When (and How) to Harvest and Store Your Peony Blooms
There is NOTHING better than vases of gorgeous, lush Peonies covering every flat surface of your home. Peony season is short and sweet… and if you’re like me, you want to make it last as long as possible!
Today, I’m going to share my best tips for harvesting (and storing) your Peony blooms to squeeze every last bit of joy out of Peony season.
With 450 Peony plants on our farm, Peony season is a delight!
The #1 mistake I see new growers make
The best time to harvest a Peony is before it opens. I know that sounds odd, but trust me on this one.
I often see people wait until the bloom is fully open, with all the petals extended back, before they harvest the blooms.
Friend, I understand. You want to see what it looks like before you harvest it. But if you want your Peonies to last as long as possible in the vase, it’s best to harvest them right before the petals unfurl.
When you harvest at the correct stage and let the bloom open in a vase, you can expect 7-10 days of vase life.
If you wait until the bloom is already open in the garden? You're looking at 3-5 days. That's a significant difference!
There are two more reasons to harvest early:
🐜Ants. Peony buds produce a sweet, sticky sap that ants absolutely love. They're not harming your plant, but if you harvest wide-open blooms, you’re probably going to find a bunch of ants crawling around in them. Harvesting before the bloom opens makes it much easier to get rid of them. Simply hold the stem upside down and smack it against your leg. The ants will fall off (and the bloom won’t be damaged, because it’s not open yet). Or you can swish the stem in a bucket of water to rinse the ants off.
❄️Storage. Ok, this part feels like pure magic. Peony buds harvested before they are open can be stored dry (no water needed) in a cool space, like a cooler or your fridge veggie crisper drawer for up to four weeks (or even longer!). That means if you have a wedding, a party, or any special event on the calendar, you can harvest your Peonies when they are ready… and hold them until you need them. This is an absolute GAMECHANGER.
“Dr. Alexander Fleming” Peony at the correct stage of harvest.
“Dr. Alexander Fleming” Peony at open stage. When harvested at this stage, the vase life will be much shorter… and the bloom will likely be full of ants. 🙃🐜
The Soft Marshmallow Test
So, how do you know when a bud is ready to cut? You squeeze it.
I'm serious. Give the bud a gentle squeeze. What you're looking for is what I call the Soft Marshmallow Stage: the bud is still fully closed, but it yields slightly under your fingers… soft and a little squishy.
Watch the video below to see what I’m talking about!
If the bud feels hard and firm (like a marble), it's not ready yet. Come back later and check again.
Peonies, like fruit, ripen faster in hot weather. On warm days (80°F and above), we walk through the Peony field 2-3x per day, squeezing buds to check for ripeness. A few hours can make a huge difference. Buds that were not ready at breakfast time might be ripe by lunch time!
Pro tip: As a general rule, red/magenta Peonies take longer to reach the Soft Marshmallow Stage than pink or white varieties. If your reds still feel firm while your pinks are ready to go, that's normal. Just keep checking them every day.
How to Store Your Peonies to Use Later
Once you've cut your stems at the right stage, here's how to keep them fresh until you need them.
✅For short-term storage (1-2 weeks), wrap the stems loosely in newprint or paper, then place them in a plastic bag, but don’t seal it. Keep them dry (no water) in the refrigerator at 40-42°F.
✅For longer storage (up to 4 weeks), follow the instructions above, but aim for a colder temp of 32-36°F if you have that option. The colder you can keep them, the longer they will last.
When you're ready to use them, pull the stems out of the fridge about 8 hours ahead of time.
They might look a little sad, but don’t panic. Give each stem a fresh cut at the bottom of the stem (so it can start drinking water) and place them in a vase of clean water to rehydrate.
It’s so magical watching them open up and bloom! You truly have to see it to believe it.
Vase life for Peonies will vary, depending on when they were cut and how they were stored.
Fresh from the field, at the correct stage of harvest: 7-10 days
Stored for 1-2 weeks in a fridge: 3-6 days
Stored for 4+ weeks in a cooler at 32-36°: 1-4 days
As you can see, the longer they are stored, the shorter the vase life. But that’s ok… because most of the stored Peonies are intended for weddings or events, where they only need to look good for one day. We call these “Event Flowers”.
“Sarah Bernhardt” Peonies, ready to be wrapped in paper and stored in the cooler for a few weeks!
Harvesting and storing Peonies is one of those skills that feels a little mysterious at first, but once you see how it works for yourself, you’ll be a believer!
Trust the process, trust the squeeze test, and you'll be rewarded with armloads of blooms that exceed your expectations
Now go enjoy those Peonies! You've earned it!
