Paeonia Itoh Hillary

Unusual and rare, Paeonia Itoh Hillary boasts enormous, scented, semi-double, raspberry-coloured flowers with tones of apricot. Held on strong stems in late spring and early summer, the petals become flushed with cream with a red eye as they mature. Excellent as cut flowers and loved by our pollinating friends Paeonias are amongst the most beautiful of all flowering plants. In 1948 a Japanese nurseryman, Toichi Itoh, succeeded in crossing a hybrid tree peony with a herbaceous peony. He unfortunately passed away before any had flowered. All may have been lost but for an American horticulturist who obtained permission from Itoh's widow to patent four of the plants in the 1960's. These plants caused a terrific stir. Itoh hybrid peony look much like a Tree Peony, with a domed shape but go dormant much like an herbaceous Peony, dying back in autumn and reappearing in early spring. They begin flowering in the first or second year in your garden and will continue for decades. Peonies are the longest-lived perennials of all, a lifetime investment in the beauty of your landscape. A hardy perennial, no requiring any frost protection over winter, Paeonia Itoh Hillary prefers to be grown in moist, well-drained soil in sun or part shade.