Popular Gardening, 1954

WHEN Claire de Lune was exhibited in the American Peony Society Exhibition in Minneapolis this Spring it was being shown for the first time at any flower show. Its blooming period is so early, due to its parentage, that it will rarely be seen in peony shows. It will probably be more often found in the few peony classes which usually find a place in iris shows.

Its heredity is interesting and unique in the peony genus, in that its seed parent is peony Sinensis variety Monsieur Jules Elie, and its pollen parent is the lovely little buttercup yellow species from the Caucasus region, peony Mlokosewitschi. This latter species holds its yellow color until its petals fall, as the pigment is colloidal instead of fluid as in the so-called yellows of the Chinese varieties.

In all breeding, either animal or vegetable, crossing is much easier if the chromosome counts of the two parents are the same. It is for this reason that Claire de Lune is unique as its parents do not have the same number of chromosomes in their sex cells and there are always "dangling" ones left with no mates in the other cell.

The cross which produced Claire de Lune was made in 1939 and for ten years there were 500 hand crosses made each year between the same two parents. Though some seeds were produced which looked as if they might be fertile, this is the only one which ever reached maturity from over 5000 hand crosses.

Claire de Lune, therefore, has no brothers or sisters and it is very doubtful that it ever will have any, as few breeders have the patience to face such a high percentage of failure.

That the Seedling Committee of the American Peony Society should have considered Claire de Lune worthy of the Achievement Medal is gratifying to its originator.

It is truly a lovely flower, of pale creamy yellow color which, like its male parent, will hold until its petals fall. Its form is good with its 10 to 12 rounded petals held in a cupped shape for at least 24 hours. The anthers of the stamens are orange-yellow which adds to the yellow effect by optical illusion and the tips of the carpels are pale pink and therefore do not mar the general picture.

The long period of time which elapsed between its production and introduction was due to the fact that it was thoroughly tested to be sure of its outstanding qualities before it was put out.

It is a source of great satisfaction to its producer, that the blooms which received the award in Minneapolis had been held in cold storage for over three weeks before they were displayed and that they held up for the entire duration of the show.