Caring for your peonies

How to get the best out of your peonies

That’s right – the magnificent peony season has arrived. But with the much-anticipated peony season only lasting until the end of June, we want to share our tips for helping these beautiful blooms thrive.

We send all of our peonies in bud so that you can enjoy them for as long as possible once they arrive. With a vase life of five days (or longer with the right care), we don’t want to waste those wonderful ruffly petals inside the box. By sending them in bud, we can also get more precious peonies in our peony bouquet, which we’ve created to be letterbox friendly.

5 care tips for peonies

1)      Cut the stems
When your letterbox peony bouquet arrives, it is best to trim around 3cm off the base of each stem. This is because we send our peonies dry to preserve their vase life after arrival. Trimming the stems at an angle with a sharp pair of scissors will help the flowers to drink all the water they need to start blooming.

2)      Remove some leaves and display in a clean vase
Your fresh peonies will drink lots of fresh water, so it is important to keep that water clean. By removing any leaves that sit beneath the water line and using a clean vase to display your peonies, you’ll be helping to keep the water as clean as possible.

3)  Use flower food
Whenever you buy one of our letterbox bouquets, we’ll always include a sachet of flower food which is packed full of the nutrients your fresh flowers need to thrive. Before you put your peonies in their vase, sprinkle the flower food into the fresh water and stir until it dissolves.

4)      Avoid placing them in direct sunlight
There are few flowers that love direct sunlight – and peonies are no different. At the very least, direct sunlight can encourage flowers to wilt, but they can also dry out and burn. While direct sunlight should be avoided, bright spaces are welcomed, so give your peonies pride of place on dining tables or sideboards.

5)      Water them often
Like with all fresh flowers, ensuring they have enough clean water to drink is the most important thing you can do for them. Peonies are particularly thirsty, so keep a close eye on their water level and top up as soon as it’s looking low.

Struggling to get your peonies to open up
Waiting for your peonies to open up from bud can take a little patience, but it’s always worth the wait. We send all of our peonies in bud and they should begin to open within a couple of days. But if you want them to bloom sooner, there are a few tricks you can try.

1)      Warm water
Using lukewarm water in your vase and placing your peonies in a warm room will usually do the trick when encouraging them to open up. You’ll still need to use the flower food that is supplied with your peonies.

2)      Show them some love
Massaging flowers is something you’ve probably not done before, but when it comes to getting peonies to display their beautiful fluffy petals, it can do just the trick. Gently massage each flower head, just where it meets the stem, to stimulate the petals.