Cora Louise is really pretty, I don't think I've ever seen that one blooming in real life, just pics. Beautiful.

They should both be ready for a trade in a year or so. Fall 2016.

I have to check out Home Depot and Lowes. Are they blooming size or just a small plant?

Here is the second itoh to bloom for me, Magical Mystery Tour, 2 days ago

Cora Louise

Hillary

Pastel Splendor

They look wonderful, Karen! Love Magical Mystery Tour; the ones that fade like that are amazing, aren't they? That one is especially nice because of the sidebuds; you can have several different colors of blooms on the plant at the same time. It's such a dramatic look but the colors are soft and pretty so it's gorgeous instead of garish!

The Lowe's Itoh actually had a bloom on it open. The Home Depot did not have buds but is a large plant. I suspect it will bloom next spring.

Do you have a pic of it?

First bloom on Bartzella

This is the Bartzella in a bag purchased in 2012 for $30. Got one bloom last year. Lost a few blooms moving it this spring, but I got a bonus plant to make up for that. We just got over three inches of rain.

Any bonus of a beautiful plant is a plus in my book. And Bartzella is just gorgeous!

I finally get to add a picture! Singing in the Rain started opening today! I think this plant is at its best when it's mature and has a lot of blooms open at different stages, though--not with a single bloom. The range of colors is so pretty.

Beautiful Liz! I agree it looks best with multiple blooms in different stages of bloom.

Bartzella just an hour after heavy rain. I love how it manages to hold up those enormous flowers without any staking, and how they do not fall apart at all.

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Decided to add the one not shown previously - Smith Family Yellow.

Thanks, Alex. It looks a bit lighter than I remember seeing its pic on another website. But I do love its petals and form. Does it turn to cream and then white toward the end? Or does it maintain this yellow toward the end?

Now that you mentioned it, Karen, I think in person it has more intense color, but not much. It does maintain his color until the end. Also, it has only one bud this year as I divided it last fall. 6 inches, though and lasted a week under rain as well.

I love your Smith Family Itoh, Alex! The flower looks more refined and simple than Bartzella. I will keep an eye out for it. Anyone else have a picture of a mature bush?

My Itohs are finally opening! I did lose some buds in the last hail storm but here's the first batch that made it through! If we don't get hit again I should have more in the next week!

Enduring Rainbow

I have Bartzella in 2 places, neither seem to be good for it because it's not increasing, neither has ever bloomed. There are other Itohs nearby so it's hard to believe it's location but I'm moving at least 1 of them this fall to see if I can get something jumpstarted. I have several that have no buds this year, even though they've bloomed in previous years. Maybe this stupid, crazy weather we had this spring?

So beautiful, Liz! THanks for showing me your Impossible Dream. It is gorgeous! Magical Mystery TOur is lovely too. I am glad that these buds make it.

Watermelon Wine is very nice. How big is it - bush and flower?

I was expecting more blooms on my Bartzella this year as well - 3 last year and only 4 now.

lizbest1's flower doesn't look like impossible dream. The official photos of impossible dream are:

1st year blooms aren't typically as full as those mature shrubs. Got Impossible Dream from Parkland Perennials in Canada, they're the only ones I've found even selling it. The bloom this year is pretty disappointing, it never opened any further but started collapsing on itself. If it doesn't look right next year I'll be contacting Parkland!

Watermelon Wine gets to around 3'x3'. Mine is 2nd year. This year's flower was probably around 5" across but it remains slightly cupped, stretched out it'd be another inch or so.

Maybe Itohs are like tree peonies. They take a few years to get mature colors and forms. I think the pink on your ID is very nice. I can't believe that Parklands would botch up the order and send you a wrong root. There are not many pink itohs out there.

Think I'll send an email with a picture attached and ask the question, just in case!

Another Keiko bud opened, looks much nicer than the other!

It sure does! Beautiful. Any more blooms on Impossible Dream?

Agree. Just gorgeous Liz!

The flower type of many Itoh peonies here are single or semi-double, looks a alike to each other except color, a bit monotonous. Hope more people can have double or bomb type Itoh, such as Sonoma Halo. Maybe there is no Japanese type Itoh?

