Cora louise and Juila Rose first arrival and yankee doodle dandy singing in the rain

These pictures from a couple of weeks ago, when I visited my daughter's garden in Utah. I planted this Itoh 'Canary Brilliants' for her in October of 2021, so it is barely in the ground 18 months. It's already an absolutely massive size, over 3ft tall and 5ft wide.

This year there are at least 30 stems coming along, and I had to leave to go home before the full show happened, sadly. They are lovely with the peachy blush when they first open, then the nice, clear yellow color as they mature.

So many lovely blooms, Frank, Oscar, Kokot and Elaine! Thanks for sharing with us.

Peony 'Pastel Lilas' 23W23 Itoh V3- (¿Thierry Rat, France) (3-SL-PK) Itoh Intersectional Peony, Mature plant size: 24in., PINK, Raspberry, medium height, double, raspberry petals with darker center, golden stamens midseason bloomer, USDA Hardiness Zone 3-8, Michigan Bloom Week ISO WW22, In Garden Bed V3 for 4.1 YEARS (Springhill). Planted in 2019.

Perennials.com: This selection forms an upright mound of lush green leaves that stand up well into the autumn. The very large flowers are single to semi-double. Petals are soft raspberry, darker toward the base and surround a centre of yellow stamens.

Photo by F.D.Richards, SE Michigan. Link to additional photos of this plant from 2019, 21, 22, 23:

https://www.flickr.com/search/...

#Michigan, #49236, #usdaZone6, #Perennial, #Peony, #Single, #SemiDouble, #Itoh, #PastelLilas, #23W23

New Millennium, my last blooming Itoh at farm. This is her 2nd yr & didn't realize she'd produced two buds. I can't seem to capture her true color which is more beautiful than shown in my photos.

Belle Toulasaine









Scrumpdidlyumptious






Julia Rose




Callie's Memory

Pastel Lila's is so pretty, Frank! Thanks for sharing.

Gary, they all look great! I especially like the foliage on Belle Toulousaine

I'd love to know Don Smith's secret to creating floriferous and winter-hardy peonies. I have such an appreciation of the hybridizers' effort to bring beauty to our homes. Thanks to all of you for sharing your very lovely garden. Teri, your Scrum-didley-umptious with 50 blooms and Karen's glowing one is so fine. Oscar, your Strawberry Crème Brûlée is "pink-alicious". Gary, I always enjoy your prized collection. I also marveled at the multi-color tones of Frank's Smith Family Jewel. Helen, I laughed so hard at picturing your husband thoroughly watering the grass instead of your peonies.

I told my husband I wanted to visit Crater Lake and the Oregon Coast. He said, "Nice places. Let me guess, a peony farm nearby?" He started looking up cargo trailer rentals "in case you go overboard"

I'd love to share the spectacular blooms at Adelman's Peony Gardens during our visit on Memorial Day weekend. One of my favorite Roger Anderson Itohs, New Millennium.



I picked up my potted New Millennium which came with 3 blooms and 1 bud. Her windswept petals on the Oregon Coast:


I'm happy this got an earlier start as I usually order bare root. I know this will do well because the healthy peony roots that I've received from Adelman's are growing vigorously. NM is planted in potting soil and they informed me that I could plant it as is. Teri (or anyone who has purchased a potted peony from a grower), did you plant it in spring in the existing soil or if fall-planted, did you wash off the potting medium before planting it in your garden? This fall, I'm planning to de-soil my mature potted peonies I got from a local nursery, upon reading advice from this forum.

Visiting the farm was a great experience. I was so happy to see the many varieties in full bloom, bursting with color and fragrance. Just magnificent!

Adelman's has a large display garden in front with a variety of plants other than peonies; and the peony growing areas are spectacular. I visited late in the season about four years ago; will probably never make it there again. A great place to visit, but one must factor in the difference in climate. Some varieties that were enticing there have not looked as good in the Ohio Valley.

