The first Itoh Blooms of 2023 opened today.
Pink Double Dandy



Caroline Constabel. She has several more buds



I think both of these are blooming early as my corals just started opening.

They are beautiful, LG! Both colors are so unique and interesting.

Very nice LG. I like the colors and delicate beauty of the blooms.

Beautiful. I am especially in love with Caroline Constabel. Does it fade nicely?

@minyatur, here is a photo I just took.
I like it even more with the flares showing

Here is Strawberry Creme Brûlée. It's not registered.

Very nice, LG! Mine is not showing buds yet. Hopefully they will form later.

I hope you do get some buds, Karen. So many of my Itohs do not have buds this year.

Wow, LG, your Caroline Constabel has arrived! Would love to see more progression pics of CC. It has an alluring blend of colors. Has it been a prolific grower for you in terms of blooms and stems? For an early bloomer, is it sufficiently hardy to late frosts?

Looking forward to seeing more of everyone's blooms. Each day, I come bursting through the door exclaiming, "I have pips!" My husband mirrored my excitement with "Pip pip, hooray!"

Thanks Scarlet, CC is finished now, but had several beautiful blooms, and one of those "dud" blooms where the petals aren't normal. I pinched it off.
It did really well through the frosts considering several itohs near it haven't bloomed.

I like the pip, pip, hurray! It really conveys the excitement.

Takara Itoh Peony. I bought it last year as a Monrovia 5 gallon pot at the end of the summer sale after it was already cut back. It put up at least 10 blooms this year and some reach 8 inches across.



Julia Rose. 3 year old cheap root that finally gave me one bloom. The yellow and pink water color effect on the petals was lovely.




Sonoma Amethyst. Second year root from Adelman. It is truly more amethyst in real life. I couldn't take a true to color picture this year or last year.



Sonoma YeDo. This is a first year root from Peony Shop. It might be planted too high.

This is my lovely NoID Itoh. It was sold from a large local reputable nursery as Scrumdiddlyumptious in 2022, but didn't bloom true to name. It has fully double 7-8+ inch diameter vibrant magenta blooms, 3 feet tall and is fragrant. It is floriferous with about 15 buds this year, even though I moved it last fall. When I dug it in the fall some of the 6 month old roots were already 2.5 feet long. The stems are thick and strong, but can be long and floppy looking. When it was still potted last year, it visibly slumped in the heat of the day and perked up after watering. This year I am thinking it is probably Belle Toulousaine. Does anyone have Belle Toulousaine?

Shelby!! Thanks for sharing your beautiful blooms.

Love Takara , Julia Rose, and YeDo!
And is really think that your NOID may be Belle.
My Belle hasn't bloomed since 2019,
But here is a photo of her from that year so you can compare.

Shelby your noid could be Belle Toulesaine or Gordon Simonson. My Belle has small foilage leafs, but beautiful flowers. You will find Julia Rose to be a beautiful fader as the blooms lose their color.

Mieko2 said: Shelby!! Thanks for sharing your beautiful blooms.

Love Takara , Julia Rose, and YeDo!
And is really think that your NOID may be Belle.
My Belle hasn't bloomed since 2019,
But here is a photo of her from that year so you can compare.

Thanks Meiko! I saw your Belle T. photos in the plant library and think it is most likely what I have. Last year as it bloomed I was mentally referring to it as "Maybe Scrumdiddilyumptios" , while waiting to see it another year.

graycrna4u said: Shelby your noid could be Belle Toulesaine or Gordon Simonson. My Belle has small foilage leafs, but beautiful flowers. You will find Julia Rose to be a beautiful fader as the blooms lose their color.

Thanks Gary. When I was googling I decided either Belle T. or Gordon Simonson, too. It is so vivid and full, I'm leaning toward Belle T. I'll just walked out and checked the foliage leaves. They're smaller than the Bartzella and Watermelon Wine nearby, and about the same size as a small division of Sonoma Amethyst.
Julia Rose was beautiful as it faded. It was in a vase on my desk all week

I am liking Julia Rose, but would like it to do better than one bloom three years out. Casey Stengel: "Most people my age are dead..."

First Arrival has a number of blooms in its second year. Photographed a bit more lavender than it seemed today, but there is a blending.

Mantis, my Itohs are fickle too.

Your First Arrival is wonderful!

Julia Rose. The first to open. I cut a bud for a vase since so many of them are by the wall side of the bush (it's at the back of the bed)

Since this is the Itoh thread, here are a few pictures of the Itoh at Meadowlark Botanical Garden today. They don't have many Itohs, and their Bartzella and Cora Louise haven't opened yet. Their newish plant labeled Morning Lilac isn't ready to bloom either, but I'm watching for it since last year's bloom was disformed and not purple.

Four really full and lovely Keiko's in the Korean Bell Garden. One winter I saw a label for that says Pink Double Dandy/Keiko among these bushes when they were cut down. To the left along the brick wall under the Korean writing there are two Cora Louise, but they fail to impress. Their blooms are large but only last a few days, meanwhile it seems that these Keiko's bloom for 3 weeks.


Singin in the Rain. This plant is too close to the Pink Hawaiian Coral in the front, and since it is much shorter than it, it is hard to see.


From my yard today, Bartzella with Sonoma YeDo. I was curious if they're the same shade of yellow. They are, and they both have flares.


Watermelon Wine bloomed today, too. While this plant has a vivid eye catching color, I wish it wasn't single.