Hi Folks, I wanted to have an opinion on this: 3 of the Itoh Peony Varieties I grow have developed above the ground woody stems with eyes. On Bartzella this happened the past season and I managed (with some protection) to get one above ground woody stem to survive and bloom. This season I also have those on "Lollipop" and "Julia Rose". Question is: would it be possible to encourage them and end up with an Itoh peony that looks and behave like a tree peony? It might be a silly goal considering that they will perform super well even if behaving like herbaceous ones but yet the idea looks appealing to me. I'm not really that much into perennials but I love shrubs and trees. What do you guys think?

Hi Reyderrs,

It always helps if you put your growing zone on your profile.

I am in zone 7a. I only remove the leaves on my Itohs in the Fall and leave the stems. In the spring as they leaf out I then cut out any stems without foliage. Keep in mind that the stems are going to stay within the attributes of the variety. You are not going to have 4 foot stems on a Bartzella.

I have had blooms on an older stem. It all depends on the weather.

Mieko2 said:Hi Reyderrs,

It always helps if you put your growing zone on your profile.

I am in zone 7a. I only remove the leaves on my Itohs in the Fall and leave the stems. In the spring as they leaf out I then cut out any stems without foliage. Keep in mind that the stems are going to stay within the attributes of the variety. You are not going to have 4 foot stems on a Bartzella.

I have had blooms on an older stem. It all depends on the weather.

Many thanks for your thoughts. Montreal area, zone is 5a, it goes down to -26C max, usually more like 23. Historically it can go down to -34 which would make it zone 4 but that hasn't happened in a very long time and it is not likely to ever happen again.

Also Profile Updated with hardiness zone

There are several active members from Canada on here and I hope they will let you know what they think.

My motto is 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained'.

to this group of hard core peony people.

If you have some bloom photos to share, go to the 2021 bloom threads and share! We'd love to see what you are growing.

The bloom on the right came from the over the ground woody stem. The plant has only one season. Bought it as potted plant in the Spring 2020, so this Spring is the first with me.

A bit out of topic now, but these are young 'Kao' and Kamata-Nishiki tree peonies. 'Kao' has 2 seasons the other only one.

Thanks for sharing your beautiful blooms, Rey! They look very healthy!

Mieko2 said:Thanks for sharing your beautiful blooms, Rey! They look very healthy!

Thank you so much. Everything is still super young and immature, I have been gardening for just 2 seasons.

Hi Rey - from another Canadian peony (and most other stuff ) fancier. My garden is in a slightly colder zone than yours and I often get buds on the woody stems of Itohs and TP's by Fall. For the Itohs I trim the stems to one joint above the good bud or ground level if no buds; TP's don't get trimmed till they leaf out and then the dead stems are removed. Several TP's flower from high buds, especially Yaezakura, but very few Itohs - but worth the try

Vals_Garden said: Hi Rey - from another Canadian peony (and most other stuff ) fancier. My garden is in a slightly colder zone than yours and I often get buds on the woody stems of Itohs and TP's by Fall. For the Itohs I trim the stems to one joint above the good bud or ground level if no buds; TP's don't get trimmed till they leaf out and then the dead stems are removed. Several TP's flower from high buds, especially Yaezakura, but very few Itohs - but worth the try

Thank you for your thoughts!

These are the buds I was talking about this year. This is a Bartzella, 3 years old.