September, 1915 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
29 
g« ! yra] 
' .fabflM >>>M 
Ws a.WWaS®^ ♦>T<Se- 
s&5& ■ *AA; So 51 
When the blooming time is on, they 
must be given an abundance. 
A few years ago the peony was com¬ 
monly considered immune from pests 
and diseases. Recently, however, a 
great deal of havoc has been wrought 
by a sort of rot called the American 
botrytis blight that attacks even the 
hardiest bushes. Early in the spring 
the disease puts in its first appearance, 
usually in the form of a rot at the base 
of the young stems. The affected 
stalks wilt, droop and succumb quickly, 
sometimes leaving the rest of the clus¬ 
ter apparently untouched. Later in 
the season stalks with full-blown 
flowers often wither and die from a 
lesion at the base. And even after the 
flower season is over another symptom 
is evidenced by the blight of the 
leaves. The diseased parts lose their 
fresh green color and turn rapidly 
from a dark brown to a light yellowish 
green. 
While your plants may not be af¬ 
fected at all this season, it is best to 
use preventive measures and 
spray with a good fungicide as 
soon as the stems come up. 
Make a second and third appli¬ 
cation when the buds begin to 
show and just before they open. 
A fourth spraying is desirable 
after blossoming to protect the 
leaves. Bordeaux is the com¬ 
monest spray, and by applying 
it when possible just before a 
rain, the plants are not made 
unsightly by stains. 
In case the disease is not 
forestalled, remove and destroy 
the affected parts as fast as 
they appear. At the end of the season 
it is wise to destroy all tops, as in this 
way the parasite cannot be carried 
over the winter. Cut the stem close 
to the ground or break from the 
crowns. 
The color of the blossoms need not 
be considered when using peonies as 
a background for annuals, but should 
be given most careful consideration 
when they are used to create color 
effects in the early spring. Among the 
white peonies—and they are con¬ 
sidered by some the most beautiful of 
all — the Festiva maxima is generally 
ranked among the first, for it bears 
wonderful, great, white flowers on 
long, stiff stems, is very fragrant, a 
notoriously vigorous bloomer, and is 
the very first of all to open to the sun. 
Occasionally, the white petals will be 
tipped with red, memory of its Offici¬ 
nalis ancestry. Closely following is 
the Festiva, much like it, only 
dwarfed instead of vigorous of 
growth. These two together prolong 
the white season most accom¬ 
modatingly, besides adapting 
themselves to graded height. 
One of the loveliest of all the 
white peonies is the Duchess 
de Nemours (Calot). Deli¬ 
cately fragrant, it opens its 
creamy-white guard petals, re¬ 
vealing a lovely lemon-yellow 
center. It looks much like a 
water lily. As it opens, the yel¬ 
low center gradually fades to 
white, until at its hour of per¬ 
fection it is a pure white. 
Madame de Verneville, broad 
(Continued on page 52) 
Extravagantly prolific in quantity as well as in quality of bloom, 
the white Canari with its yellow center is a great favorite 
M. Jules Ehe is unusually large and hand- Nowhere does the king of flowers show off to better advantage than in the Loveliest of the white peonies is Duchess 
some, shading from a fresh, bright pink to role of shield and background to so dainty an annual as the foxglove. de Nemours, with its creamy white guard 
deep rose at the center Peonies may be used effectively to conceal the house foundations petals and lemon yellow center 
