How To Save Peonies For Future Blooming – For Months!

Did you know? Peonies can be cut and stored under refrigeration for blossoming later on – weeks or months later!

It’s true. Cut peony buds at the right time, and you can hold them for up to two months or more.

Jump to:

• Knowing When to Cut is Key
• Do the “squeeze test” to find good peony buds for storing
• How to Prep for Storage
• Refrigerator Storage and Optimal Storage Temperature for Peony Buds
• Tips for storing peony stems in the home refrigerator for the longest life:
• How Long Can You Store Peony Buds in the Refrigerator?
• When Should Peony Stems Be Removed from Refrigeration and Set for Blooming?
• Using Your Stored Stems
• How Long Will Stored Buds Last in a Vase After Blossoming?
• More Tips for Success

Knowing When to Cut is Key

The key to successfully storing peonies to flower in the future is to cut the flowers while they are still in the bud stage and to cut the buds at the right point before they open. There is a bit of a trick to it.

The buds on the plants need to be developed enough to turn into flower blossoms but not developed so far as to be beyond slowing their development and saving.

Flower buds that are opening are too far past the stage where they will hold for very long in the refrigerator.

Slightly opening flowers may hold for a few extra days and maybe up to a week, but they won't hold for any significant length of time.

And so, the buds are what we are going for...but buds that are past their earliest stages, just at the brink of beginning to open.

How do you know that a bud is going to start opening soon? There are a few tell-tale signs that tell you a peony bud is developed enough to open after storing.

Do the “squeeze test” to find good peony buds for storing

The best indicator is to do the “squeeze test” or “squish test.”

When you gently squeeze the formed bud, the bud should be somewhat firm but flexible and feel like you are squeezing a fresh marshmallow. Ideally, the petals will not be spreading or opening yet.

More tips for selecting peony buds to store:

• Buds should be about 1 to 1 ½ inches in diameter, depending on variety
• Buds start showing some color; if you can’t see some indication of flower color (even if they’re white), the bud is too young and too closed, and you should give it more time
• The outer green leaves have started to separate and show tight flower petals in the bud
• Buds are soft like a marshmallow when squeezed
• Lightly squeeze the blossoms from the bottom of the bud to the top
• On doubled blooming varieties, some petals might be loose around the outside
• Do not pick buds too small or too young – they will not be developed enough to open

Expert growers recommend checking the buds several times per day to catch them at the right stage.

All varieties of peonies react a little differently and have their own “sweet spot”, so this may take some experimentation and refinement over time, but if you give it a go you are bound to be successful!

How to Prep for Storage

Some sources, especially older sources, say to wrap the ends of the stems in moist towels or wrap the whole stems in moistened newspaper, but this is not the recommendation of the American Peony Society or of many other leading resources, including the Michigan State University Extension Service.

Instead, they recommend the following:

• Strip all leaves from the stems as they will wick moisture away from the stems and buds
• If you want to try leaving some leaves at the top for vase foliage, you can leave one or two sets, but the leaves may or may not look fresh enough when the stems are “revived”
• Air-tight, leak-free wrapping is important. You will need plastic wrap or zipper-style plastic bags
• Bundle several stems together, then either wrap them snuggly in plastic wrap or put them in a large two-gallon size or larger zipper-style plastic bag
• Squeeze the air out of the bag before sealing
• Grocery bags or small plastic trash bags can work, but you need to do all that you can to seal them up very well; bags should be doubled or tripled, and it’s best to tape the top closed, along with any other holes
• If you plan to take out and use some stems at different times, it’s best to bundle them into different packages so you don’t have to open and release the humidity from stems that you still want to continue storing

Refrigerator Storage and Optimal Storage Temperature for Peony Buds

The ideal temperature for storing peony buds is 32° Fahrenheit (F) (O° Celsius [C]).

Florists can achieve such low, consistent temperatures in their coolers, but your home refrigerator is more likely to be slightly higher, usually in the range of 36° to 40° F (2.2 to 4.4° C). This is perfectly fine.

