I was given a root of Blonde Vision a couple of years ago. It was a very nice looking root when I planted it, but the following spring it froze back from a late frost. I didn't realize how sensitive it is to frost, but this spring I protected it against the frost. I also realized that it was getting a lot of shade from a nearby baptisia. The baptisia is a white one that doesn't even start to come up til June, so I guess with Blonde Vision being so small, I didn't realize how much it was shading it in the summer. Since baptisias are kind of hard to move, I decided to dig Blonde Vision. It was really nice when I planted it, but very shriveled looking. It really looked dead, except for 2 large eyes on it. I planted it back in what I hope is a good spot where I can't forget about it. I added some compost to the hole, but now I'm wondering if I should have trimmed back part of the root that looked dead. What would you have done? I only did this about a week or 2 ago, I don't think it would hurt if I dig it back up now. Or would it, since it seems to be more sensitive than most peonies?

Wow, you are so lucky to get Blonde Vision as a gift! I think that you should just leave it alone now that it is already planted. Roots do grow old and die, part of the normal process. As long as your soil is well drain and in a sunny spot, I think your peony is fine.

I know! I am so grateful for it, I didn't know at the time that it wasn't as easy to come by as some peonies. Thanks for the advice, kind of what I was thinking, but so nice to have it confirmed. It only had the 2 eyes, but they are nice & big. I'm hoping to see blooms in a couple of years, I could kick myself for not watching it more carefully.

I have Blonde Vision and have babied it for the last 3 years; didn't do a good enough job last spring because the buds shriveled and never opened. I normally put a large clay pot over it when we're expecting really cold spring weather but I think it was left in place for too long last spring because I was out of town quite a bit. Mine has been incredibly slow to increase but that's true of quite a few of them here!
I have another peony, Cytherea, that was doing very poorly until Karen asked about moisture levels and I started watching it more closely. Noticed that even though it was midway down a slope, rocks in the area trapped snow right over it and it got fairly boggy in early spring. When I dug it out to move the entire root was darker than normal and almost woody looking and so brittle that it broke into 3 pieces just getting it out and it wasn't that big of a root to begin with. Planted 2 of them and gave the 3rd to another forum friend--all 3 survived and have bloomed since. All that to say don't give up on the root--they can look pretty bad if left in a spot that isn't the best but will normally recover and do well once in an optimum location. Just get that big pot ready to cover it next spring when the weather gets bad! The blooms will be worth it!

I hope you both get blooms from your Blonde Vision next spring. I would love to see more pics of it.

I got it from Hollingsworth's fall 2013 and it was available again fall 2015, will be interesting to see if it's available from them again for next fall. I've not seen it offered anywhere else. They actually sent 2 when I got the first one, 2nd was a bonus plant for the year, but I traded the extra away for daylilies to Nancy on the other forum. Wasn't sure if it would survive our winters and was wondering at the time how it'd fare in a warmer climate than mine, think Nancy is in zone 6. Actually had a bit of conversation back and forth about it last spring and it hasn't done very well there but she hasn't been covering it during adverse weather after it came up in the spring. I'd only order that one if you're willing to spend the time covering and uncovering for late freezes.
There was a post on one of the Facebook peony forums in the spring, think the member was in MA, of a truly amazing Blonde Vision with a large number of blooms--made me want to cover my entire yard with them! In reality I'm just hoping mine starts increasing at a faster rate now that it's been in the ground for 3 full years. This year certainly wasn't a "leap" year, maybe next.....
LG, how is yours doing? I think I remember that you got blooms this year; how long has yours been in place and has it increased better there in your warmer (than me!) zone?
From spring 2015--the fully open blooms don't photograph well for me, haven't been able to show the blend of color well.

Hi LizinElizabeth! I'm Nancy from the other forum. Apparently my name was already taken on this forum. Have I had mine 3 years now? Well, hopefully it will like it a lot better where it is now. No competition from a larger plant, & I will see it so I can cover it up. I think it will probably be 2 years before I see a bloom. I remembered to cover it this spring, but last year it got hit pretty hard from a frost.

That's great, nice to see you over here, Nancy! It's a small peony world, huh? Did the other peonies do well for you? I hope so because the daylilies have done great, I'd feel guilty if my end of the trade didn't perform. I KNOW you'll love Blonde Vision when it does finally bloom, it's a really pretty flower. I haven't dug mine since I first planted it since it's nowhere near large enough to think about dividing, hopefully sometime in the next few years. I'd like to let it get big enough to do several divisions--or maybe I'll order more when Hollingsworth's offers it again. I'd like to send a root to both of my sisters, one in OK and one in TX, to see how that one does in zones 7 and 8. Both sisters already have several divisions of some of my peonies. Some of them haven't survived TX (zone 8) but my coral NOID is doing crazy well in both places!

