AS LONG AS there have been peonies, breeders have been frustrated because no one could figure out a way to cross a tree peony with an herbaceous one. Then, in 1948, after thousands of attempts, Toichi ...

Several years ago, I fell in love with peonies, particularly Itoh peonies. Sometimes described as the “prom queens of the garden,” I love how their bold upright growth topped with their equally bold ...

With today’s rush to get new garden plant varieties to market, it will come as no surprise to any gardener that sometimes the evaluation of those new introductions doesn’t necessarily support the ...

During the months of May and June, one of the all-time favorite plants of local gardeners, the peony, is bursting into bloom. Peonies come in many excellent varieties, including herbaceous cottage ...

With blooms like cherry-colored silk, fragile and brilliant, my tree peony is staging what is unequivocally the finest performance that occurs in my flower gardens each year. Its fleeting huge blooms ...

Growing up in Minnesota, I was always entranced by the peonies my mom grew. Their ruffled elegance and fragile-looking petals held a scent that took my breath away. I would stand next to a bloom and ...

* What it is: This is arguably the best of the so-called “Itoh hybrid” peonies, a difficult but beautiful cross of the tree peony and the herbaceous one that Japanese botanist Dr. Toichi Itoh pulled ...

One in an occasional series of guides on growing popular plants. Other guides include lenten rose, redbud, azalea, elephant ear, coleus, lantana, coneflower, savory calamint and rudbeckia. The peony ...

Asiatic lilies are the hardiest and easiest to grow for Zone 3 gardens. Plan in full sun in a well-drained soil. Easter lilies are not hardy in Minnesota, so they will most likely not come back if ...

You can’t miss peonies that are blooming in May! This is the largest and showiest of spring flowers here in Ohio. It is a perennial which blooms every year. Peonies have three different growing habits ...