What Secrets Lurk in Peony DNA?

Last year we had the opportunity to start a project conserving peony (Paeonia L.) genetic resources in the National Plant Germplasm System.  We received approval from the the US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Program Leaders, to begin obtaining and managing peonies at the Arctic and Subarctic Plant Gene Bank in Palmer, Alaska and the National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Corvallils, Oregon.

This project is in its infancy and its financial continuation is subject to the federal budget.  Despite these difficult times, collections of peonies were begun at both locations.

In concert with the establishment of the US peony gene back, a group of about 55 scientists, from across the United States, banded together and submitted a proposal for US Specialty Crop Research  initiative 2011 funding to research Peony as a Model for Cut-Flower Production.  This proposal was quite extensive, requesting $6.7 million, to study everything from tunnel production, plant nutrition, and clean stock program development, to genetic analysis.  Unfortunately, our proposal was not chosen to be funded, but the reviewers encouraged us to revise and resubmit in 2012.  We scientists suppressed our dismay and retreated to our drawing boards to consider resubmission.

One of the projects within the proposed research plan included examining peony DNA for identity and diversity determination.  We couldn't just let this project sit idly by, so with the limited resources we had on hand, we began this study.

Have you ever picked up a dormant peony root with a few  buds on it and wondered, "What is this cultivar?"  Have you planted some area with peonies, had them bloom a year or two later and realized that they were not the cultivar that you thought you ordered?  Have you ever received a hybrid peony and wondered "What cross is this?  Who's your daddy?"  The DNA analysis protocols that we are developing could answer these types of questions.

The kinds of techniques we are using are similar to laboratory forensics used in police work or paternity testing. First we extract DNA from the peony plant.  The standard way to get the DNA from plants is to grind up young, rapidly expanding leaves.  But because it was winter, all we had were dormant roots and no leaves.

We were very happy to find that we could easily extract large quantities of DNA from dormant peony buds.

We thought that this would be of great use to nursery folks who wanted to identify dormant material when asking for roots prior to shipping.  We also tried dormant buds from 11 other plants (pear, quince, blueberry, service berry and others).  Peony yielded the highest amounts of excellent quality DNA, more than any dormant buds of the 11 other plants.  We are in the process of publishing this information.  If anyone is interested in knowing more about our protocols we would be happy to discuss our approach with them.

We began our analyses by looking up publications from laboratories who had been working on DNA analysis in peonies.  We found two laboratories in China had begun using DNA from leaves of tree peonies.  These reports were moderately successful using what is called simple sequence repeats (SSR).  This is the kind of analysis that we also wanted to do.  But we realized that we would need more SSR options than what the folks in China were using, so we could examine DNA form each of the different peony species.

In April 2011, the Center for Genome Research and Bio-computing at Oregon State University requested samples to test using their new DNA sequencing equipment.  They offered to sequence our peonies' DNA for  a much lower than usual rate to test their instrument operation.  Of course, we accepted.  We had them analyse DNA from herbaceous peonies, tree peonies, hybrid peonies, and P. brownii.  As a result we were provided with a wealth of DNA sequencing information.  We can now design 8,000 SSRs (way more than we need!), which will help us find additional SSR markers.

In late May 2011, we obtained some plant material of diverse peonies generously provided by Jim and Carol Adelman, of Adelman Peony Gardens, Brooks, Oregon.  We visited their peony fields and collected young leaf samples from 94 cultivars (herbaceous, intersectional, and tree) and two breeding lines.  These two lines were from Dr. Don Smith's (West Newton, Massachusetts) breeding program.  Dr. Smith was very interested in our work and had some specific questions on parentage that he was hoping we would be able to resolve.  So we took the young leaves, extracted the DNA and started screening our SSRs with this material.

