The Wonderful World of Intersectional Peonies

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The Parents

 
Intersectional hybrids are produced by crossing herbaceous and tree peonies. The cross is inter-sectional because herbaceous peonies and tree peonies are in different sections of the Genus Paeonia.  The intersectional cross can be made in either direction but, is much more difficult in the reverse direction.  Generally, intersectional crosses are extremely difficult in either direction. In peonies, the normal (forward) direction is with the herbaceous peony as the seed parent and the tree peony as the pollen. This is written as (Herbaceous x Tree Peony). Shown below are a few of the better parents for producing intersectional hybrids.
 

The  herbaceous seed parents 

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Martha Washington

The tree peony pollen parents 

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Golden Era

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Gertrude Allen

A number of other lactiflora varieties have also produced a few intersectional hybrids as well. Several of these varieties are listed below: 
 
 
 
Kakoden
Alice Roberts
Miss America
 
 

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Golden Experience

Most lutea hybrid tree peonies will produce a few seeds when used on effective herbaceous pod parents. Generally, however, the F2's and advanced generation hybrids are much more effective than the F1's. Several other lutea hybrids that have produced intersectional offspring are given below:
 
Alice in Wonderland (Reath)
Alice Harding (Lemoine)
Thunderbolt (Saunders)

For a more complete list of pollen and seed parents proven to be effective in the intersectional cross see Paeonia, (Vol. 25, No. 2 and Vol. 31, No. 3).