Intersectional or Itoh peonies

stevelau1911

12 years ago

I recently bought an intersectional peony off of eBay which was a bare root clump with a few eyes.

One of the things I am wondering is how tall do the woody stems get?

In some pictures I see the woody stems get as high as 2ft or so while others have woody stems only up to a few inches with more eyes forming at the base instead. Does this vary between intersectional peonies?

It seems like they are basically like tree peonies that die back partially, and the less of the woody stems survive to make branch eyes than that of tree peonies. From pictures it also looks like more eyes are formed from the base than tree peonies, but unlike herbeceous types, they are capable of producing some woody stems that survive year to year.

Featured Answer

stevelau1911
Original Author

12 years ago

Right now I have many species of tree peonies, 2 species of herbeceous, and only 1 newly acquired itoh peony which is a small clump, the size of a baseball which I hope can expand into its 5 gallon pot fast since I have home-made potting soil.

I would guess that itoh peonies must grow shorter woody stems than tree peonies if they are a hybrid. I'm definitely going to try and collect some more of them. I'm guessing itoh peonies can be propagated by both grafts, clump divisions, and maybe seeds. I guess I might get hardened stems right away if I'm lucky.

Here is a link that might be useful: My newly planted itoh peony 15 March

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (11)

daveinohio_2007
12 years ago
Our intersectionals die completely to ground every winter, just like
herbaceous.
0
alina_1
12 years ago
My established Itoh Peonies (Bartzella, Singing in the rain, Morning Lilac) have up to 1' woody stems that do not die.
Newer plants (second year in the ground; Cora Loise and Hillary) have smaller above ground parts. The plants are smaller themselves, so I expect the same result from them in a year or two.
0
Related Discussions
Does anyone have intersectional or itoh peonies for trade
Q
Comments (5)
Have you checked the peony forum? Like you said the intersectionals are still quite expensive and fairly uncommon. I wouldn't divide mine unless it was for something really special but I only have 1. Maybe someone on the peony forum has multiples that they'd be willing to part with.
...See More
Anything special about Klehm's hostas?
Q
Comments (8)
I'm no peony expert... but we're pretty impressed with the new "intersectional" hybrids... from Itoh. They are a cross between tree peonies and the traditional herbaceous peonies. The first one to hit wide distribution was Bartzella... we got some wholesale back in 2010. Klehm lists them as Tree Peonies but they make a lovely, sturdy bush here in Minnesota. Klehm's catalog has always been inspirational - but they are a high-end retailer for people willing to pay top dollar. I sold Bartzellas last year for $40. (Not advertising - I'm not selling any peonies... it was a one-time thing...). Here's the page for the Itoh's http://www.songsparrow.com/2013/plantlist.cfm?type=all&startrow=1&pagetype=plantlist&subtype=itoh,
...See More
Question about Itoh Peonies
Q
Comments (4)
I have Morning Lilac and Bartzella. Both retained some wood, especially Bartzella. I have confirmed two buds on the smaller Morning Lilac, but not yet sure Bartzella will bloom this year, but MAY be setting a bud or two now. I think Bartzella may need to attain a larger size than some other Itoh hybrids before it is ready to perform. I am fascinated that Bartzella is growing vigorously from the tops of most of the overwintered wood. It is my understanding that this behaviour in Itoh hybrids is not normal. It sure is fascinating!
...See More
Tree Peony vs. Intersectional Hybrid, Grafting
Q
Comments (12)
First I have to say that the plants you received are probably growing on their own roots. Chinese tree peonies are generally not grafted. In some cases the Rock Type (Flare Peonies) will be grafted. I am not familiar with some of the cultivars that you listed but I think that Hua Hu Die(Colorful Butterfly) is a Flare Peony. Qing Long Wo Fen Chi (Green Dragon in Pink Pond) and Lan Bao Shi (Blue Jewel Sapphire)sounds interesting. If you get bloom this spring I do hope you will share photos with us. I can't agree that tree peonies are better than intersectionals. They are different and like comparing apples and oranges. One real advantage to intersectional peonies is the hardiness. I am fairly sure that the intersectionals will perform much better is very cold areas. Also, the leafage of one in particular, Bartzella has the best foliage of any peony that I have encountered. I am not trying to be a salesman for intersectionals but they do seem to be nice. They are much more agressive in their growth habit and I believe that they need to be divided more often than herbaceous. If they are happy in their growing conditions they need to be divided every 2 years not 3-4 like herbaceous. I have tried grafting of intersectional peonies. The only cultivar that I have tried this on is Garden Treasure and my success is only about 1/2 that of grafting tree peonies. If you grow tree peonies and herbaceous peonies you should try your hand at hybridizing with the goal of developing an intersectional peony. The goal is attainable for the average gardener. I have one seedling that I continue to watch. It is a cross between Sea Shell and Reath's A-197. Since the pod parent is herbaceous you can tell from the very beginning if you have an intersectional cross, the leaves look more typical of a tree peony than a herbaceous peony whereas if the seed is a result of self pollenation the leafage will be typical of herbaceous. I think another worthy goal would be to develop a true purple intersectional peony. I have tried to cross Miss America(a white herbaceous) with Shima Daijin (a true purple tree peony). It makes perfectly good sense that this would result in a nice purple. So far I have not gotten any seed to germinate from the cross that were intersectional. This particular cross may not be possible.
...See More
daveinohio_2007
12 years ago
Intersectionals are sterile: no seeds.
0
woodthrush
12 years ago
I just got some also. They are showing new eyes. Should I plant them just below the soil like a garden peony?
0
olypen
12 years ago
The large, established suppliers of Itoh peonies dig up and sell them in the fall. Early fall is definitely the best time to plant an intersectional. This allows the plant to develop feeder roots before the spring. The lack of feeder roots in bare root plants planted in the spring will result in severe stress on the plant. If it were me, I would plant a bare root Itoh in a large container, keep the container in shade and then take the plant out of the container and plant it in the ground in the fall.

