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JUNB 29, 1916. 



The Florists^ Review 



13 



M. Jacques' collection was inherited 

 by his nephew, M. Victor Verdier, who 

 raised a number of fine seedlings. 

 Comte de Cussy's collection was inher- 

 ited by M. Calot and later passed into 

 the hands of M. Crousse. The Calot- 

 Crousse varieties are noted for their 

 uniformly high quality. Another 'en- 

 thusiastic French amateur was M. 

 Mechin, whose grandson, M. A. Dessert, 

 succeeds him and is considered one of 

 the greatest living authorities on 

 peonies. 



Engllsli and American Raisers. 



England also has given us many new 

 varieties in the last twenty years. The 

 Kelways have been the largest English 

 introducers. Unfortunately, in many 

 instances the varieties sent us under 

 English names were duplicates of the 

 French varieties. 



In America three amateurs have been 

 especially prominent in the production 

 of new peonies. They are John Eich- 

 ardson, of Dorchester, Mass.; H. A. 

 Terry, of Crescent, la., and George H. 

 Hollis, of South Weymouth, Mass. 



In the propagation of peonies or the 

 raising of seedlings there is no road to 

 quick results. It takes four to six 

 years to get blooms from seed, and less 

 than one per cent of the seedlings have 

 enough merit to justify their introduc- 

 tion as new varieties. It takes many 

 more years to increase the stock by the 

 slow process of division sufficiently to 

 be able to offer it to the trade. The 

 plants may be divided into three every 

 three or four years. Is it any wonder, 

 then, that good new varieties are listed 

 at $5 to $25 each! New varieties are 

 introduced mostly by amateurs. The 

 professional florist or nurseryman can 

 scarcely afford to wait so long for re- 

 sults. 



The Confusion in Names. 



It is to be regretted that in the great 

 collection of peonies, contributed from 

 nearly all over the world, containing 

 nearly 3,000 names, there are less than 

 300 distinct varieties, the others all be- 

 ing duplicate or inferior varieties, that 

 cannot be traced to any known origin. 



The nomenclature committee, work- 

 ing under the American Peony Society, 

 was formed for the purpose of trying to 

 straighten out this mess, and they are 

 succeeding admirably. For instance, 

 Pseonia edulis superba, that splendid 

 variety, nearly always in bloom for Me- 

 morial day, was masquerading under 

 about thirty different names. It is a 

 beautiful, fragrant variety, almost 90 

 years old, and one of the most reliable 

 in spite of the jokes it played on us. 



For twenty-three successive Junes I 

 have studied and lived among peonies, 

 but 100 years would be far too short 

 to know them as I would wish. A 

 glance through the various catalogues 

 of today would reveal the fact that 

 varieties introduced 100 or more 

 years ago are still among the rarest 

 and highest priced sorts, due to their 

 slow multiplication and strong demand. 



A Few Cultural Hints. 



Peonies may be planted any time 

 from August until late in the fall, or 

 in early spring. September is the best 

 time, however, as they will make a root 

 growth before winter sets in and will 

 bloom the following spring. Not until 

 the third year after they are planted 

 will they produce perfect flowers. They 



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FBANE A. WINDLER. 



THE name of Windier is, perhaps, the best known in the trade in St. Louis, for 

 many years being associated with each branch of the business — retail, whole- 

 sale, growing. There's nothing goes on at St. Louis without a Windier in it. 

 The Windlers all are workers, no less for the general good than for their individual 

 interests. So when it was decided to hold a big spring show in St. Louis in 1917 

 some of the heaviest jobs were put on the Windlers. Frank A. Windier was slated 

 for the most important of all, that of chairman of publicity, for what availeth 

 the best of shows if the public cometh not? But the name of Windier is one that 

 gets results in St. Louis. 



require less care after planting than any 

 other flower. They will grow and thrive 

 for years without being disturbed. I 

 have seen them grow without any care 

 whatever, but they will abundantly re- 

 pay good care and nourishment. They 

 should be planted three and one-half to 

 four feet apart, in good garden soil, 

 and should be set so that the eyes or 

 crown will be from two to three inches 

 below the surface. Mulch with manure 

 in the fall. 



There was a time when the peony 

 was only a common "piney. " There 

 are common ones today, but the better 

 varieties of peonies are more in de- 

 mand every year. They have no com- 

 petition. No other flower can take 

 their place. They may be used in ex- 

 cellent taste among shrubbery or among 

 other hardy perennials, as single clumps 

 or large beds, in the lawn bordering 

 drives or in broad landscape effects. 

 They thrive 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 chrys- 

 anthemums at Thanksgiving. 



A Selection of Varieties. 



I will endeavor to name a few of the 

 most popular varieties with which I am 

 familiar: 



Red and crimson — M. Martin Ca- 

 huzac. Cherry Hill, Plutarch, Adolphe 

 Rousseau, Decandolle, P. rubra superba, 

 Mme. Bocquet, Edouard Andre, P. atro- 

 sanguinea, Geo. Washington and Lib- 

 erty. 



Pink and rose varieties — Claire 

 Dubois, M. Jules Elie, Lamartine, 

 Georgiana, Shaylor, Alexandre Dumas, 

 Albert Crousse, Cameron, Eugene Ver- 

 dier, Gloire de Gombault, Lady Beres- 

 ford, Lady Leonora Bramwell, La 

 Coquette, Wilhelmina, Souv. de 1 'Ex- 

 position de Lille, Princess Beatrice, P. 

 edulis superba and Felix Crousse. 



White and delicate tinted varieties^ — 

 P. f estiva maxima, Couronne d'Or, 

 Duchesse de Nemours, Albatre, Due de 

 Wellington, La Tulipe, Mme. Calot, 

 Mme. Crousse, Mme. Emile Lemoine, 



