Message from the APS President

American Peony Society

Dana Tretheway, President

www.americanpeonysociety.org

What a difference a year makes!  Here it is the 23^rd of April and I have ‘Athena’, ‘Roy Perhson’s Best Yellow’ and ‘Hanikisoi’ in bloom.  Last year at this time I had 30 varieties in bloom.  With this cooler weather, I may very well be able to take some blooms for the annual exhibit at Longwood Gardens.  As I communicate with other growers through out the U.S., it seems as if everyone is being affected by the cooler weather.  Some are still having a bit of frost and snow in the mornings.  Harvey Buchite reported that he went out on the 14^th April to count emerging peonies… his total zero.

I would like to mention that the five new peonies I planted during the fall are all doing well.  Each of the accessions was garnered at the auction in Omaha.  ‘Bartzella’ and “Honor’, donated by Oregon Perennial Company, are coming along nicely though a bit small; but ‘Honor’ does have a couple of buds. Mike Miller’s donations of ‘Dr. J.H. Neely’ and ‘Mrs. J.H. Neely’ are coming on slow but show promise.  Finally, and thanks to David and Geneva Weisser, I have a very nice ‘Hanikisoi’ with four large blooms. 

One item that is not coming along this spring is the APS Peony Handbook.  At the convention last year, the Board of Directors requested that a new and updated handbook be prepared.  A number of articles have been prepared and are being reviewed; however, we came up short and progress has been retarded.  This provides another opportunity for me to reach out to the general membership and to the CPS general membership and ask you to provide input as to what you would like to see in the handbook and perhaps volunteer to write a section or two.  Please email your thoughts to ampeonysociety@att.net. I feel a sense of urgency to have this handbook completed due to the fact that our current supply of handbooks is depleted.

Another area of concern to members and directors has been the APS website.  Of late, there have been noticeable improvements.  Claudia Schroer and our new director Adriana Vance are working diligently to make improvements and additions to the site.  However, for us to realize continued improvement and growth of the website it will require significant expenditures and this issue will have to be discussed at the annual board meeting at Longwood.  Results of the discussion will be reported in the September issue if the “Bulletin”.

Once again, I encourage our Canadian cousins to join us at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA for the APS Convention and Exhibit, May 30-June 2, 2013.  Attendees need to be a member of the APS.

Wishing everyone a great peony season and a pleasant summer.