Chinese Peony, Garden Peony 'Lady Alexandra Duff'

A very beautiful, scented and reliable peony. Sometimes it blooms semi-double, and sometimes completely double. It needs a but of support...Read More since it's stems no a bit, but the resulting beauty is worth the trouble.

Per the 1928 Lee R. Bonnewitz Iris and Peony catalog from Van Wert, Ohio:
LADY ALEXANDRA DUFF (Kelway). One of the most celebrated...Read More Peonies in the world. Blooms on medium tall stems. The flowers are very large and loose, showing stamens at the center and collar. The color is a beautiful shade of pink which rapidly fades to white. Within two days after the main bloom has opened, the laterals open and they are usually very bright pink while the central semi-double bloom has faded to white, and the effect of the white semi-double bloom surrounded by three or four beautiful pink single blooms of water lily formation, is very distinctive. Nearly all visitors ask to see this celebrated variety, which, while having a most beautiful effect in the garden, unfortunately does not carry its petals in very good shape to the Peony shows, and so it is more famous as a garden flower and as a cut flower than it is as a show variety. One of the best selling varieties in our garden which we can recommend without any hesitation. $3.00

Per the APS website:
LADY ALEXANDRA DUFF (Kelway, 1902) - Double - Blush - Midseason. Medium height. Fair fragrance. Large. Blooms are borne in clusters, with smaller, saucer-shaped side flowers; pale blush-pink, almost white, with yellow stamens mixed with a few irregular petals in the center. Very floriferous; stems strong. Foliage abundant. In some seasons it is decidedly pink, especially on the back of the blooms near the calyx. As usually seen, the flowers are charming and informal and the plant is graceful.

Very lovely double pale pink flowers in mid June (zone 5). I grow several of these for use in dried arrangements. May not dry well in we...Read Moret years or in area's of high humidity. Browning may occur.

When planting new peonies, make sure that you plant the "eyes" only 1 1/2" below the surface of the soil, otherwise they might not flower for several years. Give plenty of room between bushes (at least 3' in all directions) for air circulation. Keep watered well in spring until after flowering. This cultivar appears to have good resistance to disease and fungal infections.