Itoh Peony

I'm not usually the sort of person who rushes out and buys the latest new plant introduction.  In fact, I'm usually fairly patient when it comes to plants.  But occasionally I am so smitten by some new introduction, that I will do something crazy like put myself on a waiting list.  For a plant.  This isn't something to be proud of, but I have a feeling that other gardener types will understand.

Last Spring I was caught up in an Itoh Peony love affair. This peony is a cross between an herbaceous peony and a tree peony and was developed by a Japanese breeder named Toichi Itoh in the 1940s.  (I'm quoting from the plant tag).  My favorite nursery, Bay Hay & Feed, was able to get a very small order of the Itoh peonies and they were putting together a waiting list for the plants--a wise move considering that gardeners can become really insane when a coveted, newly introduced plant is scarce. The price was $75 for each plant.  And even at that price, Bay Hay & Feed filled their waiting list in only a few days.  My color choice was limited, but I didn't care.  I was just so happy to know I was going to get an Itoh peony.  So I put down my deposit for this plant and waited for the arrival of my newest garden addition.

I am one year into a relationship with my Itoh peony and so far this gorgeous peony has performed exactly as promised.  It is almost done flowering now, but it's flowers are gorgeous and huge.  It's been completely free of pests and disease, the deer don't eat it and it doesn't need to be staked like regular peonies.  It is one of the easiest plants in my garden.  I saw a gorgeous peachy-orangish-red Itoh peony at the nursery this spring and found myself picking it up and carrying it to the check-out counter.  But since the price is still $75, I awoke from my peony trance and put it down.  For this year anyway.