PAEONY, or PEONY, a genus of plants remarkable for their large and gorgeous flowers; it belongs to the family Ranunculaceae. There are two distinct sets, one the strong-growing herbaceous kind, with fleshy roots and annual stems, derived mainly from Paeonia albiflora and P. officinalis; the other called the tree paeony, stiff-growing plants with half-woody permanent stems, which have sprung from the 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 colours, and of a globular form in the double varieties which are those most prized in gardens. They usually blossom in May and June, and as ornaments for large beds in pleasure grounds, and for the front parts of shrubberies, few flowers equal them in gorgeous effect. A good moist loamy soil suits them best, and a moderate supply of manure is beneficial.
The garden varieties of modern times are very beautiful, the flowers being in many instances delicately tinted with more than one colour, such as buff with bronzy centre, carmine with yellow ish centre, rose with orange centre, white tinted with rose, etc.
The moutans or tree paeonies are remarkable for their sub shrubby habit, forming vigorous plants sometimes attaining a height of 6 to 8 f t., and producing in May magnificent flowers
which vary in colour from white to lilac, purple magenta, violet and rose. These are produced on the young shoots, which natu rally bud forth early in the spring, and are in consequence liable in bleak localities, unless protected, to be cut off by spring frosts. They require to be thoroughly ripened in summer, and therefore a hot season and a dryish situation are desirable for their well being; and they require perfect rest during winter. They are in creased by grafting in late summer or autumn on the roots of the herbaceous paeonies. There are hundreds of names given to the colour variations of both the herbaceous and tree paeonies.
In North America the genus is represented by a single species, the western paeony (P. Brownii), which grows on brushy slopes in the foothills and on mountains up to about 5,500 ft. altitude from southern California to Washington and eastward to Utah. It is a fleshy perennial, 8 in. to 15 in. high, with pale, smooth, ter nately divided leaves, mostly clustered at the base of the stem. The brownish-red flowers, about 12 in. broad, are composed of 5 or 6 thick, leathery, flattish petals, which are but slightly longer than the roundish, concave sepals.