4 THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
fi August 1, 1905 
the eonnoisseur alone, but for the house 
and, all branches of decorative work. The 
cisplay of a few choice photographs of 
tivese flowers, particularly if colored, mate- 
pially assist the. sales.—Jos. B. Davis. 
Al orchids make up well with ferns, 
rtienlarly of the adiantum varieties. 
flower suffers more from injudicious 
cutenations. Cattleyas and Roman hya- 
ci Shs make an ideal decoration. Freesias 
vy << in well and mignonette and Roman 
hyacinths with C. Schroeder, but with 
none other on account of color. Cypripe- 
dium insigne and freesias harmonise and 
‘make a striking decoration by skilful asso- 
ciation in either plateau or epergne 
methods. D. Wardianum, C. cristata and 
GC. Schroedere make up well in mantel 
decoration with Asparagus Sprengeri or 
> Ay plumosus. 
The Cultivation of Peonies. 
Rozert Tracy Jackson, 
Boston Gardeners and Florists’ Club. 
- Herbaceous peonies are mostly of the 
easiest cultivation. Full sunshine, or at 
least a good exposure to the sun, is neces- 
sary, as they do not thrive in the shade, as 
“under trees. The roots of trees or large 
shrubs ate objectionable, especially elms, 
maples, and lilacs, as absorbing the nour- 
ishment and water needed for the full de- 
velopment of the peonies. A. location pro- 
tected from the force of the wind is desir- 
able where possible. Peonies will stand 
great variation as regards soil, but a heavy 
rather than a light sandy soil suits them 
best, Being strong feeders. and vigorous. 
growers, they should be given deep culti- 
vation, 18 in. to 2 ft.; even more is recom- 
mended by some, but I have had good re- 
sults with 2 ft. An abundance of barnyard 
manure should be worked well into the soil, 
especially before planting. If this ma- 
nuring can. be done some months previously 
so much! the better. Cow manure is best, 
“when available. Peterson says that where 
propagation is the feature desired, peonies 
form more and hetter roots in light rather 
than heavy soil. — 
Where the soil is sandy, an addition of 
clay would doubtless be: an advantage. Inj 
_a heavy clay, which is the condition in my 
garden, a free use of sifted coal ashes and 
leaf mold, dug into the soil, works wonders 
in ameliorating and improving its tilth. 
Coal ashes contain little potash, and add 
practically nothing of chemical fertilising 
ingredients to the soil, and nearly the 
same may be said of leaf mold, but both 
improve its mechanical condition, which 
is of the very first importance for success. 
ful plant growth. Sand and road scrapings, 
where available, are, of course, excellent 
ror lightening heavy soil; stress is laid on 
coal ashes simply because their value is not 
usually appreciated, and! in small gar’ ~: 
it is «@ convenient, available material, »~°- 
ally al waste product to be gotten rid —:. 
My attention was called to the value vf 
coal ashes by Dr. Henry P. Walcott, who 
has used it for many years in his garden. 
It is much used by English and Scotch gar- 
deners for clay soil. In the autumn 
cleaning of the streets in Cambridge the 
city carts collect great quantities of leaves, 
which they are very glad to dump on the 
grounds of willing citizens. These, in a 
simgle year, by turning once, make a fine, 
well decomposed leaf mold, ready to dig 
into the garden, and give room for a new 
lot of leaves. 
Time TO PLANT. 
It is emphatically best to plant peonies 
in the Fall. In the Spring they may be 
transplanted, if necessary; but it is unde- 
sirable to purchase stock at that time. 
Frequently plants purchased in spring will 
not appear above ground the first year, as 
may happen with excellent stock coming 
from a distance; also in spring there is 
more chance of the death of some plants 
than with fall planting. If plants are re- 
ceived in autumn too late for fall planting, 
as is sometimes the case in importing, or 
if they are in questionable condition, if 
small enough, it is best to pot them and 
plunge the pots in a cold frame for the 
winter. In spring they can then be plant- 
ed out without disturbing what roots they 
have made. 
