5 Easy Tips on Caring for Fresh Peonies

11 Nov 15:26 0 comments

5 Easy Tips on Caring for Fresh Peonies

You're probably thinking, "Wait, didn't we already go through peony season?" And you'd be right! We absolutely did. However, the Hidden Garden just got a shipment of New Zealand coral peonies in (because across the ocean, it's in season)!

Just like regular peony season, this will also be a short season and we want to take full advantage of the last bit of beautiful, bright colors. Now is a fantastic time for a refresher on peonies and how to best care for them after they've been cut.

1. First and most importantly, always clean up your stems before inserting into your vase.

Something we teach in the Bloom Academy is to always clean off the extra leaves, stems, etc before putting your florals into the water. This will mitigate any bacteria breeding that happens when those are left to wilt in the water! Trust us on this one.

2. When adding water into your vase, use room temperature water.

If you use hot water, you'll risk destroying the stem tissue of your flowers, which causes bacterial growth. Even worse, heat typically causes flowers to shed their petals more quickly! What a bummer that would be!

3. If you have flower food, USE IT!

Clutch onto your Traders Joe's recipe, because here's a fun fact you'll need later: flower food does NOT help flowers grow! Weird that it's been marketed that way, right? Flower food helps create a space that is free of bacteria, which helps it bloom in a more natural, wholesome way. Read the directions carefully and don't use it all in one vase...you'll want to use about half and when you refresh your water, use the rest!

Bonus tip!

If you don't have the time to go grab flower food for your arrangement, use a drop of bleach to replace it. This will keep your vase clean and help your flowers stay happy! Just a drop, though!

4. Always give your florals a fresh cut.

What's this mean exactly? So you've prepped your room temp water and have your bleach/flower food mixed into the water and you're ready to get designing! Your next step will be to give each flower stem a fresh cut at the end before inserting into your vase so you're setting up your stem for the best absorption possible. Need to rearrange something and have to take out a stem or two? No worries!! Simply figure out it's new placement, give it another small and quick cut and put it in it's new place.

5. Keep your Peonies on the Chill Side

Like most fresh flowers, stashing them in the fridge or outside at night is a guaranteed way to help them last longer. But you can take the trick a step further. Try cutting fresh peony buds while they're soft, wrapping them in newspaper, and storing them in the refrigerator until you're ready to use them. They won't open up in the fridge, but you can preserve them for an extra day or two if you need them to last.

If you need the opposite and want your peonies to open up faster, take the opposite advise of #2. Using warm (not hot!) water, add in your freshly cut peonies and place in direct sunlight. If you follow this step, be sure to keep an eye on them! This is very important, so you don't miss any potential wilting. Once they start opening, follow the instructions as usual!

With our advice, you can hold off droopy flowers for as long as an extra week! Each of these five tips should extend the lives of your cut peonies for you to enjoy, so make sure to implement them before your next purchase!