House and Garden 
September, 1909 
quently through our seasons of spraying and dusting the 
peony pursues the even tenor of its healthy way. 
But, to be perfectly fair, and not to be carried away by 
this imposing listof good qualities, I must tell you the peony’s 
faults, few though they are: The plant does not increase as 
rapidly as we might wish; and in some of the double varie¬ 
ties the stems are too weak for the weight of the magnificent 
blooms, so that a heavy rain will beat them down and 
spatter their immaculate petals, unless the clump is properly 
supported. So, to avoid 
disappointment in this 
regard, you will do well 
to invest in a galvanized 
iron ring supported on 
three legs which are 
pushed into the ground— 
a device similar to the 
well known support for a 
tomato plant but some¬ 
what larger in diameter. 
These supports cost but 
fifteen cents apiece and 
are well worth it, for 
they will last for a num¬ 
ber of years. 
Now, although the 
peony will do fairly well 
in almost any ordinarily 
fertile soil, it is just as 
well to give it the posi¬ 
tion best suited to its 
taste, particularly if you 
are going to take any 
pride in the size and 
beauty of the blooms. 
The peony likes a mod¬ 
erate shade and plenty 
of water. It also has an 
apparently insatiable ap¬ 
petite for rich food, 
which means that you 
can hardly be too gen¬ 
erous with the annual 
mulching of cow manure. 
Select a well drained site 
for the planting — not in 
a swamp, with the idea 
of satisfying the flower's 
craving for water, nor 
under trees, with the idea of securing the shade. If you 
choose the latter location the trees will suck up all the 
available food there is in the ground and leave the peony 
to starve. 
If you have made up your mind to plant some peonies 
this fall you will do well to prepare the ground for them as 
far as possible in advance of planting. You can secure the 
very best results by digging up the earth for a depth of two 
feet as soon as possible after the middle of August. Work 
in a quantity of well rotted compost or cow manure to 
insure the desirable richness of soil. If your land has a 
tendencv toward compact stickiness, loosen it up by work¬ 
ing in s .reet sweepings or the fine siftings from coal ashes. 
Have your peony roots arrive from the nursery about the 
middle of September and lose no time in setting them out, 
with the crowns two or three inches under the surface. 
Plant them not less than three feet apart. 
If there is danger of zero weather in your latitude it 
would be well to give the plants a mulch of leaf mold in 
November. 
If you have obtained good strong roots the plants will 
probably show a few bloom shoots the first sum¬ 
mer, but if you want 
to display foresight and 
an unusual amount of 
self-control, pinch off the 
buds and let the young 
plant put all its strength 
into developing its foli¬ 
age. 
Use the hose without 
reserve. The peony is 
a hard drinker as well as 
a huge feeder. 
If, after the first sum¬ 
mer you develop aspira¬ 
tions toward specimen 
blooms for exhibition 
purposes, pinch off all 
the buds along the side 
of each stem and throw 
all the plant’s energy 
into the terminal flow¬ 
ers. If your enthusiasm 
carries you this far you 
will probably want at 
least one large bed of the 
plants, which should be 
a rectangular one of, say, 
three rows, with the indi¬ 
vidual plants three or 
four feet apart. But if 
you do not aspire to a 
real collection of the 
many interesting varie¬ 
ties, plant at least a few 
of the tried and true 
favorites in the border 
around the house, not 
forgetting a clump or two 
about the porch or ter¬ 
race steps. 
The peony’s season of bloom starts about the middle of 
May with P. tenuifolia, a crimson single variety, after which 
the well known double red peony (P. officinalis, var. rubra ) 
carries on the good work. Then the tree peonies bloom 
(P. Moutan), their season being overlapped by the earliest 
varieties of the Chinese peonies (P. albiflora), with the later 
varieties of this group winding up the season early in July. 
Professor J. Eliot Coit has proposed a classification for 
the peony family, and system of nomenclature which brings 
order out of the chaos that has long existed. He classifies 
as Single all peonies which have occasionally been called by 
the term “anemone.” The Japanese peonies are those in 
which the process of doubling has just begun. The Bombs 
Single peonies do not deserve the neglect they have had in favor of the showy doubles 
