Silvia Saunders

CONCERNING THE SAUNDERS HYBRID PEONY "RED LACQUER"

APS Bull. ??? p.12

Since "Red Lacquer" is referred to as one of our lobata-hybrid F-2's, I think a few words of explanation are in order:

This plant, to begin with, is now non-existent.

It did once exist, under number only, in a bed of seedlings, some of which were supposed to be F-2's. It was seen by a painter-neighbor who admired its brilliant red, "Like Chinese red Lacquer," he said. My father gave him his only plant, and the neighbor took it home and planted it in 'his own garden.

Its stamens were a funny caterpillary sort of texture something like chenille. I cannot recall ever having seen pollen on them. Many years later, our neighbor gave me permission to dig up his plant with the idea that I would take some small divisions of it and replace the largest piece in his garden.

As with some plants, the more you try to have more of them, the more you have less and less. And what you have do not grow well. My neighbor's division finally died. The pieces in my garden, when they bloomed in the following years, never had the "chenille" stamens and I finally came to question whether I hadn't mixed up some plants in the bed.

So, it is not a proven F-2. May never have set a seed. May not have had viable pollen. And is now, as I said at first, non-existent.

For lobata hybrid F-2's, we shall have to concentrate on Moonrise.