Peonies

Peonies are spectacularly beautiful, long-lasting plants with large flowers that give off a pleasant aroma. Peonies look great in a flower bed or in a vase. They are easy to care for, but require a sunny location to grow. The most commonly cultivated peonies in Lithuania are the great peony, the medicinal peony, the bush peony, the European peony and their varieties.

Peony properties

Shapes include: hollow, flipper, float, semi-full and full. Propagated by shoots, by division of bushes. Peonies can grow unplanted for up to 100 years.

There are 33 known species of peonies. The most common varieties are the great peony (Paeonia lactiflora), the narrow-leaved peony (Paeonia tenuifolia) and the bush peony (Paeonia suffruticosa). The petals of the medicinal peony (Paeonia officinalis) and the tubers of the Siberian peony (Paeonia anomala) are used for medicinal purposes.

How do peonies bloom?

Peonies start flowering in May. The duration of flowering varies from one variety to another, but on average peony flowers remain significantly intact for 10-18 days. They can bloom for longer in the absence of extreme heat. In mid-summer, peonies may start to droop due to the weight of their flowers.

Picking peony flowers

When peony flowers are harvested together with the long petioles, a considerable number of leaves are removed from the pile. It is not recommended to remove more than a third of the leaves as the bush may die. If shorter stems are harvested, this is not dangerous for the shrub. Hollow and semi-hollow flowers are picked when the flower has finally acquired the colour characteristic of the variety. The full blossoms are picked when they are half open. If the flower is picked too early, it may not fully open.

How to care for a peony bouquet?

It is best to soak the bouquet in water as soon as possible. To keep the flowers in the vase as long as possible, the vase should be kept cool to start with. Blossoms picked early in the morning last best. A bouquet of peonies can be enjoyed for up to a month. In this case, peonies should be picked at the bud stage and kept in the fridge at 3-5 degrees Celsius.

Medicinal properties of peonies

Although peonies are nowadays mostly grown for their beauty, they also have medicinal properties. Peony preparations have a calming effect, improve sleep and appetite, and help with headaches. A spirit tincture, prescribed by doctors if necessary, can help people with nervous disorders. It is also useful in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Chinese medicine particularly values white-flowered peony and uses it to treat menstrual pain, muscle and abdominal pain, high blood pressure. The medicinal peony has a similar effect and its leaves can be used to make tea.

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