WHOO HOO Annette!! I got the Japanese Itoh, Shining Light, Lord Calvin and The Fawn last year. All did well considering our lousy spring with 10" of snow on Mother's Day but the only one that bloomed was Lord Calvin. I was actually disappointed in it's bloom, it had almost no color in it, but I'm waiting for 2nd year blooms to be better! You seem to have much better success with peonies so yours will probably bloom next spring, maybe we'll have 1st bloomed pictures the same year!
Caroline, I've never seen the Japanese Itoh anywhere other than Swenson's. I ordered it primarily because of the unusual color advertised for the foliage; it's supposed to be a dark blue-green. I can honestly say there wasn't a significant difference in color from any other darker green though from this spring. It's a semi-double yellow with no streaking. IF the foliage is darker and blue-green it should be a really pretty contrast.
