How to store peonies in fridge

Peonies are one of the most beautiful garden plants. They are too gorgeous to just enjoy for a week or two in May. To extend the bloom time of peonies, you can store them in the refrigerator. We will explain you how to store peonies in the fridge step by step. Feel free to read on.

Why store peonies in the refrigerator?

If you store peonies in the fridge, they will last longer by slowing down their flowering process. The cold mimics early spring conditions, pausing their growth. This lets you keep the peony flowers fresh for weeks. So they can bloom later for a special occasion or just stay beautiful indoors for longer. We will now explain to you step by step how to store peonies in the fridge.

Step 1: Cut the peony buds

First, use garden pruners or scissors to cut your peony stems to the desired length. Cut them off one or two inch longer than you want them to be in the end, as you will cut off some more later in the process. It’s important not to cut the stem off at ground level because the bush needs some leaves to continue to store energy for next season.

Step 2: Remove the leaves

Remove most of the leaves from the stems. This reduces the risk of excessive build-up when you store them. Excess moisture can lead to mushy, diseased peonies. Obviously, we want to avoid this.

Step 3: Wrap the stems in a newspaper

After removing the leaves from the stems, roll the stems in a sheet of newspaper. The newspaper prevents condensation. Cover the entire stem and tape the newspaper ends down.

Step 4: Place it in a refrigerator

It is now time to lay the bag in the fridge. If you are refrigerating a lot of stems, you can stack several flowers on top of each other. Peonies are not that heavy. Ideally, the fridge is set to a temperature close to two degrees Celsius.

Step 5: Bring the peony buds out of storage and enjoy them

Remove your buds from their wrapping. Cut one to two inch off the ends of the stems, as the ends will be dried at this point. Then put the flowers in a vase of room temperature water. It may take a day or two for the blooms to start to open up. The stems need time to warm up from being in the fridge and the buds are once again just starting their opening process. Enjoy your peonies!