Here is the pics of the Morning Lilac. It is the first one to flower here in Ontario.

Here is another pic. I will post the picture of 3 yr old Bartzella and Yankee Doodle Dandy for trade when they open their flower buds.

I would love to but mine are too young to trade. :/ It is nice to see someone in Canada wanting to trade, though. The requests I've seen have always come from the US.

Although I don't have a lot of room for more peonies, I'll be happy if I can add more Itoh variety in my garden. They are such a beautiful plant. And instead of just buying another one, I would rather trade some of what I have for a different Itoh variety. What variety do you have pwin? Let me know when u are ready to trade your plant.

Well, we have similar tastes: Bartzella, Morning Lilac :) and Scrumdidliumptious. Scrum was one year away from blooming size so I don't actually know how the flower looks like. Actually, none bloomed. I had moved my Bartzella as it was growing so it stayed small and didn't flower, and Morning Lilac still needs 2 years. I'll be getting Copper Kettle this year, too.

I hear itohs are vigorous. Now that I've seen their growth habit and tested their sturdiness, I've decided they are wonderful and want more.

Hi

I am in Toronto and might have to give you guys the bad news. Not all types of Itoh peonies are made the same. It depends if the Itoh peony naturally divided or if it's tissue cultured.

I tried to divide my Sequestered Sunshine Itoh peony earlier this year and found out that the plant doesn't look anything like those in Adelman's video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cgmDWpw3LQ

According to Carol Adelman, she thinks mine has a trunk because it is tissue cultured, but it can still be divided it by using a strong saw, and let it dry for a day after dividing.

Kady Adelman answered the same email by accident and added "I wouldnâÂÂt divide it unless you have to, it is a pretty big plant." At the end, I decided the risk reward was not worth it so I put the plant back.

This Itoh peony was bought from Plant World in Toronto, However, Spring Garden also confirmed that the Magical Mystery Tour Itoh Peony I've purchased by mail order this year is also produced by tissue culture.

Here is some background information on a company producing tissue culture Itoh peonies, and a picture attached showing a trunk on my Itoh peony.

http://www.planteck.com/ben/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Brochure.pdf

Maybe you can try to divide a younger tissue cultured Itoh peony, but there is always a risk.

Thanks Moxx for that great info. I think all of my Itohs are tissue cultured. The roots of my Cora Louise seems to be like yours, as its roots are partially sticking out from the ground. I will try to divide one of my itoh this fall, and will see how it turns out next spring.

pwin, I don't have Scrumdidliumptious yet. If you able to divide the plant when its ready, I will be happy to exchange that to one of my Itoh.

Thank you, Moxx. I was aware of Planteck, but didn't know about the developmental anomalies. Disappointing you hadn't received the plant you thought you did. Is your sequestered sunshine significantly different? Perhaps, you posted it; I can check on the 2014 thread.

Peonea, it'll be some time, but that sounds fun.

My Sequested Sunshine looks fine above ground. Only when it's dug up did I noticed the shape is not the same as shown in Adelman's video. Maybe that's how tissue cultured Itohs are. Kady Adelman said they divide their Itohs every 3 years.

There's only buds on my Itoh peonies now, but here are pictures of my Sequested Sunshine from last year. If this is your peony, you probably wouldn't want to take the risk in destroying this beautiful plant either.

Sequested Sunshine Itoh peony.

I'm not in Canada but read your discussion about the differences in dividing tissue culture started Itohs with interest. There is an article on the Southern Peony blog from a couple of years ago on propagating Itohs by a less invasive division, primarily new growth stems. She divided a Bartzella and got several good divisions but had several pieces left over with minimal to no roots, most actually grew. I'm pretty sure I read something from Stevelau, think it was here but might've been on his blog about the same thing. If you can take a piece from a side of the tissue culture plant with an eye you might be able to start a new division that way with no risk to your main plant. I think I'm going to try it now that your posts reminded me of the experiments done by those two!

Thanks LizinElizabeth. I thought I read somewhere here also that the root will have better chance of surviving as long as it has an eye. I will have to find out when I divide one of my itoh this fall.

Thanks LizinElizabeth. Please don't get me wrong. I never said I can't divide my Sequested Sunshine, but risks in unfavourable results for dividing a mature size Itoh. My Sequested Sunshine has 20 eyes or more and 1 trunk. My post above cited that Carol Adelman thinks it still be divided it by using a strong saw,

Even digging it out and putting it back, the picture below shows the plant still has many buds, but the pants size is much smaller than the pictures in 2013. Lets hope it can make a full recovery with time. It makes no sense when I can leave this full size plant alone and buy another for $25.

http://www.lesjardinsosiris.com/pivoines_itoh.html

peonea05 is probably on the right track to see if a 3 yr old Ihoh can be divided. I brought Scarlet Haven from Plant World in Toronto last year, the same place where Sequested Sunshine was brought. An inspection shows Scarlet Haven is too early to divide this plant - see pic. So maybe a bit older Itoh is the right time to divide. Give it a try. If I didn't know any better, I think these plant tissue culture companies are making Itohs we can't divide!

I am also doing some experiments in dividing bush (herbaceous) peonies, while it's in the growing phase in the spring. Some pieces, though not all, were growing from eyes, but without tubers and they are still growing strong. Maybe I'll post the details and results later in the summer.

Picture of a much smaller Sequested Sunshine. Probably because it was disturbed earlier this year.

Picture of Scarlet Haven Itoh peony purchased last year and transferred into a bigger pot. There is no flower on this plant yet. A close up inspection indicate the plant is a bit too early for a split. I would like to see a few more eyes.

A followed up to my Sequested Sunshine. The bad news is whatever small branches grew last year, all died. The good new is the plant is mature enough to generate a new shoot this year. However, it will take years to revive the back to its old peak. Here is a picture of my Sequested Sunshine today:

More details are provided in the thread:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/peonies-blooms-2015-dsvw-vd~3056135