August 14, 19iy. 



The Florists^ Review 



19 



or in boxes placed in a coldframe. The 

 young plants will appear the following 

 spring, and will produce varieties equal 

 in every way to the named kinds. 



Lutea, a deep golden yellow single 

 tree peony, was discovered a few years 

 ago in the mountains of Yunnan by the 

 Abbe Delavay. Crosses from this were 

 made by Lemoine with other tree peo- 

 nies. One of them, La Lorraine, was 

 exhibited by me at the American Peony 

 Society's show in Philadelphia and was 

 given a special award of merit. Its 

 blooms, six inches in diameter, are fully 

 double and are a deep yellow. A new 

 Lutea hybrid is Souvenir du Maxima 

 Cornu, a deeper color with a shading 

 similar to that in the Mme. Edward 

 Herriot rose. Lutea and its hybrids 

 bloom later than the other tree peonies. 



Later Varieties. 



The dainty fennel-leaved peony, P. 

 Tenuifolia, follows the tree peonies, and 

 its dazzlingly brilliant scarlet flowers al- 

 ways attract attention. It requires care- 

 ful cultivation and only grows about a 

 foot high. Next in poiiit of interest and 

 season of bloom are Lemoine 's Witt- 

 manniana hybrids, produced by crossing 

 the pale yellow Wittmanniana, itself a 

 rather difficult species to grow, with 

 Chinensis, resulting in types of strong, 

 vigorous growths, with handsome deco- 

 rative foliage and large single flowers. 

 There are four of them: Avante Garde, 

 pale rose; Le Printemps, creamy yellow; 

 Mai Fleuri, white shaded salmon; and 

 Messagere, sulphur white. 



The officinalis types begin to bloom 

 almost invariably ten days before the 

 Chinensis varieties. Officinalis Rubra, 

 the brilliant early red of our grand- 

 mothers' gardens, belongs to this spe- 

 cies, which is a native of Europe. There 

 is a white one, Officinalis Alba Plena, 

 and a beautiful large-flowered pink one, 

 Rosea Superba, besides a number of 

 named single and double ones not com- 

 monly seen. Saliina, L'Oriflamme, Our- 

 ika and La Brilliant are most attractive. 

 Most of the other species are of little 

 interest to the average grower, but I 

 have cut blooms of Triternata and Arie- 

 tina in April, and of Rubra Superba 

 June 27, a season of quite two months. 



Cultivation Is Simple. 



The cultivation of peonies is so sim 

 pie that lengthy instructions seem un- 

 necessary and confusing. They will 

 grow in any situation and in any soil 

 where one would attempt to raise com 

 or potatoes. In a light sandy soil they 

 bloom earlier, mature more quickly, the 

 rolors are lighter and the season of 

 bloom shorter than when they are plant- 

 ed in a heavy clay loam, where it takes 

 the young plants a year or more longer 

 to reach perfection, but here the growth 

 is stronger, the colors more brilliant, 

 and the flowers are larger and of longer 

 duration. Exactly the same difference 

 is observed between plants grown in the 

 south and middle states, and those 

 grown far north. The peony is the 

 flower for extremely cold climates, but 

 may be grown in California and in the 

 south if given congenial loamy soil and 

 abundance of water during the grow- 

 ing season and a situation shaded from 

 the sun during the heat of the day. 



Peonies are gross feeders, reaching 

 their greatest perfection when well fed 

 and the ground frequently cultivated, 

 until the buds begin to show color. If a 

 drought occurs at that stage they should 

 be well watered. Two things they 



promptly resent — sour, acid soil and fresh 

 manure in direct contact with the roots 

 when first planted. While they absorb 

 an abundance of food when well estab- 

 lished and during their active growing 

 period, to plant the young roots in soil 

 overloaded with fresh manure, especially 

 if it is sour, is sometimes fatal and in- 

 variably causes them to become sick. 

 This is undoubtedly the cause of most 

 of the so-called club-root. 



Plant In Fresh Soil. 



The effect is a production of many 

 weak stems, which fail to mature to 

 buds. Peonies should be planted in 

 fresh soil, and any manure used should 

 be thoroughly rotted, carefully worked 

 in, and not allowed to come in direct 

 contact with the roots. Plant so that 

 the eyes are two to three inches below 

 the surface of the ground (too deep 

 planting is injurious). Feeding should 

 be in the form of a good coat of manure 

 over the surface after the ground 

 freezes. This prevents the roots from 

 being thrown out from the heaving 

 caused by alternate freezing And thaw- 

 ing. This covering can be worked into 

 the ground a little distance away from 

 the crowns in early spring, and will fur- 

 nish the food they need and can then 

 assimilate as active growth begins. 



When once planted, let them alone for 

 as many years as they seem to thrive, 

 only dividing and replanting when the 



plants show indications of deterioration, 

 unless for the purpose of increasing the 

 stock, which is another matter. For 

 the purpose of propagating, they should 

 be divided every second or third year, 

 but for garden effect peonies usually 

 reach perfection the fourth year, con- 

 tinuing in good condition several years 

 longer, and in many instances old 

 clumps 15 to 20 years of age continue to 

 thrive. As a general rule, however, eight 

 years is about the limit. 



Time to Plant. 



When the clumps begin to show the 

 necessity for replanting, it is best to 

 start again at the beginning with small 

 divisions of clean, smooth roots withr 

 three or four eyes, forcing the plant to 

 begin again and form an entirely new 

 root system. Divisions consisting of 

 large chunks of old crowns simply lie 

 inactive in the ground and sometimes 

 decay entirely. It is a common mistake 

 to purchase old, heavy clumps, with the 

 expectation of getting immediate effect 

 and better results. For the first year 

 probably one may, but never thereafter. 



Any time in the year when the ground 

 is not frozen, peonies may be moved suc- 

 cessfully, except from the time the buds 

 begin to form until the foliage is ma- 

 tured and the new roots complete their 

 growth, about the middle of August. The 

 best time is in September and early Oc- 

 tober. The growth then is fully com- 



Bertraod H. Fair. 



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