topic Re: Why Are Peonies So Costly? in Garden

Why Are Peonies So Costly?

MarnieRez3 — Thu, 09 May 2019 16:46:30 GMT

It is peony season right now - the wedding flower, the frothy pink blossoms with a million tiny petals and the most delicate smell.

I adore them - and while I realize they are only readily available during the months of May and June, WHY are they so expensive as cut flowers?
Are there only a few peony farms in the country?

In California, at our most reasonably-priced grocery store, ONE peony stem with about three buds is $16.99. REALLY?? Really!!

I am hugely envious of any of you that have garden peonies in your yard - buying them as cut flowers is legal extortion!

Re: Why Are Peonies So Costly?

Carmie — Thu, 09 May 2019 17:15:25 GMT

They bloom around Memorial Day where I live. They are popular around here and many people have them.

i have never had to buy any cut flowers, but I do know that they take a few years to mature before you get a lot of blooms on them. They only bloom for a very short time and only once a season. If we get a hard rain, the petals will fall off and the flowers will be ruined.

They are easy to grow and are hardy bushes. We have three of them...fushia, light pink and white with pink tips. I can't wait until they bloom. My neighbor has two yellow peonies. Never saw that color before she panted them.

Maybe they are expensive because they are short lived flowers...or maybe supply and demand.

Re: Why Are Peonies So Costly?

MarnieRez3 — Thu, 09 May 2019 22:12:29 GMT

@Carmie
Thanks for your reply...I am so jealous that you have them in your YARD...and THREE bushes at that! You are so lucky...enjoy them.
I have never seen YELLOW peonies!!!! Wow.
I have seen a bright coral color in a bouquet at Trader Joe's ONCE but they sold out the next day. Those peonies are in demand!

Re: Why Are Peonies So Costly?

Carmie — Thu, 09 May 2019 17:41:54 GMT

@MarnieRez3 can you grow them where you live or do you not get freezing in your area?

If they don't grow in your area, then they have to be imported from other parts of the country. You might be paying for their transportation costs.

Re: Why Are Peonies So Costly?

Foxxee — Thu, 09 May 2019 18:26:32 GMT

I have some in my yard...always a delight to cut for the house.

The following might explain why peonies are expensive.

http://www.dvflora.com/index.php/2018/05/21/understanding-the-price-of-peonies/

Re: Why Are Peonies So Costly?

JustJazzmom — Thu, 09 May 2019 18:42:35 GMT

The yellow peonies are a relatively new variety (a cross between the herbaceous & the tree peonies). As far as I know there aren’t any yellow herbaceous peonies, yet.

The yellow peonies are a variety called ‘Bartzella’, it is yellow with red streaks in the center, it is an ITOH peony named after the hybridizer who created these peonies.

They look like herbaceous peonies (you cut the stems down in the fall) but instead of a center bud with 2 sidebuds, they have a single bud like their parent, the tree peony.

I have ‘Pink Hawaiian Coral’ which starts to bloom about a week before the others (around Memorial Day by us).

Peonies are very long lived perennials — they could outlive you!

Re: Why Are Peonies So Costly?

ahoymate — Thu, 09 May 2019 18:54:35 GMT

Peonies are certainly beautiful and this is the reason why they are expensive too. Their price varies though. The peak season is April, May & June. During these months, the cost of this flower goes really high (up to $15 to $20 each).

Supply & demand.

Re: Why Are Peonies So Costly?

x Hedge — Thu, 09 May 2019 19:30:34 GMT

why?

when peonies are both planted and cared for correctly they'll continue to increase and produce delightfully fragrant blooms every year for 100 years or more.

I'm caring for the peonies I grew up loving, which my parents planted in the early1940s, long before I was born.

These are last year's blooms.

Re: Why Are Peonies So Costly?

Skyegirl21 — Thu, 09 May 2019 19:39:05 GMT

That is crazy! Buy a plant and grow them- They grow and spread like crazy over the years and they can be split, dug and moved...

Re: Why Are Peonies So Costly?

millieshops — Thu, 09 May 2019 20:09:00 GMT

@Skyegirl21That assumes one lives in a climate where they would thrive. That's highly unlikely in the tropical zones of southern Florida.

When I was little in PA, we had a row of 5 lush peonies, white with lots of pink streakings. The only thing I remember disliking about them was that the ants loved them as much as my mother did.

N9w I own expensive silk peonies, also gorgeous. They've lived with me for about 27 years now - I think each stem cost about what one fresh stem would cost today. Except for their having no aroma, I guess they've been a great bargain.

Re: Why Are Peonies So Costly?

on the bay — Thu, 09 May 2019 20:40:47 GMT

They are expensive and so in demand so they run out fast.

