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PAEONY (botanically Paeonia; Nat. ord...

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Originally appearing in Volume V20, Page 447 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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PAEONY (botanically Paeonia; Nat. ord. Ranunculaceae q.v.)

PAEONY (botanically See also:
PAEONIA
Paeonia; Nat. ord. See also:
RANUNCULACEAE
Ranunculaceae q.v.) a genus of See also:

PLANTS

plants remarkable for their large and gorgeous See also:

FLOWERS, ARTIFICIAL

flowers. There are two distinct sets, one the strong-growing herbaceous See also:

KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind, with fleshy roots and See also:

ANNUAL

annual stems, derived mainly from Paeonia albiflora and P. officinalis; the other called the See also:

tree paeony, stiff-growing plants with See also:

HALF

half-woody permanent stems, which have sprung from the See also:

CHINESE, JAPANESE AND

Chinese P. Moutan. The herbaceous paeonies usually grow from 2 to 3 ft. in height, and have large much-divided leaves, and ample flowers of varied and attractive See also:

COLOURS, MILITARY

colours, and of a globular See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form in the See also:

double varieties which are those most prized in gardens. They usually blossom in May and See also:

JUNE

June, and as ornaments for large beds in See also:

PLEASURE (through Fr. plaisir from Lat. placere, to please; Gr. rlbovii)

pleasure grounds, and for the front parts of shrubberies, few flowers equal them in gorgeous effect. A See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good moist loamy See also:

SOIL

soil suits them best, and a moderate See also:

SUPPLY (through Fr. from Lat. supplere, to fill up)

supply of manure is beneficial. They are impatient of frequent transplantings or repeated divisions for purposes of See also:

PROPAGATION

propagation, but when necessary they may be multiplied by this means, See also:

early in autumn, care being taken that a See also:

sound bud is attached to each portion of the tuberous roots. The older varieties of P. albiflora include candida, See also:

FESTA, CONSTANZO (c. 1495–1545)

festa, fragrans, Humei, Reevesii, rubescens, vestalis, Whitleyi, &c.; those of P. officinalis embrace albicans, anemoniflora, Baxteri, blanda, resat, See also:

SABINI

Sabini, &c. The See also:

GARDEN (from O. Fr. garden, mod. Fr. jardin; this, like our words " garth," a paddock attached to a building, and " yard," comes from a Teutonic word for an enclosure which appears in Gothic as gards and O. H. Ger. gart, cf. Dutch gaarde and Ger. .garten)

garden varieties of See also:

MODERN

modern times are, however, still more beautiful, the flowers being in many instances delicately tinted with more than one See also:

COLOUR (Lat. color, connected with celare, to hide, the root meaning, therefore, being that of a covering)

colour, such as See also:

BUFF (from Fr. bu.ffie, a buffalo)

buff with bronzy centre, See also:

CARMINE

carmine with yellowish centre, See also:

rose with See also:

orange centre, See also:

white tinted with rose, &c. The Siberian P. tenuifolia, with finely cut leaves and See also:

CRIMSON

crimson flowers, is a graceful border plant, and its double-flowered variety is perhaps the most elegant of its See also:

RACE

race. The Moutans or tree paeonies are remarkable for their sub-shrubby See also:

HABIT (through the French from Lat. habitus, from habere, to have, hold, or, in a reflective sense, to be in a certain condition; in many of the English senses the French use habitude, not habit)

habit, forming vigorous plants sometimes attaining a height of 6 to 8 ft., and producing in May magnificent flowers which vary in colour from white to See also:

LILAC

lilac, See also:

PURPLE

purple See also:

MAGENTA

magenta, See also:

VIOLET

violet and rose.

These are produced on the See also:

young shoots, which naturally bud forth early in the See also:

SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

spring, and are in consequence liable in See also:

BLEAK, or BLICK (Alburnus lucidus)

bleak localities, unless protected, to be cut off by spring frosts. They require to be thoroughly ripened in summer, and therefore a hot See also:

SEASON (0. Fr. seson, seison, mod. saison, Lat. satio, sowing time, the spring, from serere, to sow; in Late Lat. the word is found with its present meaning, the spring being considered as particularly the season of the year)

season and a dryish situation are desirable for their well-being; and they require perfect. See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest during See also:

winter. Small plants with a single See also:

STEM (O. Eng. staefn, stemn, cf. Du. stain, Ger. Stamm, &c., probably related to " staff ")

stem, if well matured so as to ensure their blossoming, make very attractive plants when forced. They are increased by grafting in See also:

LATE

late summer or autumn on the roots of the herbaceous paeonies. The yellow-flowered tree .paeony (P. lutea) was introduced from See also:

CHINA

China in 1887, but is still very rare. There are hundreds of names given to the colour See also:

variations of both the herbaceous and tree paeonies, but as these have only a fleeting See also:

INTEREST

interest it is better to consult current catalogues for the latest types.

End of Article: PAEONY (botanically Paeonia; Nat. ord. Ranunculaceae q.v.)

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