Early Scout
Group: HH
Year Registered: 1952
Breeder/registrant: Auten, E. Jr.
Parentage: Richard Carvel x tenuifolia
Registration description:
Official registration can be found at: The American Peony Society
(Richard Carvel X single tenuifolia) Single, very early, deep red, good color; dense bush, with distinctive ferny foliage.
Award of Landscape Merit (ALM) description: ‘Early Scout’ (Auten, 1952) Herbaceous Hybrid, Very early, 18-24? — Dark red single with a strong component of violet most pronounced in the evening when the blooms have closed. Blooms open relatively en masse, nestle in or just atop foliage and are evenly spaced over the upper half of mature plants, lending symmetry to its presence. Dense, modified fern leaf foliage extends to the ground resulting in an attractive post-bloom bush. The bloom cycle is not long, but it is intense. Although ‘Early Scout’ does very well in Arkansas, its tenuifolia heritage should make it better suited for more northerly latitudes. Reputed by its hybridist, Edward Auten, to spread by stoloniferous root, with old plantings, under ideal circumstances, reaching extraordinary girth. Establishes quickly and increases rapidly, with a nine year old plant maturing to 50 stems and a width of over 36 inches. Propagate by division. 2001 Gold Medalist
