Required – A High pH And Partial To Lime
I have never yet regretted a good-bye kiss to a few wretched shekels if they procured me a much-coveted peony root. And it may sound like an extravagance for me to say it, but only once or twice have I purchased a root where, in my opinion, the originator’s description did not prove to be an understatement!
As for new varieties, considering everything, twenty dollars or so is a very modest price to ask for a new peony that is really good. It should be considered a permanent investment in beauty and not a foolish or extravagant expenditure. It usually takes the breeder a year and a half to get so much as a sprout, so painfully slow is the work of propagation. The double kinds are stoically indifferent to his hopes and to his dreams, for they produce neither pollen nor seeds.
The breeder spends a decade or more before he realizes a penny for his work. Most of his crosses land on the scrap heap. His main reward, besides the joy of adventure and the knowledge that he is at least trying to help something more beautiful into existence, is the patience taught him by his unanswered prayers. Sooner or later, however, the patient worker will reap if he faints not. And the joy of accomplishment will be great because he realizes that many others besides himself will thrill to the wonders of his new creation.
Peonies require a fairly high pH rating and are very partial to lime – certainly, we all know that. However, the best and the safest way to achieve this is not through the use of raw ground limestone or of the hydrated product, but through the use of gypsum. This way you Steer clear of the danger of swinging too far over to the alkaline side. The intelligent use of tough old sods is full of possibilities also. They can literally work wonders in the production, one after another, of those magnificent show specimens we all crave.
Dig a trench 3 feet wide by 2 feet deep and, for length, whatever your back and your purse can stand. Fill this with inverted sods and tramp down hard. Then treat this with gypsum, put some mellow top soil over it, and at the proper season put in your roots, observing the time honored rule of “two inches of soil over the eyes.” I did all this, and did I have show blooms? After 20 months, although there were not so very many of them, their sumptuous finish was something to wonder at.
Experienced growers do not recommend digging up a peony for division until it is three years old, but in this case my curiosity got the better of me.