Age of Gold
This is one of the best loved Saunders peonies. It received the Gold Medal from APS in 1973, one of only 7 woody peonies to have received this award. Although its flowers are almost fully double, they are held well out of the foliage. This cultivar has fertile pollen and is the pod parent of ‘Ruffled Sunset’ (Reath, 1988) and of ‘Alicia Nicole’ (Seidl/Bremer, 2017).
| Cultivar: | Age of Gold |
| Year: | 1948 |
| Seedling No: | 14300A |
| Group: | Golden Hind |
| Flower: | Color: | warm bright gold, fading lighter, slight crimson flares |
| Form: | semi-double, 8-10 rows of petals, ruffled | |
| Blooms: | Week 5 | |
| Carpels: | up to 12 (Reath and Silvia Saunders) | |
| Stigmas: | cream (light pink Silvia Saunders) | |
| Sheath: | pale lilac | |
| Stamens: | filaments reddish, short, abundant | |
| Plant: | Habit: | rounded bush |
| Foliage color: | rather light green, some edges tinged red | |
| Foliage form: | average | |
| Height: | 38″ on an 8 year old plant | |
| Recommendation: | Highly recommended |
| Availability: | Most specialty nurseries offering woody peonies |