We had a bunch of dark pink peonies, which over only about three days have faded through pale pink and yellow to white.
Since the flowers have probably tripled in size since unfurling from the initial tight bud, I can understand the colour intensity reducing, but what chemical is giving the reddish colour but is presumably being destroyed/changed by UV light to turn it white?
Roses, for example, keep their colour for much longer. What’s in peonies to make them so photosensitive (and would they keep their colour longer if kept in a darkened room)?
It’s been a while since I’ve had peonies in vases but I recall that the stems should be cut at an angle rather than straight across, the vase should be kept out of direct sunlight and the water should be changed daily and it helps if the water is cold. Also, if at all possible refrigerating them at night will help them last longer.
I have peonies in my garden and whether they are in the garden or in a vase inside the house, I have never seen their colors fade. I have two colors - light pink and a darker pink. My grandma had a garden of peonies that went around her entire yard. She had every color imaginable. White, crimson, pink, light pink, white with red blotches, etc. They never lost their colors.
My gf has a ritual for cutting peonies, which she did recently. She cuts them at a sharp angle and stands them upright in a 5 gallon bucket of water which she places in our garage in shade.
She leaves them there for awhile, then places them for display in various places/vases.
Peonies need ants to remove the wax on their buds so that the they can open their blooms. My wife always shakes them vigorously before bringing them into the house and put into vases. I do not recall the blooms fading however. hmm
“It is a myth that peonies require ants to bloom. The relationship between peonies and ants is a type of mutualism in which two organisms of different species benefit from the activity of one another. Peony flowers provide food for ants and in turn, the ants protect the blossoms from other floral-feeding insects.”
My limited personal experience with peonies is that colors can change or fade whether or not the blossom is picked for a vase. There are lots of other examples of flowers changing color between opening and shriveling, including Hibiscus mutabilis (flowers opening white and then turning shades of pink and blue-pink) and Brunfelsia grandiflora, a.k.a. “yesterday, today and tomorrow”.
Some useful tips for keeping colours from fading too fast, thanks.
I was more after the scientific explanation for the colour fade. A dying red rose stays red, but a peony fades to white. Is this a particular compound in the petals being oxidised by UV light?
We’re commercial peony growers with about 18 years of growing experience. There are two issues in your question. The first is one of vase life. If you want to extend your vase life beyond a few days you need to chill the peonies after cutting in the bud stage. Chilling them to around 33F stops the senescence (death) of the peony and allows it to last in the vase for up to two weeks. Stopping that helps to stop any color fading as well except for those varieties which are meant to change like Itohs. Secondly, other than Itoh’s and one or two other varieties which are meant to fade we’ve never experienced that. Do you know what the variety was?
Welcome @AkPeonies, I absolutely love those flowers.
I have a related question. I bought tree peonies that were a gorgeous, intense pink the first couple of years and then one of the plants started putting blooms that were a lighter shade of pink, which I assume was the root stock color. Yes, I took my chances at an end of season sale, but is there any way to prevent this happening? I live in Zone 4B
The table where they were displayed gets direct sun for much of the afternoon and that room gets up to around 78 degrees or so. I can see how that contributes to a fast fade.