Forecast for peonies in 2012

lexarl

Have any June brides out there been told peonies will be unavailable for their date?  I'm getting married in the middle of June and my florist said she expects peonies to be gone by then.  I always thought May and June were prime season for peonies, so I don't understand the disconnect.  Is it the mild winter that is messing up their growing season?

Would appreciate advice from any florist friends out there!  Unfortunately I'm already committed to using this florist, so I don't have a ton of recourse, but I'm just curious about how good her information is.

thanks!

Sue-n-Kevin

I am not a florist, but have had gardens forever. I'll go out on a limb and say your florist probably buys locally. I could be wrong, but I think that peonies can be purchased from international flower growers who tend to flowers in greenhouses and adjust their temperatures for output more than just during the normal growing times in various climates.

No one can forecast when flowers will grow in any given climate until probably late March or in April. For example: I have lilac bushes and tons of lilly of the valley in my garden. Two of the last three years they have bloomed 2 weeks earlier than at any time in my lifetime. Why? Mild winters and springs. I know this because my birthday and Mother's Day are in May, and I always pick these for bouquets for neighbors.

I suspect florists will have more info. I'd also post your question on the Philadelphia board, and see if any of those brides getting married in June are being told by their florists that peonies will be available in June.

Good luck.

vexie

I got married June 11'th of last year and I didn't know up until the week before the wedding if I could have peonies or not...not because the season was over but because it was such a cool, rainy spring they maybe weren't available yet! Thankfully the week of my wedding was the first shipment of peonies my florist recieved that year  

Maggie0829

Peonies are one of those flowers that you just have to wait and see if they will be available.  Depending on the climate and weather and such the lenght of season for the peonies can vary from year to year.

If your florist buys locally then they too need to wait and see.  If they decide to purchase nationally/internationally you could be paying 3x the amount for the same flower that may not be as big or as fresh as something that is local.

The main question that you need to ask is how badly do you want peonies?

pittpoint1119

O noooo this worries me for my wedding next May. I am in love with peonies and actually based my whole wedding theme if you wanna call it off them and hydrangeas. keep us posted on them and what you find out. I plan on talking with a few florist come May/June and see what they think.

bchinchilla

Ive been obsessed with timing my wedding to peonies.  What I can tell you from what I have read is that they have a 5 week bloom span and are best in their 4th week (though partially opened peonies are quite lovely).  They should be available from international sources for a lot more money....however they also take up a lot more space than other blooms so it might be the same price in the long run.  Good luck!

kmclean29

I was told today that there is a company that can supply peonies year round, but you pay a pretty penny for them...up to 15/stem.  So if you really have your heart set on them you could do a couple in your bouquet and do garden roses for the others.  Peonies do have  short season but in my area they last through June.  It may have a lot to with climate and conditions this year. 

midgemoto

they are ususlly in full throttle all of June but indeed we are having a very warm winter so they may be running early.   Just tell her that they are your first choice and you really want them the best.  If she is good at conditioning flowers and has a good source she should be able to hold budded stems and get them open for you.  

I have held white peony blooms in the cooler dry for over a month... they do really well if picked when they ar marshmallow sized and held in damp newspaper out of water... 

This is going to be bout your designers experience in handling the product. 

so back to a strong first choice and an acceptable second choice.... 

there is a lovley white spray rose called white majolica that opens up fragrant and lacy and would be a nice sub for peonies. so would david austin garden roses....