Top Selling Peonies in 2024

It's been a while since I last wrote a blog post. The last peony line-up I shared was in 2021—high time to bring this back!

2024 was a challenging growing year. "Wet" was the word of the summer. Despite our field being tile-drained, we still faced waterlogged rows. I noticed the lactifloras had fewer eyes than usual, and some of the herbaceous hybrids—most notably Prosperity Maud (you'll see why that was a major issue in a moment)—had darkened eyes due to excess moisture.

Despite the rain challenges, we experienced our top-grossing year, leading to a very busy

fall getting all the roots out to you. Overall, it turned out to be a great year.

A caveat to this list: I chose top-grossing peonies over quantity sold because, in my small business, quantity sold often reflects availability more than popularity. Pricing depends on several factors, and a higher price often means limited availability. Therefore, in a business like mine, the peony that brought in the most revenue is likely the most popular.

So without further ado—here are our top-grossing peonies of 2024!

#5 Guardian of the Monastery

Guardian of the Monestary (Gratwick 1959) is a stunning tree peony bred by the esteemed hybridizer William Gratwick from New York. Renowned for its bold and dramatic appearance, this variety features large lavender flowers with deep purple accents at the center. The petals showcase a beautiful mix of cream, pink, and lavender tones, with intricate purple flares that subtly blend into the lighter shades. The blooms are carried atop a bushy shrub, which typically grows to a height and spread of 100-120 cm. This peony blooms early, before the Lutea hybrids, and has a pale pink sheath with a cream-colored stigma. With its large, ruffled petals and striking color contrast, Guardian of the Monastery is a breathtaking peony, a standout from the renowned Linwood Gardens in upstate New York.

#4 Kathy's Touch

This is one beautiful peony! Opens mid-pink and fades through to silver before the petals drop. Various flower forms on the plant becoming predominantly flower-in-flower double as the plant matures. My favourite aspect of this plant is its stature. The stems are thick and straight, these flowers have no flop whatsoever. This cultivar is the result of a cross between Salmon Dream and Pink Vanguard - two beautiful peonies in their own right.

#3 British Beauty

For the collector of very old peonies. Dating back to 1889 from the British peony breeder James Kelway. Listed by James Kelway in his 1954 Garden Paeonies book as “ bright cabbage-rose colour tipped silver, incurved rose type. Large. Very sweetly spice scented”.

#2 Athelstane

Brown, W.M, 1938. Pale lavender pink flowers of flat form. A Canadian peony introduced by William Brown. William Brown was a prominent member of the Ontario horticultural community in the first half of the 20th century. Like many peony breeders, peonies were his hobby - he made his living as a cabinet maker. He introduced about a dozen cultivars which are either no longer available or hard to find today. Of the six I grow Athelstane and Elgin are my favourites. A gorgeous peony and a part of Canadian horticultural history.

And #1 -no surprise to anyone I am sure, PROSPERITY MAUD

2024 Canadian Peony Society Plant of Year, A hard to find peony, and not many plants in commercial production, which we have hoped to fix after planting 40 divisions this fall. This was the first peony from the Ménard seedling collection that Lindsay D'Aoust registered. The flowers are an unusual shade of apricot and they hold their colour well. Deep pink flares at the base of each petal have their colour amplified by the deep pink base of the otherwise golden stamens.