Tricks from the pros to make your peonies last longer

Wow, what a smell! BEAUTIFUL!! Today on Indy Style, Pamela Parker, from JP Parker Flowers, says the peony is getting a lot of attention this Bicentennial year due to it being the state flower. Pamela shares a few tips, including what stage of the bloom is best to harvest them, how to cut and save them for 3-4 weeks, and how to keep them free of ants!

Indiana’s State Flower History: How the peony became the state flower:

It became the state flower in the fifties. At that time there were peony in almost everyone’s yard. They always bloom over memorial day weekend. Consequently they were often taken to the cemetery for “Decoration Day.”

Also, Pamela is working with The Indiana State Museum to hand out hundreds of Peony Monday and Tuesday, in honor of the history of the peony.Tips on how to cut them and save them for 3-4 weeks:

– I pick them at a golf ball stage. Do not put them in water. We dry pack them. Then they are wrapped in wet newspaper and put in a cooler or refrigerator for 3-4 weeks. Take them out re-cut the stem and place in water.

To learn more, visit www.jpparkerco.com.