Itoh peonies should be planted with the eyes 1 1/2 to 2 inches below the surface.
0
woodthrush
12 years ago
Thanks. I've find the peony wholesalers here sell out in the spring.
0
Stig_of_the_Dump
12 years ago
In my experience the intersectionals settle and grow extremely fast. I would plant it in the ground and make sure it has enough water in the spring. Then I think it would thrive. I grow only tiny roots in containers; in my experience peonies do not like them.

The intersectionals really are wonderful. So full of life!

You really should trade roots, folks, they grow so fast and they are so expensive! (I would share but live in Scandinavia)
0
stevelau1911
Original Author
12 years ago
The 2 smaller itoh peonies I got this spring looked like herbeceous ones and produce shoots that start out looking herbeceous, but their leaves ultimately have the shape of the tree peonies.

I just got in the mail a bartzella itoh peony and this one looked exactly like a tree peony with all sprouts coming from above ground buds. I guess there might be a range in how close itohs are to each phenotype.
0
stevelau1911
Original Author
12 years ago
Here are the pictures to show exactly what I mean.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bartzella Itoh peony
0
BroomMaker
12 years ago
My most resent reading indicates Itoh peonies tend to have a very woody root system. Folks have been forced to use a saw to divide them and some question about long term health. Any opinions/experience?
0

Intersectional or Itoh peonies

stevelau1911
Original Author

Comments (11)

daveinohio_2007

alina_1

Related Discussions

daveinohio_2007

woodthrush

olypen

woodthrush

Stig_of_the_Dump

stevelau1911
Original Author

stevelau1911
Original Author

BroomMaker

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Intersectional or Itoh peonies

stevelau1911Original Author

Comments (11)

Related Discussions

stevelau1911Original Author

stevelau1911Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

stevelau1911
Original Author

stevelau1911
Original Author

stevelau1911
Original Author