JONB 16, 1910. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



9 



General View ot the American h'eony Society's Last Exhibition in Horticultural Hall, Boston. 



So far this >eristiii tlu' <-(iiiiinitt('(' lias 

 ■ isited and ■worked amouy the i>eonies 

 it WyomissiiifX, Andorra Xinscries. Cot- 

 age Gardens Co. and (iou. H. Peterson, 

 l''airlawn, N. J., and it is a sijrnificant 

 'act that the descrijitlons already taken 

 i practically cover everytliinji- to be 

 ound in any of these larjre collections 

 vith but few exceptions, cnvering al- 

 nost completely tho extensive cata- 

 'igiies of Lemoino and Dessert. 

 With the conclusion of the test at 

 i>rue]l. what is to be the future of the 

 ociety? Shall it consider its work 

 "Uipleted and disband, or will it find 

 '•w interests to keep it alive? The 

 alilia, the gladiolus and other flowers 

 ave ncwly-fornied societies composed 

 t" their devotees, to say nothing of the 

 ill societies in otln'r lines, and it would 

 ■f'ln that surely a flower as beautiful 

 'id popular as the peony, with a his- 

 'ly and pedigree not appioached l)y 

 lat of any otlier flower, should find 

 'uindant suppoit from its entluisiastic 

 linirers to maintain its organization. 

 The interest in the nomenclature 

 lUimittee was largely a commercial 

 lie, arising fnmi the difli.ulties which 

 •alers experieiue in jinniiasing from 

 a<li otlier with any degree of certainty 

 '^ to what they would re<-ei\'e. But as 

 ("alers acquire what stock they desire 

 liey will deal with each otlier less and 

 I'ture sales will depend more on the 

 opularity of the peony with the gen- 

 ial public. Xew ni'Mubership to the 

 "X'iety will conie more and more from 

 lie amateurs who become interested in 

 ^he peony and acquire large collections 

 ''ccause of their admiration of the flow- 

 '''. rather .than from commercial mo- 

 iives. We should give the amateurs 

 and private growers our warmest wel- 

 come. 



fhe peony for Memorial day has be- 



come almost the national flower, and 

 Justl\" so, for certainly nothing else can 

 so well serve that purpose. But it is 

 unfortunate that in many places there 

 is a tendency to consider that the i)eony 

 has served its purpose as soon as Memo- 

 rial day has i>assed. There should be no 

 reason for this, as the varieties which 

 follow later are superior both in beauty 

 and keeping qualities to those which 

 may be best for Memorial day, and it is 

 gratifying to note that in many loeali- 

 ties the usefulness of the peony for 

 general decorative purposes is being 

 recognized. In many western cities, 

 particulariy, there is a steady demand 

 for blooms which are kept in storage 

 until well into .Tuly. The most valu- 

 able varieties after the very early ones 

 ail' the very late ones, which come in 

 and are in demand after the earlier 

 ones are gone. 



In narrowing the list of varieties 

 down to the best hundred, much will 

 dejiend on the point of view. For the 

 florist, fifty varieties would doubtless 

 be ample. For him a variety is of no 

 \aliu! if it docs not keep well, ship 

 well and liave the right shade of color, 

 and it must be fragrant. The landscape 

 gardener will consider chiefly the h;ibit 

 of the ]>lant, its floriferonsness and its 

 general effect at a distance ])lanted in 

 masses. The full size and heaviness of 

 many of the finest cut flower varieties 

 render them unfit for this ])urpose, and 

 both classes would debar entirely, for 

 one reason or another, hundreds of the 

 varieties which would appeal to the 

 amateur. Many amateurs admire the 

 semi-doubles, the loose crown types and 

 other distinct types, so that in select- 

 ing our list of the best hundred the 

 tastes of all classes must be taken into 

 consideration. 



I must confess that my own taste in 



the selection of the \arieties is largely 

 that of the amateur, since my prime 

 motive in growing jieonies has ne\er 

 been for cut (lowers as a s|>ecialty. The 

 single ]ieony as a cut flower is not a 

 good seller, but where can there be 

 found among .all the doubles anything 

 to compare with such singles as Stan 

 ley, .Inpiter or La Fiancee for large 

 massing of color effect? Their upright 

 habit and lightness of flower enable 

 them to withstand the rain and winds 

 so destructive to the heavier double 

 kinds. There are, it is true, a large 

 number of inferior single varieties 

 which should be promptly eliminated 

 from our list, which is true also of a 

 large number among the other classes. 



We have previously been cautioned 

 against the tendency to name new seed 

 lings which are inferior to varieties al- 

 ready in existence. There are so manv 

 almost perfect varieties that many be 

 lieve it almost impossible to make anv 

 ailditions that are genuine improve- 

 ments. The American Peony Socit>ty 

 should, and it is to be hojted will, come 

 to bo recognized as the authority com 

 potent to pass on the merits of a new 

 introduction and they should be so con- 

 servative that their certificate of merit 

 granted to a new variety should be- 

 come a guarantee of the value of the 

 new introduction. 



The splendid collect ion which will be 

 in existence at Cornell I'niversity will 

 furnish the society with unusual facili- 

 ties for judging .a new variety. When- 

 ever possible a specimen plant of the 

 new variety should be sent to Cornell 

 in order that it may prove its merits 

 among the older varieties already estab- 

 lished. This cannot always be done 

 while the originator is in possession of 

 only a few plants, which he would not 

 wish to disturb or part with; neither 



