Your ultimate guide to peony care
Peony season has finally arrived, and if you’re anything like us, you’ll be filling every corner of your home with these showstopping stems. Their wild and wonderful season is short-lived, so all the more reason to make the most of it.
If you’ve ever seen a field of growing peonies, you’ll know what an unexpected sight it can be. An abundance of tall stems with tight, round buds rearing their heads from the ground for a couple of months only. But when they bloom…boy, do they bloom.
Those uninitiated in peony-mania might expect a delicate little flower to emerge from that humble bud, but they’d be wrong. Peonies don’t do subtle - they serve up an explosion of colour, texture, and drama with frilly blooms as big as dinner plates in a matter of days.
And perfectly in time for their short run of a season, we’ve collated all the expert tips from our in-house florists to present you with the ultimate care guide for your peonies.
Easy Peony Care Tips for Longer-Lasting Blooms
Peonies have the reputation of being a bit fussy but with our expert floristry tips, they’ll reward you with layer after layer of colour-shifting drama to enjoy for up to 7 days.
- When your peonies first arrive, it’s vital you give them a good, sharp trim to wake them up and ensure they can re-hydrate properly.
- You can rub the buds of your peonies with a little mix of washing up liquid and water to loosen the sap, which helps the petals that are a little stuck to unfurl.
- Give the crowns a gentle tap on a hard surface to soften them before popping them into a vase of room-temperature water.
How to Keep Peonies Fresh in a Vase
Here’s our top tips to support them and make the most of their short-lived bursts of beauty at home:
- Peonies are big drinkers, so check their water daily and change it at least every 3 days.
- Their enormous flower heads can make some peonies top-heavy, so re-trim them so they have the right support in the vase.
*Florist Styling Tip: When you’re recutting your peony stems, it looks great to style the shorter stems in a lower vessel like our Cut-Down Vase. This way, the stems are supported and it really allows the flower heads to pop.
How to Extend Peony Bloom Time
No two days look the same with a peony. They unfurl in real time before your eyes, from tight bud to explosion colour, texture, and frills. Here’s a few extra tips to help them through this wild transformation at home and extend your peony bloom time:
- Peonies are a bit picky when it comes to their placement, so keep them away from draughts and out of direct sunlight. Also, avoid putting them near fruit bowls as this can prematurely age them.
- If your peonies are looking a little tired, strip the leaves to hydrate and energise the heads more. You can also submerge each flower in lukewarm water for several hours to revive them with a hydrating boost.
If, upon receiving your box of peonies, you want to help speed up their blooming process, you can encourage your peonies with these tricks:
- Position them in direct sunlight for a short while so they start opening faster. But don’t forget to find them a spot out of the sun after!
- They love to be a bit pampered: You can stimulate the petals by giving the flower heads a gentle massage at the base, where the petals meet the stem.
They may be a little fussy but if you care for them right, they'll reward you with their wild and wonderful energy.
Of course, no one wants to say goodbye to peony season - and you don’t have to (yet anyways): Just dry your blooms and enjoy their puffball beauty for even longer. Choose peonies that are fully open but not wilted and group them into small bunches tied with string. Hang them upside down in a dark, airy space and let them dry naturally for a couple of weeks.
When dried, peonies take on a super delicate, tissue-paper appearance - we love placing a few single stems in jam jars and glass bottles for a summery, cottage-core vibe. To keep them looking gorgeous, avoid direct sunlight and moisture. It’s as simple as that!
But there's more to peonies than just good looks – find out in our blog with all the facts about peonies.
Enjoy the ever-changing artwork that is the peony.
