Peonies

Just before it started to rain, I dashed over to my sister's house and picked three buckets of peonies.

I've never counted, but there must be a few hundred peony bushes lining her driveway. As you know, they flop over onto to the ground once they get saturated with rain water. So I picked, and picked and picked.

They are so lovely in vases around the home. Celebrating the peonies is something we do.  

Last year, I stored peony buds in the refrigerator for a month, and brought them out for a Fourth of July celebration. I found the instructions at Boreal Farms. If you are interested, here is information on how to store peony buds to be used at a later date. 

"Commercial cut flower operations pick their peony buds and can successfully store them for up to three months. This practice allows them to extend the marketing season as the peony bloom period is short. The home gardener or small producer can also save their flowers for a later occasion but because the home refrigerator typically cools to a range of 2-4 C , as opposed to the commercial 0 C, the storage time frame is reduced to two to three weeks. Not all peony flowers are the same though, some varieties have a longer vase life and store better than others but almost all will hold a few days in the vase after storage. The peony buds are stored dry, packaged in plastic, and placed flat on the shelves of the refrigerator. Alternately they can be stored upright in buckets with a few inches of water. When storing dry, remove almost all of the leaves as they tend to produce too much moisture when bagged resulting in the buds rotting. Bunch the stems together and place in a plastic bag, any bag will do but the two gallon Ziploc work well, place them flat on the shelves of the refrigerator. Moisture is the key to successful storage, too wet and they mold. Check them periodically, if there is moisture build-up open the bag to vent or place paper towels in the bottom and remove and replace them when they get wet. Upon removal from storage don’t worry if the blossoms look wilted and the cut ends are dry. Re-cut the stems to expose clean fresh tissue and place upright in a bucket containing warm water. I allow at least 24 hours for opening especially if the flowers are wanted to decorate a special event."

I am joining Rose Vignettes for Fresh-Cut Friday.



Thank you for stopping by! I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

xo

Debbie