Back to Blonde Vision--I have a very large clay pot that I leave beside it year round. When the forecast shows temps down in the 20's or any snow or ice I upend the pot over BV if it's broken ground at all. It's just as important to get it uncovered as soon as it starts to warm--especially here at altitude it can cook it very quickly. It's work but the bloom is very much worth it.

Liz, if I remember right, the other peonies all bloomed the following spring except Singing in the Rain. It didn't bloom til last spring, & so very lovely! They have all made nice sized peonies, I have gotten so many complements on them. Around here all you ever see are Festiva Maxima, Felix Crousse, Sarah Bernhart & Shirley Temple, so anything else gets lots of oohs & ahs! Blonde vision is now right by my back door so I can be more watchful of it. I'm just not uses to peonies being sensitive, I've always thought of them as almost indestructible.

Most are, Nancy! There are only a few that are described as being "frost sensitive" by the growers, Coral Scout is another. I tend to cover any here that come up super early that aren't known as early bloomers and any that have buds when it snows and gets super cold--have had too many disappointing bloom seasons when I did nothing and let nature have her way with my plants....

If Singing in the Rain didn't bloom until last spring you have some really fun bloom years coming up! Once it's mature enough to have side blooms you'll have flowers of different colors at the same time. The main buds open first, of course, and fade to that pretty yellow, while the side buds open to that orangey pink--my favorite thing about SitR! I don't think the individual flowers are the prettiest Itohs but the way the mature plant looks in full bloom puts it right up there for me. This pic shows it a bit--the dark pink is a different flower, of course!

I did have pretty blooms on 'Blonde Vision' this Spring. One grower in the Netherlands says the stems are weak for him. I got mine in 2015. It is not the best grower for me so far, but I allow 5 years to go by before I really judge the performance. I did cover mine up during the frosts, as it broke ground quite early.

Those are just beautiful! I'm really looking forward to spring. I only had 2 blooms this spring, I thought it was so beautiful, but it wasn't quite as full as these blooms. I do have a lot to look forward to

Nancy, from what I've seen it takes 2-3 blooming years for Itohs to hit full potential. Could be just my area, it is more of a challenge than most so others might have a different opinion.

LG, do you remember seeing that huge BV on facebook? I don't remember if he said he took any precautions in adverse weather. I would've thought you would be fine in zone 7A but late freezes can hit just about anywhere, huh....So was last spring your first with it? I don't think mine bloomed at all 1st spring, I don't have many of the bloom pictures labeled for that year and don't see any that look right. Looking forward to what it'll do this spring in all of our gardens.

Hi Liz,
BV is a hybrid, not an Itoh.
Rich Grenier posted that photo on Facebook . He has a hybridizing page. https://www.facebook.com/Greni...
It was from a couple of years ago.

Sorry, I was talking about SitR getting to full potential, not BV. I think BV will take much longer than that from 1st blooming to huge shrub with multiple blooms....
Could easily have been Rich's post that I remembered but the pic was posted in the last year, I didn't join the peony Facebook groups until last fall. The picture could've easily been posted again when a conversation about BV came up. Just remember it was really impressive.

Sorry Liz, I misunderstood which peony you were talking about. ....
I searched for that photo of Rich's and couldn't find it. Durn. It was so amazing.

Yeah, I went to his page and looked at his pictures, nice seedlings but no BV plant. Maybe we'all have to ask him to post it again!

Liz, I think you posted a lot about Blonde Vision on "Planet Peony" group on facebook.
Maybe you can check there.

LizinElizabeth said:Yeah, I went to his page and looked at his pictures, nice seedlings but no BV plant. Maybe we'all have to ask him to post it again!

Mieko2 said:

LG, that is so gorgeous! They look like old fashioned roses. Hope Hollingsworth will offer them again next year. I would certainly be interested in getting BV.

I will look there, Littlebin! Thanks for the tip. There are a few that I like on Facebook, seem different people that I follow post on different pages.....

Karen, as nice as the pictures are they don't even compare with the blooms in person. Grab one if they're offered! It'll be interesting to see how fast it increases for you, yours seem to do so wonderfully. Just cover that baby if the weather turns bad!