Flower Colour: Red
Mature Height: 1.0 m
Herbaceous Peony 'Henry Bockstoce'
Henry Bockstoce was the father of William Bockstoce, who bred this lovely large double red peony in 1955 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, and named it after his father. It is a hybrid cross between Paeonia officinalis and P. lactiflora.
The huge double blooms open in mid-season on thick stems that tilt under the weight as the flowers develop, so some support helps show them off. The rich cardinal red flowers darken with age and are pleasantly fragrant.
Height: 1 m
William Sheraden Bockstoce (1876–1963) was the grandson of William Sheraden, a farmer who invested in a 122-acre property in 1856 and settled a year later in what is now the Pittsburgh borough of Sheraden. After his grandfather's death in 1900, the family farmhouse at 2803 Bergman Street became the home of William and his wife, Jean. The son of Henry and Margaret Bockstoce, William was a builder who put up many houses around Sheraden, and later in life he turned to breeding new peony cultivars, becoming internationally known for the work. He lived in the house until his death in 1963.
A legacy of his horticultural talent still stands at the front of the house: two sycamores that he grafted together into an arch above the front gate, a few metres off the ground, using a clay-pipe graft method. You can still see them on Bergman Street.
