Hot Tamale™ Itoh Peony

This hot tamale doesn’t come from Mississippi, but the Hot Tamale™ Itoh Peony will add some lively spice to your garden, with its red-hot flowers, 6 inches across, with spicy, ruffled petals. A bright, rich, pink-red, they surround a golden center of stamens, and nestle on the top of the foliage, so staking isn’t needed. They look a lot like the flowers of the exotic Chinese tree peony, which isn’t surprising because this very special peony is a hybrid, a cross between the tree peony and the herbaceous peony. It grows to about 3 feet tall and wide in a few seasons, and is reliable in both cold and hot regions. The handsome foliage is jagged and lobed, and stays clean and mildew-free all summer long. These Intersectional Hybrids as they are often called, are exotic, rare and so, so beautiful, but just as easy to grow as regular peonies. Plant them among your perennials, or among shrubs, where the foliage looks great when the flowers are gone. Blooming in late spring, there are numerous side-buds as well as the terminal one, on each stem, so blooming continues for several weeks. This stunning plant is a great addition to your garden and a fabulous look you will adore.

• Big ruffled blooms need no staking
• Bold and bright in deep pink-red tones
• Beautiful lobed foliage is not affected by summer mildew
• Both cold-hardy and heat-resistant, so grows right across the country
• A hybrid between a tree peony and an herbaceous peony

For maximum blooming and vigor, plant the Hot Tamale™ Itoh Peony out in the sun, although in the hottest zones some afternoon shade will be appreciated. Grow it in moist, rich, but well-drained soil, using plenty of compost when preparing the planting spot, and using more as mulch in fall. Besides removing dead flowers, the only job is to cut down the leaves in late fall, once they yellow. Deer and rabbits don’t eat it, and it almost never has any pest or disease problems, so despite its exotic beauty, this is a very easy plant to grow. When planting, make sure the point where the leaves meet the roots is no more than 1 inch below the soil surface, or flowering will be delayed, often for several years. Allow a couple of seasons for it to begin blooming well, but this plant will live for many, many years.