Wow lots of beautiful itohs!!!! I like the Magical Mystery Tour flower the most in these photos..

Littlebin, I agree that they do look monotonous from the pics. Though there are many reasons to be excited about itohs: they offer a different color class than what the herbaceous peonies offer and alot of them are polychrome which make them interesting. Their stems are sturdier and their petals substance last much better in the sun than tree peonies whose flower petals often get scorched. This plus the fact that their buds open at different times make for a long er blooming period. All of this combined make them excellent landscaping plants. THeir shortcomings as you noted is the lack of varied forms and as some growers noted, they do not make very good cut flowers.

Karen, thanks, why they don't make good cut flower?

The only thing I noticed about them as cut flowers is most aren't scented. I agree, mine do look incredibly monotonous this year, even the ones I've had in my garden for several years got divided last fall. They don't get truly amazing until they get to be an established shrub--then WOW!!!!! There are several that start pink or a corally color that fade to yellow. With the side buds blooming at different times you end up with multiple colored blooms completely covering a fairly large shrub, THAT's what is exciting about Itohs, at least to me. Several of the new ones I got last year do that fading thing and I deliberately looked for that aspect with side blooms. Almost all of them start out as fairly small, single to semi-double blooms and get more full and larger every year.

As for Sonoma Halo, still have 2 buds on the plant I got last fall. After Lemon Chiffon's bud demise I'm seriously reconsidering my patio umbrella idea to protect it!

Hillary from today

Yumi and Hillary are fully open!

And Smith Family Yellow as well! Think the only one I'm waiting for now is Sonoma Halo...

Thanks! Hillary looks more like a tree peony than a Itoh. And Smith yellow is yellower and more beautiful under the sun than I thought.

i love Hillary itoh. It is a full double with such beautiful shade of pink and peach. It lasts well too. I can't wait for this plant to get mature. Your yellows are lovely Liz. Can't wait to see your pic of Sonoma Halo.

Thanks, Karen. I was surprised at how much I liked Hillary, the colors are really beautiful. Most of the Itohs have done wonderfully well with our crazy weather compared to the rest of the herbaceous peonies.

I was surprised at how similar Smith Family Yellow and Yumi look side by side--from a distance you can't tell them apart. I had to get close to examine them to make sure I wasn't sent 2 of the same thing! Even the foliage is almost identical. I'll keep a running commentary on them the next few years. It'll be interesting to see if one outperforms the other. I feel that I know Yumi already from other forum members, Smith Family Yellow is a newbie to me.

Sonoma Halo is really making me wait! The bud is a bit wider than a golf ball now and is showing the slightest hint of color. We're still having hail storms, expected activity over the weekend, so I think I'll rig some cover for it today just in case!

Sonoma Halo today

Boy, it is taking its time opening up! Please post a few pics of the flower when it opens, Liz.

Almost there! Judging by the size of the petals this one should be around 2-3" wider than Smith Family Yellow and Yumi flowers this spring--all 3 first year plants for me.

Wow, very beautiful of Sonoma Halo, does she smell good?

Not much of a scent at all, luckily--slightly like a lily to me. You have to put your nose right in the flower to smell it, though.

That is an absolute beauty, Liz. Wow, there is an incredible number of petals, a gorgeous full bright yellow double. Congrats! I believe it will be more beautiful next year with many more blooms.

Thanks Karen! I thought it was an amazing flower when I saw it last year. Mine this year isn't anywhere near as large as those competition blooms but it'll get bigger! So glad to have some nice blooms finally after the rough start we had here in CO.

Finally completely open, think it's the same size as Yumi and Smith Family Yellow, maybe a bit wider but fully double. Next year, more and bigger blooms!

It looks beautiful.

The Halo blooms I saw at the APS convention were the size of half of a volleyball and absolutely perfectly formed. I'm not unhappy with the size of the bloom for a first year plant and I'm certainly happy it survived the winter but am looking forward to bigger and better next spring. I actually think I liked all of the ones I got from Select Plus as much if not better than the Halo bloom and all of those put together were less expensive! Just goes to show that paying more doesn't always mean shopping wisely.....