Peonies may be left in the ground with- 
out transplanting some eight or ten years, 
but longer is undesirable if best results are 
to be attained. It is sometimes stated 
that peonies may be left in the ground al- 
most indefinitely, but this is a mistake if 
good results are expected. The finest 
flowers are to be had on moderate-sized, 
well-grown plants. If plants are left too 
long in the ground they sometimes die out 
in the centre, 
PROPAGATION. 
For purposes of propagation, plants 
may be advantageously taken up more fre- 
quently, every. two or three years, divided 
with a large, sharp knife (a small carving 
knife is very good), so as to leave at least 
one bud with a portion of the root. Peony 
roots are stiff and unyielding, as well as 
brittle, so that they are very apt to be 
broken seriously in dividing. Harrison 
Bays: “Let them le in the shade a few 
hours and wilt. This toughens them and 
does not hurt them a particle. You can 
immediately restore them to their plump- 
ness by putting them in wet moss, or keep- 
ing in or planting in moist earth. This is 
very important.” TI have tried Harrison’s 
method, only I left them out of ground for 
several days ini cool weather. When the 
roots become somewhat flaccid and yield- 
ing, instead of rigid and brittle, they can 
then, be easily divided without injury, even 
te solid old clumps. They will regain. their 
_ original plumpness in a few hours’ expo- 
sure in a damp medium: 
The small plants, after division, may be 
set out in nursery rows, 2 ft. apart, the 
plants being about 10 to 15 in. apart in the 
row, according to size, In cutting up, 
a a [tl 
some roots will be broken off, and these 
may be planted with the rest, as more or 
less will grow from adventitious buds start- 
ing under these conditions. Actual ob- 
servations of what proportion will grow 
from adventitious buds would be desirable, 
but do not exist, as far as 1 am aware. In 
propagating, if the plants are choice and 
are cut very fine, it is desirable to set a 
frame over them the first winter. As 
Peterson says, herbaceous peonies of choice 
varieties may be propagated by grafting. 
This method is practised to some extent ; 
but I think is most undesirable for her- 
baceous plants. Grafting is not expected 
in. such plants, and, if practised, endless 
confusion in varieties may occur from the 
growth of adventitious buds from the 
stock. If this is done they should be graft- 
ed on officianalis stock, or some other dis- 
tinct species, so that shoots from the stock, 
which are likely to develop, will be 
strikingly distinct from those developed by 
the scion. 
F. L. Temple in 1889 suggested the 
method of propagating herbaceous peonies 
by heaping up fine, ‘rich soil over the 
crowns; under such conditions he found, 
by an accidental experiment, that roots 
and buds developyed on the stems, which 
could then be cut off, leaving the crown 
intact. Timme, in a recent paper, recom- 
mends this method of deep burial as a 
means of propagation. According to him, 
the procedure is as follows: In spring, be- 
fore there is any growth above ground, a 
bottomless box or tub is placed over the 
plant and filled with nice porous soil to a 
depth of 12 to 15 in. The new growth 
will push through this layer of earth, de- 
veloping its foliage and flowers above it. — 
By keeping this soil enclosed in the box 
fairly moist all summer it will be filled 
with roots about October. The stalks are 
carefully cut away below the new stra- 
tum of-soil, and cut into as many pieces as 
there are eyes provided with roots. These 
short lengths, planted to a depth of about 
2 in. below the surface, will grow into fine 
stock in less time than will small root divi- 
sions. Timme says that this sort of lay- _ 
ering succeeds well with nearly all herba- 
ceous peonies. : 
Mallett, in England, also recommends 
this method of propagation, as he says 
«|. cover the stools with 8 in. of 
light soil made firm; growths will push 
through this in spring readily enough, and 
will flower well, but in September the rest- 
ing buds will be found on independent 
stems 6 in. long, and with a mass of roots 
at their bases. These should be detached 
and planted forthwith, and the old soil 
cleared from the stools to admit warmth, 
when they will develop many buds hitherto 
latent, and which’ they always have in re- 
serve. These will flower in the course of - 
the season. The flowering strength. 
of the stools is but little impaired, but a 
vigorous thinning of several weakly 
growths may he uecessary in the second 
season.” “Str-»g double peonies will often 
