The “king of all flowers,” peonies, are currently giving Missouri a breathtaking display of blossom color. However, ants also appear as the peony plants begin to bloom. Ants on buds and blossoms can be a pain, but they don’t hurt anything (Figure 1). Ants leave peony flowers after bloom is through and go on to seek out another food source.
It is untrue that ants are necessary for peonies to bloom. Peonies and ants have a mutualistic relationship in which both of their activities are beneficial to the other species of organisms. Ants eat the nectar from peony blooms, and in return, the ants defend the flowers from other insects that consume flowers.
It is possible to find extrafloral nectaries outside of peony flower buds. These plant organs exude nectar, which serves as an ant food supply since it contains sugars (sucrose, glucose, and fructose), amino acids, lipids, and other organic substances. A scout ant leaves a pheromone or odor trail on her journey back to her colony after finding nectar on a peony. The scout informs other ants at the nest of the food supply. The recruited ants then return to the nectar-filled peony blossoms by following the olfactory trail.
The ants guard their food supply from other insects that come to dine on the flower buds while they are consuming the nectar. The odor trail is reinforced when each ant consumes peony nectar, continuing until all of the food has been consumed. This kind of insect behavior is an effective way for them to make use of a transient food source.
An insecticide need not be used because the presence of ants on the floral tissues of peonies is only transient. Holding the peonies upside down by the stem immediately below the flower, shake the ants off outside or gently rinse them off before arranging them when cutting peonies at full bloom for indoor use. Cut plant stems while flower buds are in the “marshmallow stage” to assure ant eradication, and wash any ants off with water before bringing them inside (Figure 2). Flower buds are currently closed but displaying some color. Squeezing flower buds between the forefinger and thumb will also feel velvety. When marshmallow-stage buds are taken indoors, full bloom usually happens within 8 to 48 hours of putting the stems in water. Cut stems containing flower buds can also be refrigerated for subsequent bloom production.
Thrips, a common insect that feeds on peony blooms, are not like ants. These tiny (1 to 2 mm long), thin insects use their mouthparts to penetrate flower petals and draw liquids from the plant tissues, resulting in flowers that are discolored or have blemishes. Heavy infestations that obliterate peony flowers are quite uncommon. See the most recent IPM article, “Plant Peonies in September,” for more details on cultivating peonies.
How can I prevent insects from consuming my peonies?
In the spring, when peonies are in full flower, adult hoplia beetles bite holes in the blossoms. These bugs target light-colored flowers and stay away from darker ones. Affected flowers have a ragged appearance due to their small, round holes. These quarter-inch long insects have bright green bodies and brown heads. Hoplia beetles can be manually removed off flowers and drowned in a dish detergent and water solution to reduce small populations. Malathion or carbaryl applications used repeatedly will eliminate these pests, while additional beetles might develop after each application.
Do ants aid with peony opening?
Do ants actually aid in the blooming of peonies? Ants “tickle the buds to assist the flowers open,” according to myth about gardens. There is a beneficial relationship between peonies and ants, but it’s not what you may imagine. The tale of peony and ants is presented here, along with advice on how to bring peonies indoors without attracting ants.
We celebrate the breathtakingly gorgeous peony blossoms in the late spring. But those of us who have peonies in our gardens might also note the ants’ appearance, particularly in or near the base of the flower or on unopened buds.
Are Ants Harmful to Peonies?
Let’s answer this initial query first. No. Without a doubt. Avoid sweeping those ants under the rug or, even worse, using insecticide!
Ants are not only NOT dangerous, but they are also a prime illustration of biological mutualism. The ants guard the peony from aphids, thrips, and other harmful insect pests while the peonies supply nectar (food) for the ants.
Do Peonies Need Ants to Bloom?
The persistent misconception is that ants are necessary for peonies’ buds to open. You may have heard that for peonies to blossom, ants must “tickle the buds” or “lick the sugar.”
As with most mythology, this claim may have once had a glimmer of reality, but we haven’t yet seen proof of it. (We also appreciate that this legend keeps ants and peonies alive while letting nature run its course.)
