74 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



September, 1905 



nearly all forms the large outer guard-petals 

 remain distinct from the mass of smaller nar- 

 rower ones (called petaloids), and which are 

 the transformed stamens and carpels. 



It is true that peonies are not as cheap as a 

 host of our other popular garden plants. In 

 fact, the roots cost a good deal to start with, 

 and you have to wait till the second blooming 

 season before the blooms amount to much. 

 It is slow propagation which makes the first 

 cost an item of importance. Ordinarily the 

 roots (crown tubers, correctly speaking) are 

 dug in August and are allowed to wilt some- 

 what, then divided with a knife to two or 

 three good eyes to a piece and at once re- 

 planted. Varieties differ in the rate at which 

 they multiply, and this, together with the 

 quality or rarity, make prices differ widely. 



RAISING FROM SEEDS A PATIENCE TEST 



But someone asks, "Why not raise peonies 

 from seeds?" You may, but the probabil- 

 ities are that you will get just as many 

 varieties as you succeed in getting seeds 

 to grow, and after four or five years, when 

 they come into bloom, most of them will 

 turn out worthless. A noted peony grower 

 told me this summer that in more than six 

 hundred seedlings coming into bloom in one 

 season there was not one worth saving, and 

 the whole patch was plowed up and more seed 

 planted in the hope that some five years later 

 there may be some one or two varieties which 

 will repay for the time, labor, and land. 



Seeds set very sparingly on double flowers, 

 because very frequently the seed vessels are 

 changed to petals. Most of the single flowers 

 seed heavily, and for this reason most of the 

 seedlings raised are single. There is, how- 



106. A good type of a perfect, regular double flower, 

 M. Dupont, white; blooms late. (Compare Figs. 99-105) 



ever, for the amateur a vast fund of pleasure 

 to be had from raising seedlings. 



Plant the seeds as soon as they are ripe, in 

 rich loose soil in a position where they will 

 not be disturbed till they bloom. This will 

 usually be from four to six years. Some of 

 the seeds may wait a year before germinating, 

 and they are almost sure to do this if allowed 

 to dry before planting. If you wish to make 

 an earnest effort to produce better varieties 



cross or hybridize those having desirable quali- 

 ties, but don't be disappointed if you don't 

 grow into a Burbank all at once. One thing 

 more: If you do produce what looks like a 

 valuable variety test it by exhibiting at some 

 horticultural society's show. 



INSECTS AND DISEASES 



Peonies are practically free from insect 

 pests. Of course, we often find large black 

 ants crawling over the buds, but I could never 

 see that they did any harm. There are two 

 fungous diseases (perhaps they are the same 

 thing) which fortunately are not very serious. 

 As yet no one knows how to control them. 

 One is the sudden rotting and collapse of the 

 stems at the surface of the ground, and the 

 other is a dry black rot of the buds before 

 they develop. As an ounce of prevention is 

 worth a pound of cure, it is a good plan to 

 collect and burn all infected shoots. 



A GLIMPSE AT PEONY BOTANY 



The genus Paeonia embraces, speaking in 

 round numbers, about twenty-five species, all 

 but one of which are natives of Europe and 

 Asia. P. Brownii is the only American 

 species, and occurs in California, from the 

 coast to the mountain slopes. One species, 

 P. Moutan, is shrubby, and curiously enough 

 has never been found in the wild state. This 

 is called the tree peony, and is largely planted 

 in hundreds of varieties. 



The great bulk of our thousand or more 

 varieties of herbaceous peonies are derived 

 from P. albiflora (P. chinensis of the nur- 

 series is a variety of this) and P. officinalis, 

 while a few have arisen from the following 

 species: P. ptregrina, P. tenuifolia, P. ano- 



107. 



The only shrub in the family. The Moutan or tree peony (Paeonia Moutan) has an unlimited host of varieties of which no one Knows the names, 

 measure ten inches in diameter and come in white, pink and magenta. Good forms are easily raised from seed 



The flowers 



