picking peonies

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Picking Peonies

 

 

 

 

 

To use peonies as cut flowers, cut when the flower is in full color and the bloom is fully open. Scrape or split the stems before placing them in water. The foliage is long-lasting and can be used as a base for arrangements all summer. Cutting more than 1/3 of the flowers produced in a year can reduce flower production the following year. A peony's bloom period is brief, but both the flowers and open buds can be dried and wired for later use in bouquets. After cutting, hang the flowers upside down to air dry or use a desiccant such as silica gel. The drying process will take about 5 days. The heavy heads will need to be wired into place as follows:1. Hold the peony blossom between your fingers and run about 10 inches of thin, flexible wire along the stem, working it through the head just off center. If you push the wire directly into the center, the bloom may fall apart.2. Ease the wire along, pinching it lightly to support it, holding your thumb on top to feel it coming through.3. Bend the bloom end of the wire into a small loop once it is through.4. Gently pull the loop back down into the flower so it sits on the base of the head. 5. A longer wire may be attached to the stem for insertion into arrangement.

 

Diana Gonzalez

 

 

Nothing wastes more energy than worrying - the longer a problem is carried, the heavier it gets. Don't take things too seriously - live a life of serenity, not a life of regrets.

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