Merry Mayshine
The finely divided foliage is slightly wider than that of its tenuifolia parent and tends to last longer through the summer. The plant is covered in numerous small blooms. On May 29, 1933, Saunders recorded it as being “rather handsome” with “very hairy” carpels and a much darker color than ‘Smouthii’.
It was given the Award of Landscape Merit by the American Peony Society.
| Cultivar: | Merry Mayshine |
| Year: | 1994 (Saunders/Smetana/Hollingsworth) |
| Seedling No: | 8277. Page 196 of Saunders’ Notebook I |
| Parentage: | lactiflora 1292 X tenuifolia |
| Flower: | Color: | red |
| Form: | single, 2 rows of petals, flat flower form, about 5″ diameter | |
| Blooms: | Week 2 | |
| Carpels: | 3-4, light yellowish green, very woolly | |
| Stigmas: | red | |
| Disc: | creamy pink, obscure | |
| Stamens: | filaments pale yellow | |
| Plant: | Habit: | rounded bush |
| Foliage color: | medium green | |
| Foliage form: | very narrow leaves | |
| Height: | 24″ (reported); 28″ in 2021 | |
| Recommendation: | Highly recommended |
| Availability: | Several specialty nurseries |
