The Going Bananas Itoh Peony, otherwise known as the Paeonia (Intersectional Hybrid) X ‘Going Bananas’ or Peony ‘Barrington Belle’, ‘Barrington Belle’ Peony, Chinese Peony ‘Barrington Belle’ , Common Garden Peony ‘Barrington Belle’, Red Peonies, is a rather well known shrub plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and fast growth, this shrub will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, taking care of your Going Bananas Itoh Peony is not too difficult – as long as you follow our guidelines in this Going Bananas Itoh Peony Care Guide. Now let’s get started.
The basic care guidelines you need to remember for your Going Bananas Itoh Peony are the following:
- Water: The Going Bananas Itoh Peony needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.
- Light: Keep your Paeonia (Intersectional Hybrid) X ‘Going Bananas’ in an environment where it can receive partial to full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Going Bananas Itoh Peony in soil with moist but well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
And that’s practically it! If you keep these three factors in check, your Going Bananas Itoh Peony will likely have all it needs for it to survive and even thrive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Going Bananas Itoh Peony belongs to the Paeoniaceae family, the genus Paeonia and the species Lactiflora, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Paeonia (Intersectional Hybrid) X ‘Going Bananas’ (pay-OHN-ee-uh).
As with other Paeonia’s, the Going Bananas Itoh Peony is a deciduous plant, which means it will shed its leaves annually once autumn comes.
Growing Region
The Going Bananas Itoh Peony is a plant native to the Sibera and China.
You might be wondering why your Going Bananas Itoh Peony’s native region is important. Well, if you know where your plant originally came from, you’ll know which environment conditions it prefers, and with it, knowledge on how to replicate it at home.
With this in mind, the Paeonia (Intersectional Hybrid) X ‘Going Bananas’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 1 – 8 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 3a, 3b, 4b, 4a, 5b, 5a, 6b, 6a, 7a, 7b, 8b, 8a and the ideal climate zone is between 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, A1, A2, A3.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Going Bananas Itoh Peony is a relatively fast grower, which makes things tricky for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But what exactly does this mean for your Going Bananas Itoh Peony? How large a pot should you consider, how tall, how wide can it get? Let’s jump in…
The Paeonia (Intersectional Hybrid) X ‘Going Bananas’ can grow up to 2′ – 3′ (60cm – 90cm) in 2′ – 3′ (60cm – 90cm) and 2′ – 3′ (60cm – 90cm) in 2′ – 3′ (60cm – 90cm).
These dimensions make the Going Bananas Itoh Peony a relatively medium shrub compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 24″ – 36″ (60cm – 90cm) free so the Going Bananas Itoh Peony can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Going Bananas Itoh Peony is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat irregular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Paeonia (Intersectional Hybrid) X ‘Going Bananas’ needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Going Bananas Itoh Peony in soil with moist but well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage, and moist properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
In our experience, the famous ‘thumb’ or ‘finger’ test is what works best for the Going Bananas Itoh Peony since with it, you will be able to give it the right amount of water, every time – regardless of the environment or placement where you do decide to keep it.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Going Bananas Itoh Peony prefers to have soil with good drainage, and moist properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
This is why most experts agree that the Going Bananas Itoh Peony requires soil with high organic matter, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Going Bananas Itoh Peony requires partial to full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this shrub will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Paeonia (Intersectional Hybrid) X ‘Going Bananas’ in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a deciduous plant, the Going Bananas Itoh Peony will shed its leaves annually once autumn comes.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (late), and during the summer (early).
Flowers
You can expect your Going Bananas Itoh Peony to flower around the spring months from April to June (spring).
In particular, this shrub is well known for its fragrant, flowers for cutting and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Going Bananas Itoh Peony produces some beautiful yellow, or pink and white flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Going Bananas Itoh Peony have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a compound (pinnately, bipinnately, palmately) arrangement in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Paeonia (Intersectional Hybrid) X ‘Going Bananas’ to be around (> 6 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Going Bananas Itoh Peony is well known for being able to attract butterflies, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Additionally, it has a special tolerance for animals like rabbit and deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Paeonia (Intersectional Hybrid) X ‘Going Bananas’ will be fine.
Garden
Now, let’s talk garden and how your Going Bananas Itoh Peony will look best in it.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage, city and courtyard, and in japanese garden styles.
In particular, the Going Bananas Itoh Peony’s best location within your garden is in beds and borders, others use it for landscaping in a cutting garden,
Conclusion
And we’ve come to an end. Fortunately, that’s everything you need to know about your Going Bananas Itoh Peony to keep it safe and sound in your garden or home. Enjoy planting!
