
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Contact Info
Canadian Peony Society
4338 Line 26
St. Pauls, ON N0K 1V0
info@peony.ca