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CARL PURDY, UKIAH, CALIFORNIA 
When Peonies are mentioned one thinks of the old-fashioned red and white "Pineys" 
which grew in the front yard of the old home. Today there are at least a thousand varieties 
in cultivation as beautiful and fragrant as roses, and which will be at home in any garden. 
PEONIES 
are plants that when well grown cannot be surpassed in superb flowers, while the fra- 
grance of some is not equaled by the finest roses. They flower in May or early June and 
the flowers grown at The Terraces are generally admitted to be the finest on this coast. 
Peonies cannot be grown successfully in California in the same manner that they 
are grown in the East. The plants themselves grow admirably, but as they flower at a 
time when the weather is very hot in California, either the flowers are burnt or the 
plants are pushed to early maturity and very poor bloom results. In a cold, foggy sea- 
son they are fine. This difficulty can be overcome by planting the bed where there is 
either a light shade most of the day, or in a position that is shaded heavily from 12 to 4 
o'clock each day. 
The plants demand a deep, well-prepared bed. If the soil is dug over to a depth 
of 3 feet and manure is worked in, the trouble will be well repaid, for when we plant 
Peonies they last many years. They improve season after season, and at six or eight 
years are simply grand, if the rooting-space was well prepared. During their growing 
and flowering season liberal watering is demanded, but after that very little is neces- 
sary. The first year's bloom is comparatively poor, no matter how good the plants 
are. In planting do not cover the crowns (buds) over 3 inches deep. Every winter the 
Peony bed should have a liberal coat of half-rotted manure. Give them all the atten- 
tion you can. 
Peonies are lime-lovers, and a dressing of lime when the bed is made will not be amiss. 
Apply at the rate of 5 pounds to the 100 square feet when preparing the bed, and if this 
is repeated every third year, it will be better. If air-slaked lime is used it may be 
spread out at once, but if builder's lime only is available, put in little heaps on the soil 
and leave long enough to air-slake before spreading. 
Quality of Roots. My location is wonderfully adapted to the culture of the Peony 
and I doubt if finer flowers are grown anywhere. I try to have fine 1- or 2-year-old un- 
divided roots to send out. These would have from 2 to 4 eyes and are very fine. If I 
have to send divided roots they are strong. 
Any one wishing large 3- to 4-year-old roots can have them at double the price. 
It is not desirable to have over 6 eyes when planting. In comparing my prices with eastern 
dealers, kindly remember that good Peony roots are both bulky and weighty and at a 
cost of at least 8 cents per pound for expressage, there is a marked difference, consider- 
ing that I deliver free. 
Peonies are divided into classes according to the arrangement and number of petals. 
First, there are the single flowers, then the semi-doubles. When stamens are changed to 
petals, we have the Bomb type, in which the outer or guard-petals are different from the 
others. Then, when the pistils in the center of the flower begin to change to petals, there 
are often three distinct sorts of petals, first the outer or guard petals, then shorter petals 
in a dense mass, then a few very tall petals in the middle. This is called the Crown type. 
