Welcome to the world of tissue culture propagation - I had similar problem when I realized that my First Arrival is not right at all. Quite a few peony enthusiasts wrote about wrong cultivars and switching First Arrival with Bartzella is a"popular" topic. It may be your peony as well, but because there are plenty of yellow ITOHs I suggest you should compare it side by side. Here is mine.

By the way, the easiest way is simply divide it in the fall, save money and you will be 100% sure you are getting same thing.

Yes, except I impatiently moved mine and am not sure it made It through the winter. Thats why i want ano5her one....The blooms were huge!!

I will probably get a division this fall because I am moving it anyway. Mine has a scent, suppose to be "lemony", but I find it just floral overall. Singing in the Rain is nice Itoh, I actually want it more than Bartzella. Going Bananas and Garden Treasure come to mind as well.

Mine really didn't have much of a scent...

I also purchased first arrival but that one has yet to bloom. I am hoping this will be the year. I think I have had them 5 years and the yellow one has bloomed at least the last two maybe three years. I like to grow not so common plants. They are difficult to find so I have ordered them as tiny mail order roots. I have lollipop and Cora Louise that I'm curious to see if they made it through the winter...lots of clay or I wouldn't be conserned.

Kelly, there are quite a few good mail order companies specializing in peonies and ordering there will get you something with a bloom next spring, max 2 years. Those are not tissue-cultivated and will bloom faster - to name a few Adelman, Hollingsworth, Fina, etc. Just look around and order bare roots from them for delivery in the fall - you won't be disappointed. 5 years to perform is too long generally, especially for Itohs , but of course there are some slow developing and not so vigorous peonies in existence.

And I really recommend to invest time and money in the big hole if you soil is not that great - at least 2.5 ft in diameter and 1.5-2 ft deep. You won't regret it - good drainage, a lot of compost, coarse sand, clay should be there as well. Small hole will accommodate development of the peony only for 3-4 years.

Does your Itoh start out that color or does it fade to a pale yellow/cream, Kelly?

It looks a lot like my Misaka

It does!

it might be a bit more yellow, but not much. The blooms are very full and larger than my hand.

Kelly, that's a beautiful Itoh, my Singing in the Rain is more yellow and peach, not as light

This is an established Singing in the Rain with Victorie de la Marne in the corner. My foliage is always beaten up, too many hail storms here in CO....

Are those flowers both on the same bush? some are so peachy and the others are so yellow. Mine dont have the variation but do look similar to the yellow flowers. I think it looks more like Garden Treasure, but who knows? It could be Bartzella as that was one they sell. Maybe the ph and climate affects the color? They are growing in quite a bit of alkaline clay. Either way, I didn't kill it-its had a few pink growths coming up!! I will just have to wait a few more years to divide it again so I can have more, or just purchase a few others to compare!

Thank you!!

The pink double at the left bottom is from another bush, the rest are Singing in the Rain. they start out the peachy pink color and fade to yellow. They do eventually have sidebuds as well so you have quite the show in differing colors for a while, makes a very pretty display. Several Itohs do that fading thing where the flowers change significantly from day to day, like having multiple varieties in a single plant!

Singing in the rain is so beautiful,where did you guys buy it from?

I got mine from Select Plus out of Canada. I'm not sure if they're selling right now--Frank Moro, the owner and operator, died this fall and no one has updated their site. Several reputable growers sell it here in the US, I think it was Adelman's Peony Paradise that had it for $40 a couple of years ago which is an amazing price.

Thank you so much Lizbest1