So far we have screened 16 peonies with 250 SSRs.  This will give us preliminary data to choose which markers will be most successful for genetic fingerprinting.  We will also identify SSRs that are specific for different species.  That will present allow us to distinguish species present in a hybrid plant's genetic background.  Another of our goals is to develop a phylogenic map (like an evolutionary family history) that would show the ancestry and relatedness of peony species.

Our research is in the early phase. We anticipate that these molecular markers will be as useful to peony nurseries and growers for identification of cultivars as they are to those working with berry and fruit crops.

We are very happy working with the peony community in continuing to research this royal plant, the queen of the garden.  We greatly appreciate the generosity of information and plant material from the American Peony Society, the Wisonsin Peony Society, Minnesota Peony Society, the Pacific Northwest Peony Society, the Alaska Peony Growers Association, Dr. Patricia Holloway of the Georgeson Botanical Garden, Hidden Springs Nursery, Kennicott Brothers Company, Adelman Peony Gardens, and Oregon Perennial Company.


Who knows what secrets lay within peony DNA? Hopefully within a year we will have some answers.

Barbara Gilmore, USDA ARS Arctic and Subartic Plant Gene Bank, Alaska., 
Nahla Bassil, and Kim Hummer, USDA ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository,

John Elisha Simkins (May 13, 1919 - September 18, 2011)

After a long and wonderful life, John Elisha Simkins died peacefully on September 18, 2011 at his home in Oakville at the age of 92.

John was the beloved husband of Violet for 65 years, father of Jon, Jennifer (King), and Janice (Thomson, deceased), and the grandfather of Rachel, Heather, and Miki. He is survived by brother Ted and sister Peggy (Martin) and predeceased by his twin brother Ernie.
John was born in Measham, England in 1919 and moved to Hamilton, Ontario in 1927 where he attended Delta High School. During World War II, he served with the Royal Canadian Infantry in Europe, rising to the rank of Major. In 1949, he and Violet wed in Hamilton. Soon after, John graduated with honours from McMaster University and was employed by Shell Oil Canada as a chemist in Montreal. In 1961, the now growing family moved to Oakville.
John was a passionate gardener and was world-renowned as an author, speaker, and hybridizer of peonies. He was a member of the Garden Writers Association of America, served as president of the American Peony Society, and founded the Canadian Peony Society. He also wrote regular articles for many horticultural publications, including a column for the local paper. He served on the board of the Royal Botanical Gardens and held many roles in the Oakville and Ontario Horticultural associations. He was also recognized as an outstanding volunteer in the community and a life-long and active member of St. Jude's Anglican Church.
Visitation will be held at the Kopriva Taylor Community Funeral Home on Wednesday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9. The funeral service will be held Thursday September 22 at 11:00am, St. Jude's Anglican Church, 160 William St., Oakville.


From coast to coast, the members of the Canadian Peony Society join in offering their sincerest condolences to the family of John Simkins. John was a pioneer in the peony field, as a hybridizer, an organizer, a spokesperson and an authority. The founder of our Society and a former President of the American Peony Society, his work is recognized and celebrated by peony lovers across North America. John remains an inspiration to us as we carry on his legacy and his passion for peonies. We, his horticultural family, share the deep loss that his own family, feel at this time.

Blaine Marchand
President
CPS

June Brett July 3, 1938 - August 9, 2011

BRETT, (Bette) June (nee Sellar) July 3, 1938 - August 9, 2011 June died Tuesday evening of lung cancer. She was at home, cared for by her family as we all wished. We will remember her as a loving partner, good companion and engaged friend. From her early life, June had two sons, Kevin and Duncan, a daughter Heather, and grandchildren Ethan, Jesse and Alexis. For the last 31 years, she shared her life in Guelph with Mary Ann. Following cremation, Family will receive at St. Matthias Anglican Church, 171 Kortright Road West, Guelph, N1G 4WZ on Friday from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. A Funeral Service will be held Saturday, August 13th at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift to the Owl Foundation of Ontario or St. Matthias. GOODBYE, MY GIRL 


 From Hazel Cook
Long time CPS member June Brett sadly passed away on August 9, 2011 of lung cancer.  A stalwart supporter of the Society, of peonies, and of all things horticultural, June was, as her obituary said, a loving partner, good companion and engaged friend.  Our condolences go out to CPS Vice-President, Mary Ann Robinson, with whom she shared her life for 31 years and to June's children, Kevin, Duncan and Heather, and to her grandcholden.

