Many old colonial gardens had a few enormous bushes of the first tree peony to be brought from China.
This was Paeonia moutan banksi, named for Sir Joseph Banks, director of Kew Gardens, in 1787 when the plant was brought to him by a traveler he had instructed to look out for it.
According to the story, Sir Joseph had been much intrigued by the references of Marco Polo to “roses,” which were a foot in diameter and had no thorns.
He had also seen paintings and embroideries in which the flowers were shown.
Tree Peonies Come to America
The variety banksi was propagated in England, and plants reached this country shortly after 1800. It was a double, magenta-pink flower that faded at the edges.
According to modern tastes, it was hardly beautiful, but it had great vogue. There can be no doubt of its vigor, as it survived in many gardens for a half-century or a century.
The bush was strong and sturdy and sent up big, rather awkward branches, which lent a certain character to corners of old gardens.
Nowadays, much the same effect can be had by using much better peonies. Moreover, other double-flowered Chinese varieties, such as Reine Elizabeth, Jeanne d’Arc, Marquis de Clapiers, and Carolina d’Italie, are better in color.
These are now available in American nurseries. Unfortunately, they all have the drawback of hanging their heads because the flowers are too heavy for the stems.
They have another disadvantage: the flowers are often imperfect and distorted.
For this reason, modern connoisseurs are shying away from these Chinese or European types and instead are planting the more attractive Japanese types.
Japanese Improvements
The Chinese tree peonies were taken to Japan in the 8th century. It is not known exactly when the Japanese began to grow seedlings from them, but this has been happening for nearly a thousand years.
Under the skilled hands of Japanese gardeners, a great color range has been developed – from pure white through pink, rose red, scarlet, crimson, maroon, and purple. Professor Sargent brought named varieties from Japan in 1891.
Shortly after that, commercial shipments began to arrive from the Yokohama Nursery Company and others. The named varieties were grafted on the roots of the wild moutan peony, which suckered badly and often smothered out the fine variety.
For that reason, the plants soon lost popularity. However, in gardens where they were planted, one may today sometimes find the purple stock coming up and flowering early in the season.
A New Propagating Method
Between 1900 and 1910, however, the nurserymen began to graft on roots of the herbaceous Chinese Paeonia albiflora, and these grew much better, laying the foundation for the present collections.
The best of the Japanese varieties are as sturdy as the Chinese ones. I dislike giving variety names because stocks are so scarce that the particular variety May not be available even if cataloged by the grower.
I would advise the amateur to buy plants by color, asking for them in the various colors mentioned.
I may, however, state that among the white, some of the finest are:
- Gessekai
- Renkaku
- Tama-sudare
- Shuchi Uk
Among the pinks:
- Hana-kurabe
- Iro-no-seki
- Do-kusbini-den
Among the reds:
- Hiryo
- Hino-tobira
Among the crimsons:
- Hatsu-garashu
- Uba-tama
And the purples:
- Rimpo
- Ruriban
Planting Tree Peonies
Tree peonies grow slowly at first. For this reason, and because of the difficulty in propagation, they are scarce and expensive in nurseries. They should be planted in the Autumn and well mulched for the first winter.
After that, they are perfectly hardy in temperatures down to 1.5 below zero. They should have well-drained soil and, if possible, a little shade from high trees.
A little cover to keep the ground cool is desirable, but this is not necessary, as many collections are grown in open Lids.
The white and pale varieties are the most striking in the garden. The plants can be used to accent a gate or a path in the manner that many people use a dwarf evergreen like the yew.
They lend character and dignity to the herbaceous border and are particularly appreciated because their flowers open so much earlier than the better-known herbaceous peonies.
44659 by John C. Wister