Alexander Woollcott
This peony is named for Alexander Woollcott (1887-1943) who was a student at Hamilton College during Saunders’ tenure. He became a rather acerbic theater critic, radio personality, and sometime actor and playwright and the inspiration for the character of Sheridan Whiteside in The Man Who Came to Dinner.
This is one of the most popular “lobata of Perry” red hybrids. It exhibits nice upright growth and good foliage. My plant has gradually dwindled with only 5 blooms in 2020 and a similar number in 2021.
| Cultivar: | Alexander Woollcott |
| Year: | 1941 |
| Seedling No: | 10644 G. Pages 22 & 46 of Saunders Notebook I |
| Parentage: | 7: lactiflora ‘Marie Jacquin’ X “lobata of Perry” |
| Flower: | Color | deep red |
| Form: | semi-double | |
| Blooms: | Week 5 | |
| Carpels: | 2-5, cream – light greenish yellow, velvety | |
| Stigmas: | pale pink | |
| Disc: | pale pink | |
| Stamens: | filaments “fine and very short, cream reddish” (Silvia Saunders) | |
| Plant: | Habit: | upright |
| Foliage color: | deep green, shining | |
| Foliage form: | narrow with lobed tips | |
| Height: | 24″ in 2021 | |
| Recommendation: | Recommended especially if you like dark glowing red peonies but does not appear to increase quickly. |
| Availability: | Many specialty nurseries |
