| Missouri Botanical 
Garden Bulletin 
Vol. VI St. Louis, Mo., February, 1918 No. 2 
THE PEONY 
Although the peony is one of the commonest of our 
garden flowers, frequently seen growing in single clumps 
in front or back yards, yet it deserves even greater ap- 
reciation. The old-time red “piney,” while of great 
uty, is dwarfed into insignificance by the gorgeous 
new forms and colors produced by hybridization in 
recent times. With its masses of ‘SE surpassing in 
effect even the rose, its fragrance, ease of culture, ex- 
treme hardiness and permanency, together with com- 
parative freedom from disease and insect attacks, and its 
adaptability to pleasing landscape effects and cut-flower 
purposes, the peony stands a peer among flowers. This fit- 
ting tribute was paid the peony as early as 1879 by H. 
Huftelen in Vick’s Magazine: ‘No flowering plants cap- 
able of enduring our northern winters are more satisfactory 
than the peonies. Massive without being coarse, fragrant 
without being pungent, grand without being gaudy, various 
in form and color, beyond the possibility of Seite success- 
fully superseded, they .stand in the first rank of hardy 
flowers. 
In America the first mention of peonies was made about 
1800, but it was not until the middle of the nineteenth cen- 
tury that the popularity of the plant with its ever-increasing 
number of varieties began to be apparent. During the latter 
half of that century the production of such a large number 
of varieties occurred as to occasion confusion in nomen- 
clature. This difficulty was finally eliminated, however, by 
the establishment of test gardens at Cornell University, for 
which upwards of 2,500 different varieties were secured from 
various nurseries in the United States and abroad. After 
a period of several years of painstaking effort, the varieties 
were simmered down to 500 which were clearly distinct. 
Most of these were derived from P. albiflora. 
The American Peony Society, as well as some of the local 
organizations and many enthusiastic individuals, has con- 
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