We are at the very very end of peony season you guys! I decided to start researching how to extend life of blooms due to my own panic about peony season ending, and figured I might as well share my finds.
Over the years I’m sure you’ve heard random tips like “put a penny in the vase!” etc. I was curious what all of that was about, so I looked everything up. I discovered that all of these tips basically fell into 4 general categories.
Flowers need to 1) drink, 2) be in clean water, 3) eat and 4) be cool.
Read on for all the details!!
Or just pin this graphic and save it for later when you need it! ;)
1. THEY NEED TO DRINK LIKE THIS: The reason you always hear “Cut At An Angle” is because there is more surface area on the stem for the water to drink with. (I always skipped this step thinking it didn’t matter. Whoops.) Cutting these stems under running water or even in a bowl of water helps from air getting into stems. I asked fellow blogger and flower expert Krystal for her opinion on specifically keeping peonies longer and she shared that you can actually remove the stems, dip them in almost boiling water, then cut the stems again and place them directly into your vase, with flower solution of course, (which we will get to in #3), and that will make them last longer as well!
You can even cut the stems an inch or two every few days, to further refresh their drinking straw. Although, the longer the stems you can keep the better. All the better to drink with my dear.
2. THEY DON’T LIKE BACTERIA: Good to know. Apparently it actually matters how clean your vase is. Confession: in the past I have come home with new flowers and simply tossed out the old ones, swished some water around the vase, and then added the new ones. Wrong again. They need to start out in a very clean vase! To further cut down on bacteria, change the water every day or every other day. If you don’t want to do that, there are things you can throw in to keep bacteria at bay. Some of the options I found: tiny bit of vodka, tiny bit of bleach, or a penny. (The copper in penny acts as an acidifier which can also help cut down on bacteria.) Lastly, remove any leaves that will be underwater, as they’ll just rot and that will cause more bacteria.
3. THEY DO LIKE TO EAT, ESPECIALLY SUGAR: You might have heard that throwing some soda in your arrangement, like sprite, will help them last longer. It’s the sugar they like! The flower “food” that comes with your arrangements really are important. Use it! I also read you can just throw in a dash of sugar… I’m not totally sure if that is recommended but I’m trying it!
4. THEY LIKE TO BE COOL: Move the arrangement away from the sunlight. Keep them in the coolest place you can, AKA not your sunroom. (Don’t try your fridge though silly, you don’t have a fancy humidifying fridge like the florist does.)
Phew. I made this post way more involved than it needed to be but I just couldn’t leave anything out!
Visit Krystal’s post on peonies here for some other really fabulous tips! She even tells you how to get the blooms to open in a pinch, and how to DIY a vase from an old candle!!
That was super helpful! I knew about cutting the stems at an angle, but not the others – thanks for doing the research. Hope your peonies last longer now :)