Joe and I first met June Brett and Mary Ann Robinson in our garden for an Ontario Delphinium Club field day in 1999.  We would bump into one another very occasionally, always around a gardening theme.  We also found common clubs such as the Ontario Rock Garden Society, which met in Toronto, conveniently a halfway point.

A real turning point was when we jointly purchased the Gilbert Collection of peonies.  An entire week of digging and dividing roots - 'The Big Dig' - was centered at June and Mary Ann's home in Guelph with many friends and family.  By this time, Joe and June had discovered a mutual fondness for a 'Sleemans' beer.

June's sunny disposition and organizational skills were always present.  We learned much about the world through their extensive travels and also our excursions together, many of these included gardening, especially peonies at CPS events in Ottawa, Montreal, Hamilton and at Reford Gardens.  We were always amazed at June's driving skills.

Gardening consumed our visits, but we did gradually learn bits and pieces about their families and past.  Many items in their home showed their love of antiques, collectables, figure skating, birds, especially owls, and treasures from June's childhood, raised as an only child out west.  It was, however, not until her funeral that we discovered that June had won a city wide yo-you championship as a child.  How we wished we had witnessed her many tricks.  Her determination and love of competition also finally won her the Court of Honour for her entry of 'Raspberry Sundae' in Oshawa at the 2010 CPS Convention.

June always smiled even through tough times such as her hip replacement and several battles with cancer,  making it so much easier to visit and care for her.  We definately miss June Brett but also can hear an echo of her voice telling us to 'suck it up, Buttercup`.

Collecting Bloom Data from the Oshawa Peony Garden

            For more than a decade, I have organized the bloom date project. The project collects data on the date on which a cultivar first blooms. The project provides new more precise data about when particular cultivars bloom. This helps the home garden to plan. Details of the project can be found at

                                    http://peonybloomdate.com

            This Spring was the first time that I have collected bloom data from the Oshawa Garden. Each day I went to the garden and marked which cultivars had bloomed for the first time. Blooming began on May 21^st with Early Windflower and Nosegay. The latter is one of my five favourite peonies and I would recommend it to everyone. Early Windflower is a tall and stately plant with a very long period of bloom. Only about fifteen cultivars bloom in May but these are very beautiful. These include the tenufolia hybrids such as Laddie, Early Scout and Smoothii. There are also important and lovely Saunders hybrids such as Audrey, Rose Crystal and Roselette. Gardeners should grow some of these early blooming peonies to extend their blooming season.

            In recent years, Oshawa has increased the number of tree peonies and this will continue for the next few years. There are about forty tree peonies and these bloom in the last week of May and the first week in June. A visit in the first week in June will provide many gorgeous tree  and herbaceous peonies. I did not collect data on the individual tree peonies.

            In the first week in June, more of the herbaceous hybrid peonies bloom. This includes Red Charm, Jewel, Nathalie, Chocolate Soldier and Illini Belle. There are many rarer peonies that may interest you. Some will be difficult to find. By coming in this week one can see both tree peonies and exquisite herbaceous ones. At the end of the week, none of the lactifloras have bloomed. All of the blooms have been hybrids or tree peonies. This implies that doubles have been rare and that no Japanese have bloomed.

            Almost one-half of the cultivars open in the second week in June. This is a grand week. The hybrids are still blooming and the lactifloras are rushing into blossom. There are too many lovely cultivars to list here.

            Almost one-third of the plants do not bloom until the third week in June. The hybrids with their vibrant colours are gone but the lactifloras are booming. This is the time for many peonies with a Japanese flower form.     

