Growing Flowers 107 



Peonies should be mulched with a good coating of 

 manure or other litter in the fall and this coating 

 allowed to remain on during the winter. This 

 will tend to warm the ground and will prevent the 

 plants alternately freezing and thawing, which is 

 hard on any plant. This treatment will be bene- 

 ficial for any hardy perennial, and particularly 

 for larkspur, hollyhock, columbine, iris, and peren- 

 nial poppies, and flowers will be produced much 

 earlier the following season than if the plants are 

 grown from seed. 



When grown for the purpose of propagation, the 

 peony ramifies more in light soil, but when blooms 

 are desired, a well-drained clay subsoil, with the 

 surface of rather rich loam, will be beneficial. 



Peonies require an abundance of water at all times, 

 but particularly when they are blooming are they 

 very thirsty. Liquid manure will furnish an en- 

 couraging method of both watering and fertiliz- 

 ing them. 



When peonies flourish but fail to bloom, the fault 

 often lies with the way they are set in the ground. 

 The crowns should not be set too deep or the 

 blossoms will be affected. 



