Morphobiological characteristics of early-flowering herbaceous peony cultivars

Most early-flowering herbaceous peony cultivars are of hybrid origin. Their popularity is attributed to the wide range of fl ower colors. Thirteen early-flowering herbaceous peony cultivars from the collection of the Federal Horticultural Center for Breeding, Agrotechnology and Nursery were evaluated in biennial and perennial plantings from 2024 to 2026 to assess their performance under the conditions of Moscow Oblast. Based on their morphological characteristics, the cultivars were classified into groups according to flower color: cream Lunnaya Doroga, Starlight, and Early Daybreak; coral – Coral Charm; red and dark red – Orlyonok, Tiny Tim, Carina, and Dandy Dan; lilacpink – Novost’ Altaya and Anna Zahler; and crimson – Goody, Ofeliya, and Paula Fay. The cultivars Lunnaya Doroga, Orlyonok, Tiny Tim, Starlight, Novost’ Altaya, and Early Daybreak had single flowers with one or two rows of petals. The flowers of Coral Charm, Carina, Anna Zahler, Ofeliya, and Paula Fay were semi-double, with three to eight rows of petals. Goody and Dandy Dan had double fl owers. Most cultivars had erect stems 60–75 cm in height and a compact growth habit. The exceptions were the tall cultivar Novost’ Altaya (95 cm) and the cultivars Tiny Tim, Dandy Dan, and Coral Charm, which had semi-spreading or spreading growth habits. Flowering in the second year after planting was observed in Orlyonok, Lunnaya Doroga, Tiny Tim, Coral Charm, Dandy Dan, Starlight, and Paula Fay. In perennial plantings, Orlyonok and Tiny Tim produced the highest number of shoots per plant. The highest proportion of flowering shoots (80.0–90.9%) was observed in cultivars producing 18–23 shoots per plant: Carina, Starlight, Novost’ Altaya, Ofeliya, Coral Charm, Dandy Dan, and Paula Fay. Most cultivars produced one to three buds per peduncle, whereas Lunnaya Doroga produced five to eight buds per shoot. Orlyonok, Novost’ Altaya, and Coral Charm were notable for their ability to produce seeds. Thus, the results of this study were used to determine the suitability of these cultivars for different applications in ornamental horticulture.

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