            My last garden trip was on June 22. I could not find any peonies that had not opened. The blooms were everywhere and some blooms would last until at least June 27^th. Among the last to open were Elsa Sass, Ann Cousins and Myra MacRae.

            I collected bloom dates on about 250 cultivars. A few plants did not bloom this year and a few were missed as I walked the gardens. By visiting the garden many times, I appreciate many plants that I had not noticed in earlier years.

Submitted by Michael Denny

Oshawa Valley Botanical Garden & CPS Flower Show

 The Flower Show Crew,

Margaret, Gordon, Ken, Mary Ellen, Lana, Tom, Judi and Brian taking the picture

 Our Judges

Ken Brown & GordonWick

 Judi & Bill Slute, Oshawa Parks

 Our audience the young and the young at heart enjoyed an array of peony blooms during this years show.

and in this years Winners Circle

Best In Show - Itoh Hybrid

Hazel Cook  'Golden Era'

 Best In Show - Japanese

Hazel Cook - 'Black Swan'

Best Novice Specimen

Brenda Campbell

Best Single

Hazel Cook - 'White Pico'

Best Tree Peony

Hazel Cook - 'Boreas'

Submitted by Judi Denny

OVBG & Ontario Peony Show Day 2

We arrived early and collected the required necessities for the CPS booth outside.  It was a windy day so everything outside needed a paperweight or someone to hold them down during big gusts.
We had 3 buckets of cut blooms from the flower show to start with and a few from the Denny's garden. Blooms were being sold for $2 each.  We also had seeds from yesterday which were being sold for $2 a packet.

Before being completely set up people were already going through the gardens and stopping by the booth to ask questions or buy seeds.

There were 100's of people visiting today and we were so busy that we had to eat and talk at the same time, several times Brian and I alternated taking bites of a sandwich and talking.  We had a few people who had been watching us and gave us a few moments to finish our lunch. (which we ate at 1:30pm)  The day was pleasant the weather at times required a light jacket and the people were fantastic.

Brian was asking the men who were walking buy "When was the last time you bought your wife/girlfriend a flower" and this sold a few of the cut blooms and it also had a few men wincing and walking away.  At the end of the day we had two buckets of blooms left and almost sold out of seeds.  We were also excited to have 3 new members sign up on the spot.

We enjoy being apart of this show very much and would recommend volunteering for a few hours or if your not up for that pop in, say hi and see the blooms, they really are a treat to behold. 

7th Annual Peony Festival and CPS Ontario Peony Show

It was a cloudy day before heading out, but, a quick check of the weather promised to stave off any rain until early evening. (Let's hope)
We hope to make this an every year event.  So mark it on the calendar and get those blooms in for the competition.  It could be the biggest show of the year with your support.
Traffic was light heading from Brampton to Oshawa and we made it with 10 minutes to spare.  Brian and I went into the arena and were given our instructions for the clerking and recording.  We beat the judges (barely) so we had a few moments to orient ourselves.  The judge was fun, entertaining and informative.  We had a few classes that had to be rejudged in the beginning due to added entries but everything went smoothly and we were ready for the Councillor when the main event happened at 11:00am.

The Grand Champion winner this year was Rena Preston for her 'Miss America' entry.

We had a silent auction on the far side of the arena and this was slow to start but as the day progressed each peony offered (5= 2 potted, 3 bare root) had bids.  Brian and I were to go outside and volunteer at the booth on the grounds but the inside booth had no one so we were placed here for the day.  Mid afternoon the skies opened up and we had a heavy downpour and strong winds.  Everyone outside came inside and we were bombarded with people and questions and seed selling.  We had a fantastic time talking with like minded enthusiastic individuals and were glad to help out so many.


Our day ended at 4pm and during a conversation with Judi about the event found out that we had few if any volunteers for Sunday .  Brian offered our services and so we will be back tomorrow.