I am not much of a cut-flower person. I’d rather see the flowers in the garden where they last much longer. But just occasionally I like to pick a few for the house, for a family party or a special visit from a friend. If I had a cutting garden (and I’d love one) I’d bed out a whole range of the best flowers from asters to phloxes, delphiniums to alstroemerias, from dianthus to dahlias, from peonies to scabious and I’d plant roses too. I’d have a row of sweet peas and the ultimate partner – the yellow frothy Alchemilla mollis.
Peonies make fabulous cut flowers. However, all too often gardeners find themselves growing the inferior cottage garden peony – P. officinalis. This one is shorter, about 2ft or 60 centimetres, with early May flowers that open and fade. They go over quickly, but it’s such a long-lived plant it survives in the most overgrown garden.
You should be growing varieties of the Asian species, the later-flowering and taller P. lactiflora instead. The flowers last longer and never fade. This is the peony that has been grown in China and Japan for centuries. The flower colour can vary from magenta through to almost white, but there are no true reds. Varieties have been bred for the last 200 years, often by French breeders. many were grown for the cut flower trade. The variety ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ (bred by Lemoine in 1906) is a little floppy in the garden – although still highly popular. I also grow the blush-pink ‘Festiva Maxima’ (Meillez 1851) which is flecked with maroon, the lemon-scented full-cream ‘Duchesse de Nemours’ (Calot 1856) and the magenta-pink ‘Felix Crousse’(Crousse 1881). Despite their age they still perform and the glossy foliage has the same burnished shine you get with healthy rose foliage.
You should cut peonies just as the buds start to feel soft and squishy at precisely the moment the first petal begins to peel away from the bud. Cut them too early and they remain shut. Singles and doubles are treated differently. Single peony buds are firmer to the touch.
Cut in the early morning if possible and plunge the flowers straight into cool water. Then cut off the bottom half an inch under water, to prevent air blocking the stem. I prefer diagonal cuts across the stems to allow a greater surface area and hopefully this encourages a greater take up of water. After a good soak, transfer them to the vase a third full of water with added flower food.
Place them in a cool location out of direct sun. To open flowers faster place them in warm water in a warm room. To slow the progress, place them in dark, cool. You can apparently add ice to the water – if you dare.
A good peony can produce more than 20 blooms per plants, so in the garden setting peonies must always be staked to prevent their heads from bending downwards. Sturdy semicircular hoops are the best support. Deadhead after flowering and feed. Remove diseased foliage you see throughout summer. Wind damage sometimes occurs and some varieties seem to wilt.
This year’s hard winter has suited peonies and mine are full of bud. If you wish to plant some, now is an excellent time. The top of the crown needs to be two inches below the soil surface. Move them in spring if possible and try to enrich the soil.
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