I could not find any Alaskan data that was based on mature, 5-year old plants. I believe that the 2 or 3 year data provided is more a reflection of what plants get off to a vigorous start _in Alaska_ than anything meaningful to lower-48 grower such as myself.
Anyhow, it's an interesting read and the tracking approach itself is more useful than the results. This year I'll be tracking stems produced (rather than flowers) because it is, in my opinion, a more accurate way to gauge root growth than counting flowers (that might be impacted by many external problems, such as the snow in my forecast). By year 5, stems should equal flowers and finding the plants that have a robust rate of expansion seems like it will have happier results.
And I am with you about preferring good smelling flowers over scentless. But there aren't good smelling options in the corals, at least that I have been able to find. Coral Sunset seems to be the best performer for my soil and climate and I am heavily invested in it, but I think that Pink Hawaiian Coral is my favorite in terms of appearance and habit. (I have not yet tried Tropicana.)
Cut flowers for florists... Vase life is often discussed and is important. But the flowers must also open reliably and be able to be stored at near freezing temperatures for at least several weeks and then open fully once in the vase. Part of this will be a reflection of the skill of the people harvesting the buds - knowing when to cut the buds of a given cultivar and getting them stored properly is something that I expect will take several seasons of trial and error to tune into optimal results. But if the flowers remain reluctant to open, then that may be a poor choice of peony cultivars. (If you go through lists of peonies no longer in commerce, you will find more than a few lost to time that had a comment about not opening reliably.)
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