It all just means that florists, with their specially designed, humid coolers, can hold buds longer than most of us can in home fridges, but we can still store them for many weeks.

That said, the closer your buds can stay near 32° F (0° C), the better. Refrigerators usually have cold spots, so if you can keep your buds there, that will help you achieve lower holding temperatures.

Tips for storing peony stems in the home refrigerator for the longest life:

• Store away from the door, in the back of the fridge, for best results – this will keep temperatures more even
• Store the stems on their side, horizontally
• If you think the stems might get bumped or piled on, protect them from breaking and damage by putting the bags in a rigid plastic storage box first
• If it is large enough and you can spare the space, a crisper drawer is an ideal place to keep your stems and keep them from being damaged or exposed to warming from door opening
• Label the box or bags so they aren’t opened by curious, hungry householders! Moisture and humidity control is essential!
• If you have a refrigerator that is opened less often, that’s a better choice for storage – the flowers will experience fewer fluctuations in temperature that way and will hold better for longer
• For example, maybe you have a second refrigerator for beverages or extra food storage that is not opened as often as the “main” household food fridge? Or perhaps there is an extra mini dorm fridge home from college for the summer? These would be great places for your peonies!

How Long Can You Store Peony Buds in the Refrigerator?

In a home refrigerator, you can plan to keep peony buds stored for 6 to 8 weeks. Florists can store it for even longer. You may be able to extend the time beyond two months, but it will be iffy at that point.

Still, if you’re curious and want to try, there’s no harm in trying if you don’t mind the little bit of risk.

When Should Peony Stems Be Removed from Refrigeration and Set for Blooming?

When you are ready to use your stored peonies, plan ahead so they have time to open.

Most buds will open within 24 hours. Plan to take your stems out and set them in vases a day before you want the flowers for display.

Here are a few additional notes about opening times:

• Tighter buds will take longer to open than softer buds
• The buds in storage will be slowly, gradually opening the whole time they are refrigerated, which is why it doesn’t take long for them to open after being warmed
• It can take up to two days for buds to open
• Some peony varieties shatter quickly after storage, so try not to take them out too far ahead of time
• If the flowers are for a special event, you may want to take a few out ahead of time and experiment to figure out how long they need to open and how long they will last
• Some varieties of peony do not do as well as others with this storage method, so again, some trial and error are smart

Using Your Stored Stems

When you want to use your peonies, remove as many stems as you want to display from the package.

If you are not using all of your buds, reseal the bag or rewrap the remaining stems and put them back in the refrigerator immediately. Don't let them warm up.

• Fill a vase with water at about room temperature
• Cut the stem back one to two inches to remove dried ends and open the pores so the stem can take up water
• Add floral preserver if desired
• Cut back until you see a green, moist, live stem
• Arrange and place the stems in the vase
• Set them out, and they should open within a day, possibly two

How Long Will Stored Buds Last in a Vase After Blossoming?

In general, you can expect your peonies to last a little less than fresh, un-stored flowers will, but you should get several days and as much as 5 to 10 days from well-stored peonies.

Usually, the longer the buds are stored, the shorter their vase life will be; keep this in mind while you’re experimenting.

A flower preserver in the water can help the flowers to last longer in the vase.

More Tips for Success

• Cut and store more buds than you think you need to accommodate for some losses – perhaps as much as twice as many
• Some people choose to wrap the stems in tissue paper or newspaper before putting them in the bag for better protection against damage
• Note which varieties have the best results so you’ll know for next year
• Note how long you were able to successfully store and present flowers
• Note any other factors worth knowing – like which bud stage performed the best, or if some lasted longer or fell apart relative to variety or bud development
• Take buds at different stages through the season to extend your supply (early, mid, and late buds)
• Early buds tend to have thicker stems, so they may perform the best – this is something worth trialing and noting, too
• If you take buds at different times in the growing season, use the oldest stems first
• Enjoy your lovely, stored peonies! Remember to stop and smell them – they are a fragrance not to be missed, too!