HOUSE AND GARDEN 
September, 
1910 
The modern double herbaceous Peony is the only member of the family that will ever 
attain a lasting popular favor. Mass plants for the best effect 
The variety Modeste Guerin is one of the 
best among the rose-flowered Peonies 
ast to know that such an awakening has come, and that the Peony 
is coming into its own here in America. For several years past 
nurserymen have reported a doubling of Peony sales; and a 
number of such firms are announcing Peonies as “one of their 
great specialties,” while not a few “simon pure” Peony specialists 
advertise, and issue Peony catalogs annually. 
All this is ample proof that the Peony has really arrived in 
America, and there seems reason to believe that interest in this 
regally magnificent flower — now that its merits are being real¬ 
ized—will endure. 
In this necessarily brief discussion of the Peony we may 
easily eliminate all but the one great section, the modern double 
herbaceous Peony (Peconia Herbacca Sinensis). This is the 
only member of the family which will ever attain a lasting popu¬ 
lar favor. The single and Japanese Peonies have their ad¬ 
mirers; the tree Peony ( P. Montan ) is a massive and impressive 
double bloom, but the fact that it requires about eight years to 
reach full maturity, and the earliness of bloom which makes it 
a lottery whether the frost will or will not ruin the buds, pre¬ 
cludes the likelihood 
of its ever being ex¬ 
tensively employed 
in plantings of any 
character. It is the 
herbaceous sort 
which is Queen of 
them all—if not in¬ 
deed Queen of all 
spring flowers. It is 
this flower which 
will make an instant 
Peony enthusiast of 
almost anyone—the 
one flower, not ex¬ 
cepting the Rose— 
of which neither 
tongue nor pen can 
adequately describe 
the marvelous varia¬ 
tions in form and 
color. 
There are several 
types of flower in the herbaceous Peony section, and while these 
types are more or less distinct, there are often freakish varia¬ 
tions. There are also various degrees of doubling (to put it in 
non-technical terms), and it is a fact worth noting as showing 
the general direction of taste, that ninety per cent, of those who 
visit my . garden at blooming time, express a decided preference 
for the globular, compactly built and very double flower. There 
are many magnificent semi-double sorts of exquisite coloring, but 
these are passed by almost without notice. There seems to be 
a good deal of confusion in the minds of people over the terms 
employed by growers in naming types of flowers. I have been 
asked a very great many ti nes to define “bomb-shape,” “Ane¬ 
mone-shape,” “Peony-form,” “Rose-form,” “open flower,” “flat 
flower,” “cup-shape,” etc. These terms are not strictly accurate, 
and frequently very misleading. 
Roughly speaking and for present purposes as a general 
guide, it will serve to divide the types into two classes: the “ball" 
or “bomb-shaped” type, globular, massive, usually compact and 
well built, and crowded with petals which narrow at the center. 
This is perhaps the most striking and effective Peony at first 
glance, and when just open. 
Unfortunately, this is the type which, with a few notable 
exceptions (varieties), does not stand up well for any length of 
time. After a few days—even with the best of care—the central 
petals weaken, and the seed-pods are revealed, while the collar 
droops until presently it hangs close to the stem and the whole 
flower loses much of its charm. There are certain sorts in this 
class, however, which present striking exceptions to the general 
rule. Madam Ducel—a silvery pink — with incurved petals, very 
like a Chrysanthemum, is one of them. This flower holds its 
form and color a remarkable length of time. “Madam de Verne- 
ville” (white), and “Felix Crousse” (crimson), are other ex¬ 
ceptions to the rule. 
The other type which may roughly be set down as the cup¬ 
shaped section, is the type of my own personal preference. 
There are many variations of this type. Unfortunately the term 
“cup-shaped” is misleading. One man wrote me recently ask¬ 
ing whether he was to undertsand by cup-shape “an outer row 
of petals and a hollow center.” This description would apply h> 
a single Peony. As a matter of fact, if we eliminate the “flat” 
flowers and the so-called “open flower,” the cup-shaped type is 
not alone the most completely double of all Peonies—they fre- 
Festiva Maxima, introduced in 1851, still 
remains the finest as well as the cheapest 
white, with carmine touches in the center, 
as established roots cost 50 to 75 cents. 