I found some beautiful ones today at Harris Teeter- 3 stems one white, one pink and one dark pink for $4! They are my daughters favorites so I was so happy to find them.

Re: Why Are Peonies So Costly?

MarnieRez3 — Thu, 09 May 2019 21:41:42 GMT

@Carmie

I have tried to grow them out here but, you are correct, we don't get freezing temperatures where we are and that, combined with the dry climate, is not favorable to peonies.

Re: Why Are Peonies So Costly?

MarnieRez3 — Thu, 09 May 2019 21:42:56 GMT

@FoxxeeThank you for this article! This explains so much! I thank the folks in North Carolina, where most of the peony farms are apparently located.

Re: Why Are Peonies So Costly?

DiAnne — Thu, 09 May 2019 21:49:56 GMT

I live in the PNW and have four pink peony bushes in my backyard. Nothing smells better in the house then a bouquet of peonies out of the garden. I was at Costco today and on a whim picked up two new peonies. Now I have to decide where to plant them. My lilacs are blooming now so tomorrow morning I am picking a big bouquet for the living room.

Re: Why Are Peonies So Costly?

MarnieRez3 — Thu, 09 May 2019 21:56:51 GMT

@x Hedge

WOW!!

Your peonies are spectacular! I thank you for posting these beauties!!! I adore those fluffy petals and the fuschia-colored ones are so saturated. You are so lucky!

Both you and @millieshops mention peony bushes that have been around for years...that means they really are hearty plants, which is what @Carmie and @JustJazzmom said. I WISH our climate was better-suited to growing them.

@JustJazzmomYou mention the pink Hawaiian coral peonies - I believe that is what I saw as a cut flower at Trader Joe's - it was a bright, stunning orangey coral color with lots of yellow stamins in the center. Absolutely beautiful! Each stem was about $15.00, and they sold out in ONE DAY. @ahoymate Talk about supply and demand!

@millieshopsYes, ants love peonies, not sure if it is their scent that attracts them.

What is a SILK PEONY please? I have never heard of them.

Re: Why Are Peonies So Costly?

MarnieRez3 — Thu, 09 May 2019 22:00:12 GMT

@DiAnneA bouquet of lilacs and peonies!?!?! BE STILL MY HEART!!! Those are my absolute two favorite flowers. Very jealous! They will make your whole house smell scrumptious. Enjoy!!!!!

Re: Why Are Peonies So Costly?

MarnieRez3 — Thu, 09 May 2019 22:09:31 GMT

@on the bayI had to google Harris Teeter...I had never heard of it, but it sounds like you are in the Carolinas. According to the article @Foxxee posted, most of the country's peonies come from farms in North and South Carolina!! (That explains why you paid $4 for three stems and I paid $16.99 for ONE stem with three buds. It is the transportation costs, I am pretty certain...)

Frankly, I rarely buy cut flowers except during peony season, when I allow myself to endulge because, just like your daughter, they are my favorite flower. They really are a little miracle on a stem...all those petals!

Re: Why Are Peonies So Costly?

MarnieRez3 — Thu, 09 May 2019 22:25:05 GMT

@millieshopsI think by SILK PEONIES, you mean artificial stems? I see some on Michael's website (the craft store), and they look absolutely real. Hmmmm....that may be the way to go since their availability is so limited and they are so expensive as cut flowers.

I am reminded of Robert Frost's poem, "Nothing Gold Can Stay," when I think of peonies:

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

Re: Why Are Peonies So Costly?

drizzellla — Thu, 09 May 2019 22:32:24 GMT

When my parents moved into their new house in 1951 (I was 6 months old). They planted several peony bushes. So growing up I would admire the beautiful flowers. After they passed I sold their house. The peony bushes were still going strong and they had grown quite a bit. I wished I could take a bush with me but I didn't.

I had ordered what I thought was a peony bush when we bought our house. I got a stalk. So I dutifully planted it and every year it gets bigger with more blooms than the year before. I can't believe how well it turned out.

And we have frost where I live. I am right outside Philadelphia.

Re: Why Are Peonies So Costly?

on the bay — Thu, 09 May 2019 22:37:25 GMT

@MarnieRez3 -

I think this is the first year I have ever had the luck to see them so inexpensive. Every year I've looked for them or gotten them, they have been very high, either online or in the store.

What I haven't been able to find are peony bulbs. Maybe I was looking at the wrong time. I'm inspired by all this talk of peonies to look into that! Or I was hoping to get a peony plant for my daughter.

I see Lowes has them and they are deer, drought and rabbit resistant!

They are so lush and beautiful aren't they!