2 
W. L. GUMM, REMINGTON, IND. 
soil procurable. Plant Peonies about three feet apart 
in the row, covering the eyes with about two inches 
of fine dirt, not more, for deeper planting will keep 
them from blooming and make weak, slow growing 
plants. Occasional cultivating from May to September 
will produce extra growth and give profuse bloom the 
following season. Peonies should have plenty of sun¬ 
shine and should not be planted too near old trees, 
shrubbery or house foundations. The location must 
be one to admit of good, and easy drainage, for if this 
is not the case the bed may become water-logged in 
heavy rains. Never plant a Peony where one has been 
planted before unless all the soil has been removed and 
replaced with soil that has never grown Peonies, other¬ 
wise the plants will remain small and fail to bloom. 
For you who are planting Peonies for the first 
time and do not know the wondrous beauty of the 
Modern Peony, many, many are the thrills in store 
for you. The Peony is the grandest of all perennials, 
with all the delicacy of the rose, only multiplied by a 
size that overwhelms. 
No flower you can mention draws the thousands 
of visitors to a planting as do Peonies, and there is a 
reason. 
RATING OF PEONIES 
The figures before the varieties give the ratings 
based on 100% and were taken by members of both 
Peony and Iris societies. This will prove a valuable 
guide in selecting Peonies. Those without ratings are 
new and have never been rated. 
GROWING PEONIES FROM SEED 
Few of the thousands of Peony enthusiasts have 
ever played the fascinating game of raising Peonies 
from seed. With very few of our flowers is the pro¬ 
duction of new varieties accompanied with the same 
zest, the same demand upon the patience of the ex¬ 
perimenter as with Peonies and with none are the re¬ 
turns of pleasure greater. 
One’s interest in watching the growth increases 
constantly as the progress of the baby plant is follow¬ 
ed, and it is not until the fourth or fifth year after 
the seed is sown that bloom bearing maturity has 
been reached. A Peony grown from seed is always a 
new variety for they do not come true. I have been 
in the Peony game for over 50 years and have one of 
the largest collections of high grade Peonies in exis¬ 
tence, but no single feature is more absorbingly in¬ 
teresting than the production of new varieties from 
seed. 
I have originated such sterling varieties as Lil¬ 
lian Gumm, Grace Ott, Vera, Golden Dawn, Onahama, 
W. L. Gumm, Mrs. W. L. Gumm and many others. 
For the benefit of those who wish to grow from seed 
I would offer the following suggestions: As soon as 
ripe the seed should be sown in a rich medium heavy 
soil, about an inch and a half apart and one inch deep. 
Cover with burlap or straw to keep the ground moist 
and some of them should come up the following Spring. 
By the end of the third year after planting you can 
lift the plants and give more room for expansion, 
planting them about a foot apart. 
