Their website address is : https://pivoinesriviere.com/

THE HISTORY OF PEONIES RIVIERE

The history of their nursery began at Caluire in the Rhône in 1849. It is first of all an establishment of general nurseries created by Fleury Jean-Baptiste Gabriel Ruitton (1813-1893). His son Francis Ruitton (1838-1905) developed the first crops of Herbaceous Peonies .

The son in-law of Francis Ruitton, Benoît Rivière (1865-1913), greatly expanded the culture and added crops of Tree Peonies. In 1908, the catalog had already 360 varieties of Herbaceous Peonies and 240 varieties of Tree Peonies. Benoît Rivière participitated in the floral exhibitions in Bordeaux, Lyon and Paris and in London or Turin where he won numerous awards. Benoît Rivière died in 1913 at the age of 48 years while his son Antoine was only 11 years old. His wife Marie was able, however, to retain a portion of the crops until 1925 at which time Antoine could take over the management of the nursery.

Antoine Rivière, despite difficult conditions until the late '40s, maintened the collection and added his own new varieties until 1980, date of his death.

At that time, his son Michel, who picked up the nursery for over 20 years, decided to reduce the activity of the general nursery and to specialize it in the collection of Peonies. New varieties created by Rivière nursery, as well as new ones from China, Japan, Switzerland and the United States, gave a new impetus to the establishment. In 1990, this specialty became exclusive.

A new installation was needed to improve the culture conditions. It is at Crest (Drôme) at the foot of the Vercors mountains, the crossroads of Dauphiné and Provence, near the Rhône valley that Jean-Luc Rivière, sixth in line, continues now this exciting research work : obtaining, multiplication, cultivation and selling the Peonies. The collection now includes more than 750 species, varieties, and hybrids of Tree Peonies and Herbaceous Peonies, as well as many "Itoh Hybrids". This collection, recognized french national collection by the CCVS (Conservatoire des Collections Végétales Spécialisées) is world famous and remains the largest in Europe.