The Garden Magazine, August, 1919 



25 



Mil MASSIVE RICHNESS OF 1 1 1 Li DOUBLE FLOWER 

 Though the connoisseur rru.y c insider subtle variations of form, the man in the street sees rather the immensity of the perfectly double Peony bloom, the 



result of leaving well enough alone and not shifting 



bloom for several years, or the blooms may be of indifferent 

 quality year after year. 



Don't plant too shallow. Plants with the topmost eyes less 

 than two inches below the level of the soil are likely to be ex- 

 posed in oneway oranother. From 2\ to 3 inches is about right, 

 making due allowance for settling of ground after planting. 



Don't set too close in permanent planting; that is, if you 

 mean to let them remain as you plant them. Peonies should 

 not be set closer than three feet apart each way. Four feet 

 is far better. 



Don't Worry About " Protection" 



PEONIES (all varieties) are literally as "hardy as the 

 oak," and need no protection whatever, even in lati- 

 tudes where the temperature goes down to any quantity of 

 degrees below zero. Indeed, the best blooming seasons are 

 invariably those which follow hard, " stay-f rozen " winters. 

 The first winter after planting, the roots are, of course, loose 

 in the ground, and for this one season, a light cover of, say 

 two inches of coarse litter — grass, or fine straw — is thought 

 by some to be necessary to prevent heaving of roots. 



"Once planted, all is done," is almost a literal truth about 

 Peonies. Assuming that you follow the foregoing directions 

 in planting, etc., the after-culture or fertilization consists 

 only, in my opinion, of applying one pound of bone meal to 

 every plant directly after the blooming season is past. This 

 bone meal should be dug lightly with the hands or with a 

 hand-trowel into the soil around the plants to the depth of 

 only an inch or two, but not too close to the stem. 



Don't use lime in preparing beds. A certain grower reports 

 the death of several acres of plants due to excessive liming 

 of the soil. 



Don't fail to water plants plentifully during the blooming 

 period; but don't use manure water at this time, or at any 

 time, unless you are careful not to get it close to stems of 

 plants. 



Don't Worry About Diseases 



THERE aren't any diseases that need give you any con- 

 cern whatever, eminent horticultural professors to the 

 contrary notwithstanding. True, there is a fungous disease, 

 which attacks the leaves of the plants. This usually occurs 



