Another shot of what is maybe Singing in the Rain. Or maybe not.


I think this one is Julia Rose


Have only one more peony that hasn't opened yet. Forecast is for 90 degrees next week with no rain in sight, so will count myself lucky if it makes it.

Saved the best for last. Bartzella is my favorite Itoh.

What a beautiful Bartzella, Hawkeye. A great way to close the season.

A few intersectional from today. The peonies will now begin melting with May temps in the 90s.

'Callie's Memory' named after hybridizer's dog.


"Garden Treasure'



'Hillary'

NOID, first bloom of the season

Rj, your NOID is gorgeous! What a great pink color. I wonder if it is Strawberry Creme Brulee? Whatever it is, I love it!

Tracey, so sorry to hear of the untimely heat wave! I hope most of your peonies had bloomed. Your GT and Hillary look great this year. Didn't know that Callie's Memory was named for the hybridizer's dog! Thanks for sharing that fact. I bet the dog must be very loved and missed by its owner.

hawkeye_daddy, I like your SitR and Bartzella very much. I think Bart is a great peony. I only wish I can revitalize mine to bloom like it did a few years ago.

cattleyafan2023, love your Bart with the purple iris in the back combo. It really sets off each other beautifully!

Helen, Sonoma Yedo is a wowser! Love its huge flower and deep yellow color. I also like New Millenium too.

I agree with Hiya about the itoh peonies being off this year. Some of mine don't bloom well producing odd shaped weird flowers.

I was able to upload my images from my camera. Here are some pics of my itohs that bloomed a couple weeks ago.

Lollipop



The many faces of Oochigas






Scrum


Joanna Marlene


Duchess De Lorraine - I love this itoh! It blooms great double flowers and has many side buds to prolong blooming.

Side bud


Berry Garcia

Lovely blooms, Karen! Scrum has a nice form. How big is your bush? Does it grow wide as other Itohs? I also live your Duchess De Lorraine. Do the flowers keep upright? They look heavy but strong.

Karen those are amazing. Scrum is scrumptious!

I am kind of enjoying the many faces of Oochigas, the color are very striking. I have a very similar issue with Sonoma blessing, but way less attractive. I am a big fan of Duchess De Lorraine, does anyone know how it compares to Sonoma halo?

Beautiful blooms, Karen! Joanna Marlene is absolutely wonderful.

I sat next to Don Smith last night at dinner at the APS. Convention. He is a very interesting and nice man. And there are two Misakas up for the Saturday evening auction.

Thanks very much for the acorns and thumbups, everybody! I really appreciate them!

Anya, Scrum is a short bush. I think it is about 2'. It is currently cramped between two other peonies so it cannot grow out as much as if it has the free room. It blooms very well this year. Duchess de Lorraine does keep the flowers upright, though they will flop with heavy rain. I really like it because the flowers seem to be very heat resistant. It opens well even in 90F and the substance holds up too.

Wow, LG! That is so exciting meeting Don Smith! How cool is that! It is like meeting a celebrity to me. Did you ask him a lot of questions? Does he share any hybridizing secrets? I am all .

Oochigeas is such fun! Definitely needs to go on my wishlist.

A question for Kousa……
I ordered Duchess De Lorraine for this fall.
One of the reasons I ordered it…was somewhere I had read that it flowers all along the stems. Is that a description of what yours did?

And are there other varieties which give many side buds?

Strawberry Crème Brûlée, lost the the name tag for the second one

Peony 'Smith Family Jewel' 23W22 Itoh D3- (Smith 2002) (3-SD-PK) Itoh Intersectional Peony, Mature plant size: 34in., Pink Cream, USDA Hardiness Zone 3-8, Michigan Bloom Week ISO WW22, In Garden Bed D3 for 3.7 YEARS (Solaris). Planted in 2019.

Solaris: Smith Family Jewel. Smith. 2002. Semi-double to double cream flushed in pink flowers. Petals often bordered in pink and center of the flower appears deeper in color. Excellent foliage and plant habit.

American Peony Society: Parentage: Martha W. x unregistered home grown lutea hybrid seedling. First year bloomed 2002. Double intersectional hybrid of cream flushed pink, rose form. Stamens, pollen and fragrant. No seeds. Reliable, one or two buds per stem. Very good substance. Excellent 28″ stems with bloom. Early mid season to late midseason. Excellent foliage, highly disease resistant. Semi-double to double tree peony type flowers on herbaceous stems. Gorgeous, perfectly formed flowers open cream that is heavily flushed and edged in medium amethyst pink. As the flowers age, they become a smooth creamy white with a beautiful bluish lavendar pink picotee. Both color phases are stunningly beautiful. Large flowers up to 7-8″ in diameter. Many excellent lateral buds (2 per stem) that yield nearly perfect double rosettes averaging 5″ across, thus extending the blooming for up to 2½ weeks. Center contains a neat circle of stamens with pink and cream filaments and 3-4 pale green carpels with light pink stigmata enclosed in a cream sheath. Abundant flowers are displayed on strong, upright to slightly arching stems well above and beyond the foliage making this a superb landscape variety. Plant is very hardy with stems entirely from below ground overwintering buds. Excellent dark green foliage which lasts well into autumn. Mild but pleasant fragrance.

Photo by F.D.Richards, SE Michigan. Link to additional photos of this plant from 2022, 23:

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

#Michigan, #49236, #usdaZone6, #Perennial, #Peony, #SemiDouble, #Itoh, #CreamyPink, #SmithFamilyJewel, #23W22

CarolineScott said: A question for Kousa……
I ordered Duchess De Lorraine for this fall.
One of the reasons I ordered it…was somewhere I had read that it flowers all along the stems. Is that a description of what yours did?

And are there other varieties which give many side buds?

I am glad that you got it, Caroline. It is a great itoh. I love its extended bloom time. In answer to your question, I did have a few stems with side buds, but each of those stem had only one side bud. The extended bloom time was more due to the fact that the stems come up at different time. Those come up early have buds that bloom early. Those that come later have later blooms. This can be negative for some people because it may not have an orderly bloom or look. The stems that come later are usually taller than the early stems. As a result, it has a somewhat disorderly habit. Bartzella is the opposite. It is a rounded and orderly bush and flowers often bloom at the same time making the bush looking like it is covered with blooms. Whereas the Duchess de Lorrain's stems have uneven height and flowers bloom here and there making it rather wild and disorderly. But for me this is a plus because I don't mind its wild habit and love its extended bloom time with buds opening at different time. I also love the fact that its buds are not affected by heat. The buds open well even in high heat and humidity whereas my other peonies' buds become stuck and cannot open. I think you will like it.

Oscar, beautiful itoh blooms! The second one maybe First Arrival? Whatever it is, it is very nice.

Frank, Smith Family Jewel is very special! I love its multicolored blooms. That picture of the 3 blooms showing each stage of bloom is nicely captured. The early stage flower is gorgeous.

Here are some Itoh blooms from my garden.

Oscar, Frank and Kokot, wonderful burst of color with excellent presentation!