92 



HOETICULTURE 



July 15, 1916 



ETvery one loves the Peony. They 

 that can recall the enthusiasm of their 

 grandmothers over the old garden 

 ■■Pineys" may well imagine the rap- 

 tures if those old people were brought 

 in contact with the splendid Peonies 

 of today. The old fashioned Piney, 

 Peony officinalis, a native of Southern 

 Europe, is rich in color, but of small 

 size, fleeting duration and offensive 

 odor. The early history of this Peony 

 extends back many centuries intricate- 

 ly woven with a haze of superstition, 

 allegory and myth. 



Moutan Peonies 



In China, it is said, the tree peony 

 has been their chief pride and glory 

 for 1,400 years, prized by their em- 

 perors for the beauty and fragrance 

 of their flowers and for more than a 

 thousand years records of the new in- 

 troductions, their characters, qualities 

 and parentage have been kept. The 

 Japanese, too, have been largely in- 

 strumental in producing our finest va- 

 rieties of tree peonies, of which there 

 are now a dozen or more choice varie- 

 ties in all colors offered for sale. The 

 blooms are large and keep well either 

 on the plant or when cut and placed 

 in water. They should be grown more 

 extensively. They can be propagated 

 from soft wood cuttings but because 

 of their slow growth they are usually 

 grafted. Great care must be taken 

 that shoots do not develop from the 

 roots when grafted plants are used, 

 lest the variety be lost and a wild va- 

 riety taking its place. 



P. albiflora 



From B. H. Farr's superb catalogue 

 we learn that the popular peony of to- 

 day has only been cultivated in Europe 

 a little more than a half century. It 

 is descended from Paeonia albiflora, a 

 native of Siberia. The modern peony 

 is an aristocrat whose birth was among 

 the nobility of France, for it was un- 

 der the care of M. Jacques, gardener 

 for King Louis Philippe, that some of 

 the first of the fine varieties of today 

 were originated. There were also 

 Comte de Cussy, the Prince De Salm 

 Dyck and Modeste Guerin, all enthu- 

 siastic amateurs, who secured the best 

 varieties from Japan and China about 

 the middle of the last century, and 

 from these began to raise seedlings 

 that have given us some of our pres- 

 ent magnificent varieties. M. Jacques' 

 collection was inherited by his nephew, 

 M. Victor Verdier, who raised a num- 

 ber of fine seedlings. Comte De Cussy's 

 collection was inherited by M. Calot, 

 which later passed into the hands of 

 M. Crousse. The Calot-Crousse varie- 

 ties are noted for their uniform high 

 quality, raising the standard of excel- 

 lence that has never been surpassed. 

 Another enthusiastic French amateur 



was M. Mechin, whose grandson. M. 

 A. Dessert, succeeds him and is con- 

 sidered one of the greatest living au- 

 thorities on peonies. 



England has also given us many new 

 varieties the past twenty years. The 

 Kelways have been the largest intro- 

 ducers. , Unfortunately in many in- 

 stances the varieties sent us tinder 

 English names were duplicates of the 

 French varieties. In America three 

 amateurs have been especially promi- 

 nent in the production of new peonies, 

 as follows: John Richardson of Dor- 

 chester, Mass.: H. A. Terry of Cres- 

 cent, Iowa, and George H. HoUis of 

 South Weymouth, Mass. 



Propagation 



In the propagation of peonies or the 

 raising of seedlings there is no road 

 to quick results. It takes four to six 

 years before blooms may be had from 

 seed and, from thousands of seedlings, 

 less than one per cent, will justify in- 

 troduction as a new variety. It takes 

 many more years to increase the stock 

 by the slow process of division suffi- 

 ciently to be able to offer it to the 

 trade. The plants may be divided by 

 three every three or four years. Is it 

 any wonder good new varieties are 

 listed frotu $5.00 to $2.5.00 each? New 

 varieties are mostly introduced by 

 amateurs. The professional florist or 

 nurserymen can scarcely afford to wait 

 so long for results, except where they 

 have been raised for the love for 

 something new and the fascination of 

 watching them grow, which too often 

 is not the chief incentive of the Amer- 

 ican florist. 



From this sketch of the modern 

 peony and those whom were foremost 

 in their introduction, you will realize 

 how nearly all of the choice varieties 

 now in commerce were given to us by 

 a few enthusiasts who were inspired 

 by the beauty of the flower- to which 

 they gave their devotion. 



