I have had Graden Treasure (left) and Bartzella (with Doodle Trix) for several years. I purchased Bartzella from Park Seed. It was supposed to be 'First Arrival'. Not. They sent me a replacement (another small 4" pot) 2 or 3 years ago. It is of good size this year, but no buds:(



Last year I splurged 5 new Itohs from Svenson Gardens. The roots were big and healthy and sure enough, the plants did really well for the first year. Looks like 4 of the plants will bloom this year. Two so far, Prairie Charm :



and Pastel Splender



Yes, I would buy from this Swede again:)

I don't think I would complain if someone sent me a Bartezella by mistake, but certainly is quite different from First Arrival. Both beautiful.

Beautiful ones. Prairie Charm - fantastic. I thought Bartzella flowers were supposed to sit just above the foliage. The stems with your blooms appear significantly longer than the rest of the plant. Is that a trick of the camera angle?

On Bartzella, most of the blooms sit just above the foliage as you say. For some reason, this year 2 of the flowers are renegades:) Maybe I should take advantage and cut them.

Frank, I just visited Swenson's Gardens (west of Minneapolis) yesterday, on their first day of this year's Field Days. (Is this the same as the Svenson's you ordered your Itoh's from?)
I will receive my first plants from them this fall, so I can report on those next year. I ordered one Itoh, 'First Arrival' and 4 more, 'Candy Cane', 'Sprite', 'Coral Sunset', and P.officinalis huthii. The thousands of peonies I saw in their fields were spectacular! Here is my absolute favorite of all I saw:

Itoh peony 'Purple Flash' unfortunately for me, not available for sale

Regarding your Bartzella, I wonder if Park Seeds is offering tissue culture plants... I've heard you may have to wait years for proper development of tc peonies?
I got my 'Bartzella' in 2011 from Tony Avent's Plant Delights Nursery, and I couldn't be happier with it. It bloomed in 2012, but even more in 2013. This year I am almost speechless when I look at it!

I can't seem to get proper color of yellow or white when I take distance shots, but it is bright yellow!


I get better results with close-ups.

Linda, yes the Svenson Gardens I was referring to is in MN.

And yes, Park Seeds was a tc plant and they do seem to take a few years to bloom. They were cheap, but you have to wait:) I probably will not opt for TC again.

My Bartzella has turned out to be a great plant, but I am still waiting for First Arrival. Should be next year to bloom.

I have not seen purple flash before. I like it!