Paeonia unidentified

[johnw]

This Paeonia was given to us by a late friend before she moved house.  I have no idea what it is but can say it is quite exceptional and is surely a named variety.

The new shoots are extremely dark red as they emerge from the ground and retain that colour for a verylong time.

johnw
perhaps some much needed rain today
61F & overcast

[Leena]

It looks like a very nice peony, and it even has side shoots so it flowers a long time, but it is not anything I grow, so I can't say what it might be. I hope someone else can identify it.

[johnw]

Leena - I see nothing similar in the catalogues.  It must be a named one.

jihn

[arisaema]

It's not just a good clone of 'Fen Yu Nu' (aka 'Dancing Butterfly' and 'Little Medicine Man')? It's one of those variable and occasionally seed raised cultivars raised by the million here in China for medicine, and it's been all over big-box stores in both Europe and the US for at least 15 years.

[johnw]

It's not just a good clone of 'Fen Yu Nu' (aka 'Dancing Butterfly' and 'Little Medicine Man')?

Arisaema - I am not certain I understand your question above.  Do you mean it is a good seed-raised clone of 'Fen Yu Nu?  Is it a coimplex hybrid or a cross between two species?

johnw

[Leena]

Now that it was mentioned, the flowers do look like 'Dancing Butterfly'. I used to have but gave it away, and don't remember now what colour it's spring foliage was. It is difficult to identify many peonies, flowers may look the same, and there may be only small differences in colour of spring foliage or sidebuds or something like that. My 'Dancing Butterflies' didn't have as many sidebuds as yours does.
It is quite common here to get it as a "wrong" plant, that is you buy a double white/double red or some named cultivars, and end up having 'Dancing Butterfly'.  Someone here once suspected  that Dutch peony fields are full of it, and so when something else is sold out, they replace it with this. It is also sold with several names which Arisaema wrote.
Actually there is nothing wrong with it, it is a vigorous peony which holds it's flowers well, and the name 'Dancing Butterflies' is suitable for it  .

[arisaema]

Arisaema - I am not certain I understand your question above.  Do you mean it is a good seed-raised clone of 'Fen Yu Nu?  Is it a coimplex hybrid or a cross between two species?

It's pure P. lactiflora, one of the cheapest cultivars out there, often used as a rootstock for tree peony grafts. It's raised for both traditional Chinese medicine, as well as grown for export. The thing about Chinese cultivars - quite often there are several clones distributed under one name, as they've been propagated both by division and by seed, the flower doesn't really matter when you grow it for medicine.

[arisaema]

...and I fully agree with Leena, I grew it for a decade myself back in Norway, it's a very nice peony with long lasting flowers!