Peony Bloom for the Longest Season— By a. p. Saunders, 



NOW IS THE TIME TO PLANT— SOME VARIETIES OF HIGH QUALITY THAT WILL 

 GIVE THE BEST OF FLOWERS IN ALL COLORS OVER THE LONGEST PERIOD 



Secretary American 

 Peony Society 



PEONIES begin to make fine white rootlets in autumn, and 

 continue this growth through the winter and spring. After 

 the blooming season there is a ripening-off time, and then a stage 

 when the plant is almost dormant. This is the time for trans- 

 planting, and in most latitudes it falls in September and October. 

 Roots may also be set in spring if it is necessary, but spring 

 planting should be avoided (as a rule). When the roots are re- 

 ceived from the nursery they should be un- 

 packed at once, and if they are dry they 

 should be moistened by dipping into a pail 

 of water. They should then be planted at once: 

 but if this is not possible, cover them with moss 

 or earth and put into a cool cellar. The one thing not 

 to do is to leave them exposed to dry air or sunlight. 

 Nothing in the culture of peonies is more important 

 than getting them properly planted. The peony is a 

 gross feeder, and, for a herbaceous plant, a deep rooter, 

 therefore we should see to it that the 

 plants have good rich earth for a con 

 siderable depth. Dig holes 

 two and a half feet across t d^.41 

 and two and a half feet 

 deep; put 

 in the bot- 

 tom half a 

 barrow load of 

 cow manure, of 

 well-rotted 

 horse manure 



^ 



then fill up 

 the rest of the hole 

 •with rich soft loam, 

 mixed about half 

 and half with leaf mold 

 :See to it that the 

 roots are never set in 



manure. 

 Peonies are hard 

 to kill, but if any- 

 thing will do it, it 

 would be planting the 

 roots directly against 

 fresh manure. If pos- 

 sible get the holes pre- 

 pared a few weeks before 

 the time w r hen the roots 

 will arrive. 



It is of the greatest 

 importance that the roots 



The old-fashioned double crimson early flowering peony (Paeonia officinalis) 



should be set at just the right depth in the ground, and this is 

 accomplished when the buds or "eyes" are two or three inches 

 below the surface. Do not think it will do just as well to set 

 them higher than this and then add a little more earth and 

 mound it up over the crown ; for this extra little heap will soon wash 

 away and leave the crown of the plant exposed, after which no fine 

 bloom can be expected. If set too deeply the plants will take 

 longer than usual to establish themselves. 



Peonies are "fussy" about being moved. After 

 moving they take two years at least before they begin 

 to bloom at all well, and the finest blooms cannot be 

 counted on before the third year after setting; yes, 

 with some varieties even the fourth or fifth year. 

 Hence it is not of great advantage to 

 buy large clumps, unless for pur- 

 poses of propagation. Buy what are 

 called one-year or two-year plants 

 and by the time they have been in the 

 ground long enough to bear fine blooms 

 they will have grown into quite good- 

 sized clumps. 

 The peonies commonly grown 

 — the herbaceous peony — are 

 derived by hybridization from two 

 species of Paeonia namely P. offici- 

 nalis, exemplified in the old double 

 crimson (early-flowering) peony that 

 is in almost every yard, and P. albi- 

 flora or Sinensis, the Chinese peony, to which 

 belong most of the magnificent garden peonies. 

 But there are other natural species and, from 

 some of these, groups of lovely garden va- 

 rieties have also been produced. Their name 

 is legion, single and double, and the beginner 

 may well stand confused at the host; each 

 grower will have his special favorites, and I 

 am no exception. Yet in this article I have 

 tried to suggest what I consider the best sorts 

 for one who wants to have in his garden the 

 best there are from the end of May till the early 

 days of July in the latitude of Northern New York. 

 The dates would fall earlier in more southerly or 

 more westerly regions. Also they vary a good deal 

 from season to season; I use here this season's dates. 

 There is an early yellow-flowered species 

 called P. Wittmanniana upon which M. Lemoine 

 the French hybridist has lately made some crosses w 7 hich 

 will be the starting point of a new race of extra early-flowering 

 sorts, coming into bloom in the month of May, in northern 

 latitudes. Some of the varieties already produced are of great 

 beauty, resembling a clump of great pale pink water-lily blooms. 

 Unfortunately they are not as yet easy to find in catalogues, and 

 are rarely to be seen in gardens. But they have a future before 

 them when they become better known. 



While these are still on, there come in those marvels of floral 

 creation, the Japanese tree peonies. These go back to a primitive 

 species, P. Montan, and are distinguished by having a permanent 

 woody growth above ground. It is stretching matters a little to 

 call them trees, but they do grow four or five feet high even in 

 cold climates. I say, without hesitation, that the blooms of 

 these plants are more wonderful for beauty of form, texture, and 

 color combined, than anything else I have ever seen. And they 

 are large. The Japanese catalogues say unblushingly of some 

 sorts, "flowers fifteen inches in diameter." Mine have never 



GM October 



