Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Tree Peony 'Toichi Ruby'

I encountered this incredibly beautiful tree peony on a recent visit to Olbrich Botanical Gardens.

Tree peony 'Toichi Ruby'


This is a relatively recent introduction, hybridized by Toichi Domoto and Roy Klehm. The color is just fantastic, and the flower form and presentation on the bush are also excellent. (The color is coming out more pink in the pictures - in real life it appeared to be more of a delicious cherry-pop red.)

Tree peony 'Toichi Ruby'


It appears to be a very profuse bloomer. I'm not sure how old these plants are, but this section of Olbrich has only been installed in the last couple years, so they can't be at full maturity yet. I took about 3000 pictures of it. :-)

Tree peony 'Toichi Ruby'


As a bonus, they had a light but very beguiling sweet fragrance, reminiscent of old garden roses. Unusual for what seems to be a (typically scentless) Japanese type of tree peony! I wonder if it has some Chinese/rockii in its blood...

Tree peony 'Toichi Ruby'


By far my favorite tree peony in Olbrich's collection to date - they have several others (see my earlier post about them), most in various nauseating shades of mauve. With its strong bright color, 'Toichi Ruby' would have to be placed with care in the garden - but I'd personally be willing to banish anything that clashed to another part of the yard to accommodate this diva!

4 comments:

  1. This looks certainly as a great Tree peony. Tochi Ruby, I' ve made a note, may be in future I trace it and buy one.

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  3. Just gorgeous! I am finding the new hybrids are breathtaking. I had recently visited a local botanical garden and viewed many varieties and recently purchased Itoh Peony 'Bartzella', a mix between a tree peony and herbaceous peony. Your pictures are lovely!

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  4. Any ideas of colors that would work, esp of other peonies, either herbaceous or tree? I bought one just before Klehm retired. At two years in the ground, it hasn’t bloomed yet, maybe in 2022.

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