Confusion of Names 



It is to l)e regretted that in this 

 great collection of peonies contributed 

 from nearly all over the world, con- 

 taining nearly :3,000 names, there are 

 less than 300 distinct varieties, the 

 other names all being duplicates or in- 

 ferior varieties that cannot be traced 

 to any known origin. The nomencla- 

 ture committee working under the 

 American Peony Society was formed 

 for the purpose of trying to straighten 

 out this mess and they are succeeding 

 admirably well. For instance— Edulis 

 Supurba, that beautiful, fragrant va- 

 riety, almost ninety years old, nearly 

 always in bloom for Decoration Day. 

 was masquerading under some thirty 

 different names. 



For twenty-three successive Junes 1 

 have studied and lived among peonies, 

 but a hundred years is far too short 

 to know them as 1 would wisji. A 

 glance through the various catalogues 

 of today proves that varieties intro- 

 duced 100 or more years ago are still 

 among the rarest and high priced 

 sorts, due to their slow multiplication 

 and strong demand. 



Culture 



Peonies may be planted any time 

 from August until late in the fall or 

 early spring. September is the best 

 time, however, as they will make a 

 root growth before winter sets in and 

 they will bloom the following spring. 

 Not until the third year after they are 

 planted will they produce perfect flow- 

 ers. They require less care after be- 

 ing planted than other flowers. They 

 will grow and thrive for years without 

 being disturbed. I have had them 

 grow without any care whatever, but 

 they will abundantly repay good care 

 and nourishment. They should be 

 planted 3i/., to 4 feet apart in good 

 garden soil and mulched with manure 

 in the fall. 



Uses of the Peony 



There was a time when the peony 

 was only a common "Piney. " There' 

 are common ones today, but the better 

 varieties are more in dematid every 

 year. They have no competition. No 

 other flower can take their place. 

 They may be used in excellent taste 

 among shrubbery or among other 

 liardy perennials, as single clumps or 

 large beds in the lawn, bordering 

 drives or broad landscape effects, thriv- 

 ing everywhere whether in full sun or 

 partial shade. As a cut flower nothing 

 is more suitable for weddings, church 

 decorations and social functions in 

 peony season. Without the peony we 

 would be at a great loss on Memorial 

 Day, just as we would be without 

 chrysanthemums at Thanksgiving. 



Every florist and amateur should 

 plant more peonies. The larger the 

 collection the better. Secure a collec- 

 tion of 100 or more varieties and you 

 will find in them more real pleasure 

 and satisfaction than yon can buy any 

 other way for the small expense in- 

 volved, saying nothing of the joy and 

 inspiration others will derive from 

 them, and at the same time encourage 

 the use of more flowers. The peony 

 will never displace other flowers re- 

 gardless how .popular it may becoihe 

 any more than a physician can dis- 

 place the florist. The puWic wants a 

 larger variety of flowers, trees, shrub- 

 bery, perennials, etc. Every retail 

 florist will bear me out in this asser- 

 tion. 



Some of the Best Varieties 



I will endeavor to name a few of the 

 most popular varieties with which I 

 am familiar. Red and crimson: M. 

 Martin Cahuzac, Cherry Hill, Plutarch, 

 .\dolphe Rosseau, De Candolle. Rubra 

 Superba, Mme. Bucuet. Edouard Andre, 

 Atrosanguinea. Geo. Washington, Lib- 

 erty. Pink and rose varieties: Claire 

 Dubois, Mme. BoUet, M. Jules Elie, La- 

 maitine, Eugene Verdier, Gloire de 

 Goniiiault. Lady Beresford, Lady Le- 

 nora Barmwell, Georgianna Shaylor, 

 Alexandra Dumas, Albert Crousse, 

 Canicion, La Coquette, Wilhelmina, 

 Souv. de L'Exposition de Lille, Prin- 

 cess Beatrice, Edulis Supurba, Felix 

 Crousse. White and delicate tinted va- 

 rieties: Festiva Maxima, Couronne 

 d' Or, Duchess de Nemours, Albatre, 

 Due de Wellington, La Tulipe, Mme. 

 Calot, Mme. Crousse, Mme. Emile Le- 

 moine. Queen Victoria. Solfatare, Gol- 

 den Harvest, Marie Lemoine. Most of 

 the above varieties are suitable for cut 

 flowers and a portion will bloom early, 

 mldseason and late. 



