Paeonia Itoh Pastel Splendour

The Pastel Splendour Itoh Peony offers, as its name suggests, flowers in very soft shades, in a gradient ranging from very pale peach yellow to pearly white. The corolla, single to semi-double, medium-sized, is tinged with a raspberry border and veiled with a hint of barely sketched raspberry pink towards the centre. A beautiful dark purple macule at the base of each petal emphasizes the delicacy of the flowers. This variety generally blooms towards the end of May.

This opulent herbaceous hybrid peony belongs, like its two parents, to the Paeoniaceae family. Itoh peonies are the result of the work carried out by the Japanese breeder Toichi Itoh, starting in 1948, who bequeathed them his name. These plants, known as intersectional hybrids, are exceptional perennials that combine the qualities of herbaceous and shrubby species, combining the vigour of herbaceous plants with all the splendour of shrubs, both in terms of their foliage and their flowering.

'Pastel Splendour' forms at maturity an opulent clump reaching 80 to 90 cm (32 to 35in) in height with a spread of 80cm (32in), sometimes more. Its growth is rather slow, but faster than that of tree peonies. The plant develops large deciduous leaves, alternate, composed of dark green and pointed leaflets. Flowering takes place abundantly from late May to late June, lasting for a month. Semi-rigid leafy stems appear, carrying large buds at their tips which open into solitary flowers measuring 12-15 cm (5-6in) in diameter, single to semi-double. They are composed of slightly translucent, slightly crumpled petals, whose very pale colour at blooming becomes lightly tinted with raspberry pink as they open. Each petal has a large dark purple macule at the base. These flowers are very beautiful, but also slightly fragrant. The plant disappears in winter, surviving in the form of buds located at the soil surface.

Itoh Peonies hate heavy waterlogged soils, especially in winter, and appreciate partially shaded locations such as the edge of a grove or the shelter of a hedge. It is an exceptional plant that deserves a prime location. It is often planted in groups of 3, in a shrub or perennial bed. It makes beautiful combinations with irises or roses, as well as catmints, foxgloves, bellflowers, lupins, delphiniums, daisies. Cut peonies are truly wonderful in a bouquet with lilacs and bellflowers.

Tip: Herbaceous peonies should not be buried more than 3cm (1in) deep, otherwise they will take several years to bloom again.