Scarlet, that is a wonderful story. I would probably drool seeing a row of NM. It really is my favorite Itoh.

I hope you do make a road trip and see more peony nurseries! That's a good way to find overlooked varieties. Liz needs to post a photo of her rental car after an APS Convention several years ago. There were pots of peonies stuffed into it like a clown car!

That picture should be on the forum.

Peony 'Pastel Splendor' 23W23 Itoh G3- (Roger Anderson /Bill Seidl, Wisconsin, 1996) (3-SL-Y) Itoh Intersectional Peony, Mature plant size: 30in., Medium height, single to semi-double, yellow lavender petals, red flares, yellow stamens, light yellow sheath & stigmas, early midseason , USDA Hardiness Zone 3-8, Michigan Bloom Week ISO WW21, In Garden Bed G3 for 9.7 YEARS (Swenson). Planted in 2013.

American Peony Society: Parentage Martha W. x Saunders F2 A. First bloomed about 1988. This hybrid has pale lavender petals shading to cream toward center and dark purple flares. Two rows of five petals each reveal ten flares since there is, at most, only a thin stamen ring to obscure them. Multiple carpels, sometimes excessively so. Extremely vigorous. Original plant had 70 stems in a mounded plant 30″ high x 56″ wide in 1991, before division.

Opens yellow with a touch of lavender, fades to mostly yellow. Planted in 2013.

Photo by F.D.Richards, SE Michigan. Link to additional photos of this plant from 2014, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23:

https://www.flickr.com/search/...

#Michigan, #49236, #usdaZone6, #week3, #Perennial, #Peony, #Single, #EM, #Itoh, #PastelSplendor, #23W23

That's so nice of you to say Gary. You've been helping us newbies by answering our peony questions for a long time. I also appreciate all the help I got from the moderators and senior members I wrote (with growing conditions more challenging than mine) in choosing the most resilient peonies this season.

Thanks so much LG for enj ying my New Millennium pics at Adelman's. It's not everyday I take my peony to the beach for you all's amusement 😄. I saw this peony on my tour and if you're this gorgeous, you're coming home with me. So you need a little protection from the elements? I've got you covered.

I can totally see Liz calling her husband:
Honey, I'll be late for dinner. I accidentally bought 20 peonies



Here are the late Itoh pics taken on June 5th. Sonoma Halo's double blooms were about 7-8" with a nice, mild scent at the latter part of its bloom time. Sonoma Yedo, with a 6" bloom and prominent flares, to me, had a pleasing and a little stronger scent. APS lists both at 28" (71cm) tall at maturity. Garden Treasure and Bartzella were a little past peak. Feel free to add more info to help those choosing between these yellow late bloomers.

Yeah, Jeff picked me up from the rental car agency and he helped me pack all of those pots in the back of his truck for the ride home, didn't even blink an eye! He was probably just glad I didn't have to rent a trailer to bring them all back….he's not a peony fanatic like me but enables my hobby anyway, guess he's a keeper!

Husbands are great and he's definitely a keeper. I hope you're enjoying the fruits of your labor and the peony extravaganza. So you moved most your peonies to AL and CO decides not to have a late frost this year? 😆 One of the last peony questions I still don't have an answer to is, "How does Liz do it?"

First bloom on Takara (Smith Opus 2) in Calgary at end of June 2023

Wonderful Caroline!

CarolineScott said: First bloom on Takara (Smith Opus 2) in Calgary at end of June 2023

Beautiful color, Caroline!

That's great Caroline. My experience with Takara is each year the colors will be a little different. Some lighter shades and yellow hues. But it is a beautiful plant. One of my favorites.

Sounds like there are some real peony experts on this forum. I am not, so I have what is probably a stupid question. Do the Itohs stand hot weather better than the regular herbaceous cultivars? My late blooming herbaceous ones never open all their buds anymore, since we started having June temps in the 90's. The Itohs kept going, but they didn't have nearly as many buds, either. None of them has been in longer than 4 years, though.