Nick, you may have mentioned further back up a ways which peonies you have but could you tell me again. I want to see if we have any in common - unless you have a bazillion and it would take too long to write the list. In that case I will scan my list and post that. Then it would be interesting to see the date differences of when they emerge and when they bloom.

Santa Fe

That's a lovely flower. Thanks for sharing.

Mary, I'm happy to list my peonies and compare blooms dates for this year. Still waiting for some to come up for the year, but I just applied some bulb fertilizer so it shouldn't be much longer. Here's the list:

Coral Fay (2013), Gay Paree (2013), Krinkled White (2013), Raspberry Sundae (2013), Sarah Bernhardt (2013), Cora Louise (2013), Lollipop (2013), Magical Mystery Tour (2013), Morning Lilac (2013), Simply Red (2013), Singing In The Rain (2013), Fern Leaf (2013), Shimadaijin TP (2013), Shimanishiki TP (2013), Candy Stripe (2014), Circus Circus (2014), Coral Charm (2014), Coral Sunset (2014), Etched Salmon(2014), Green Halo (2014), Green Lotus (2014), Hot Chocolate (2014), Joker (2014), Lord Cavin (2014), Minnie Shaylor (2014), Mrs. FDR (2014), Petite Elegance (2014), Pink Cotton Candy (2014), Salmon Beauty (2014), Salmon Glory (2014), Tranquil Dove (2014), Bartzella (2014), Berry Garcia (2014), Callie's Memory (2014), Candy Cane (2014), Enduring Rainbow (2014), First Arrival (2014), Haleigh's Hallelujah (2014), Impossible Dream (2014), Julia Rose (2014), Kopper Kettle (2014), Lemon Dream (2014), Raggedy Ann (2014), Scarlet Heaven (2014), Scrumdiddlyumptious (2014), Strawberry Crème Brûlée (2014), Watermelon Wine (2014), Yankee Doodle Dandy, (2014), Yellow Waterlily (2014)

Holy cow!

I guess you don't really realize how many you've collected until you start to list them out. My name is Nick, and I'm a peony addict.

Wow, you have a fantastic collection of itohs, Nick! I don't think that you are alone in the "addict" group! I would love to see blooms pics from the itoh Impossible Dream, Berry Garcia, and Callie's Memory.

I have 7. I love them all and want more. I'm always on the lookout for that special one. Hot Chocolate , Bartzella and Koukamon have made the list.

Zencat said:Holy cow!

Nick you have an amazing collection of peonies, especially Itohs!

The peonies continue to increase here. I'm excited to see my Bartzella with 4 buds this year, it was planted in 2011. Kansas in front of Bartzella is also full of buds.

I love that 2nd picture. Great combo.

I agree, Celia. Annette certainly has a gift for putting together gardens!

Nick, did you clean out Select Plus or did you find another supplier for your Itohs 2014? Looked to me to be their entire inventory for the year! Or Parkland for Impossible Dream? Didn't see that one available anywhere else. That is going to be an amazingly gorgeous flower bed! And hello Nick, welcome to the Peony Addict Club!!!

Thanks Celia and Liz. I do have to say I'm a haphazard gardener, who likes to see full beds.

Keiko in the back is starting to open up the buds, and Sea Shell in front and to the right is full of buds. The columbine to the left of Keiko is a happy occurrence, it self seeded there, it's Dorothy Rose. I like to combine clematis on the fence, with peonies, lilies and irises within the beds, and daylilies on the front edge of the beds.

Gorgeous bed Annette! Perfection!

Nick, excellent collection! I see you fit right in around here! LOL

Nick. It took you just 2 years to collect 50 plants. I got my first peony in 1997 and only just last year surpassed the 55 varieties mark. I must say you move much faster than I.

I am curious to see the blooms on your First Arrival and Singing in the Rain. I purchased those from Wayside/Park since they were cheap. I know, you get what you paid for......BUT this is what ensued....

This was labelled "Singng in the Rain". When it bloomed 3 years later, this was what it looked like


Turned out to be Morning Lilac.

This was labelled " First Arrival. " And this is what its blooms look like:



Any guesses as to what it could be?

I am happy with the mistakes since in the long run, I did get a yellow and a lavender ITOH for about $22 each.

Annette - your Keiko is lovely - great color and what a humongous number of buds.

How big is the yellow Itoh flower, Dianne? Is there a single flower per stem or does it have side buds? When does it bloom compared to your Morning Lilac? Does it start out yellow and stay that way or is it flushed pink that fades to yellow? Does it have flares and if so what color?

Liz, I actually only ordered Singing in the Rain and the nursery exclusive cultivars from Select Plus. A lot of the other ones were purchased at local garden centers which I found a little more cost effective. I saw some of them bloom in their containers before putting them in the ground, and I guess I have to hope the rest are true to name. Impossible Dream was indeed from Parkland, and Watermelon Wine and Lemon Dream were from Pivoines Capano. I picked up small divisions (as advertised) of Julia Rose and Kopper Kettle from Les Jardins Osiris for $30. I'm really keen on White Emperor, Yellow Doodle Dandy (AKA Yumi), Caroline Constabel,  Duchesse de Lorraine, and Oochigeas but I would have a really tough time making space for them.

Dianne, it's funny that you mention that, because I too bought a First Arrival that turned out to be an unknown yellow Itoh. I've played that game and fortunately it's the only time I've bought a plant that hasn't bloomed true to name (so far).

Nick!

What a great collection of peonies!

I do hope that you post pictures as they bloom.
And please keep us, northerners, informed as to bloom dates.

Great finds, Nick! I hadn't seen Simply Red before I looked it up from your post, it's going on my Wanted List now as is Tranquil Dove.....
I also got quite a few from Select Plus last year, Strawberry Crème Brulee, Haleigh’s Hallelujah, Pink Double Dandy, Crème a la’Orange, Enduring Rainbow, Magical Mystery Tour, Smith Family Yellow and Yellow Doodle Dandy. And I got Impossible Dream from Parkland, too! All of mine showed signs of growth a few weeks ago but haven't done much since, we're supposed to have a really warm, slightly rainy stretch in the next week so I'm expecting them to take off soon. You're a full zone behind me so I bet you'll start seeing pips in the next couple of weeks if you haven't already. I'm a zone and a half behind Karen so I'm excited to hear she has buds already!
Did you divide your Select Plus roots before planting like Karen and I did? If not it'll be interesting to see how they differ in number of blooms, size of shrub and such. The roots on all except the Strawberry Crème Brulee were so huge....

Here's Impossible Dream today, just a tiny little thing...I zoomed in as far as I could for this shot. The tallest part is only around 2 inches high.

Liz, I'm glad you're starting to see growth from Impossible Dream.

For red Itohs, check out Scarlet Heaven, they were priced at $35 from Swenson's Gardens.

Here's a nice picture of it from Holllingsworth.

http://hollingsworthpeonies.co...