Sarah Bernhardt

April 25, 2016

Categories: Post Harvest

There's a reason Sarah Bernhardt is the number one seller, the number one for recognition worldwide and a real favorite here at our farm.     The standard pink of the industry, this lady has been around forever. Actually not forever but ever since Lemoine introduced her in 1906.

From the Grower's view Sarah's are number one because they are so forgiving and undemanding to grow. They are straightforward to store long term, Will rehydrate quickly after long storage and have a very long vase life. Sarahs are a late bloomer, extending the season. She is hardy, has lots of strong stems per plant, uncomplicated to determine when to cut/harvest and very forgiving.   She has very long stems allowing you to cut long but still leave lots of foliage on the plant to nourish the roots.   The plants are reliable, naturally strong and healthy.

From the florists view Sarah‘s offer a sweet, romantic fragrance. You can order Sarahs with extra-long stems for special events or huge display bouquets. The vase life is very long so they can be on display for a long time in the shop. The size of the flower head is huge often 9 inches in diameter.

The Madame of peonies has been around so long over the years, probably with the assistance of bees, Sarahs have crossed. Most of the time we think of Sarah as a warm, intense pink with a few red flecks , slightly paler at the edges of the petals giving it a silvery tip look. But, we‘ve seen Sarahs on the market in many different shades of pink. Our newest fields of Sarah tend to be very blush with little or no red flecks.

This classic dries well and was selected in 2004 by the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers as the best cut flower. There‘s no secret why Sarah is so popular. It‘s about as perfect a peony as a person could want.