Why Ants Are Attracted to Peonies
Simply put, the sugary drops (nectar) that are present at the base of the green sepals that encircle a peony bud are what attract ants. Due to the presence of amino acids, lipids, and other organic substances in addition to sugars, this is an excellent food source for ants.
The peonies ARE NOT being eaten by the ants. A scout ant leaves a pheromone or odor trail on her journey back to her colony after finding nectar on a peony. The scout informs other ants at the nest of the food supply. The recruited ants then return to the nectar-filled peony blossoms by following the olfactory trail.
In return, the ants offer some defense for the plant! The ants attack other bud-eating pests while they are consuming the nectar by stinging, biting, or acid-spraying them before tossing them off the plant in order to preserve their food source.
The ants are also transient. The ants will leave the peony flower once it has bloomed and move on to look for other food sources.
Again, even if there are ants present (for example, if you live on a rooftop), the peony blossoms would still open.
How to Get Rid of Ants on Peonies Before Bringing Indoors
While we appreciate our garden’s pink, crimson, and traditional white peonies, we also like bringing their beauty and smell inside. But how can we prevent bringing ants inside as well?
There are several approaches:
- When the dew is still thick and most of the ants are not yet present, cut the peony early in the morning. Turn the peonies upside down while holding them by the stem just below the flower (to prevent their heads from breaking off). Give the stems directly above the flowers a few solid taps. This aids in removing insects and spiders. Apply the correct amount of force for the stem.
- Watch the ants emerge after dipping each peony bloom in a large dish of chilly water outside. They won’t be able to crawl out if the dish is overfilled. To avoid picking up more ants, gently shake/tap the water off the flower and place the stem in a prepared vase. The water in the dish can then be returned to nature, along with the ants.
Cutting the peony flowers before the buds fully open is yet another technique used by expert growers. To get the peony’s buds to open indoors, you must clip it while they are at the “marshmallow stage” (see photo above).
Do ants harm peony bud growth?
Small holes with a ring of finely excavated earth, each bordered by a brick-built border, started to form at the base of my raised beds at the end of March in the balding section of lawn. These are entrances to an underground network of tunnels and chambers containing a queen and her colony of 4,000–7,000 workers, which were excavated by black garden ants (Lasius niger).
The workers seek widely for food while the queen stays underneath, following smell trails left by scouts. They have found my herbaceous peonies to be seductive for the past two weeks, ascending the two-foot stems to gorge themselves on the sweet nectar released by the tightly bound flower buds. Viscous globules along the border of the sepals and ooze from the nectaries at the base of the bud.
This is still a mutualistic relationship, despite the fact that the theory that the buds would be trapped closed and unable to flower without the help of ants has been discredited. The ants protect the peony plant against hazardous, sap-sucking, petal-chewing insects without harming the flowering peonies.
I observe three ants consuming the same fat bud, each of which has a distinct foraging strategy. One circles the globe in a spiral motion from bottom to top, another moves along it in a straight line, and the third moves in a radial, bicycle-spoke pattern back and forth.
Today, though, is quiet enough for one of the glossy black-brown insects to pause and clean its antennae, using its front legs to comb them from root to tip. At times, there are so many of these insects waiting to reach a bud that a line forms beneath the calyx. Ants utilize the delicate hairs on their antennae to communicate, smell food, and follow pheromone trails, therefore grooming is essential.
The ant and peony friendship is only fleeting.
The ants will leave the plants as soon as the blooms open in search of fresh food sources. Even though the first petals have only just started to open, some of the workers have already changed from being hunters to farmers. They have moved into my broad bean patch and are taking care of herds of black fly (Aphis fabae), which they are milking for their honeydew.
Do ants harm peonies?
Peonies may become lanky and need staking to support their blooms if planted in partial shade.
The peony is a favorite flower among gardeners in the South. These sought-after beauties may even be cultivated in backyards, and the vivid, billowy flowers steal the show in cut bouquets. In spring, peonies that are in bloom are welcomed into garden beds, but the swarms of ants that swarm to the flowers are not. Wait a moment before using the pesticide; it’s not a bad idea. Peonies are not harmed by ants; in fact, the creatures aid in their defense. According to the University of Missouri, it is a fallacy that ants help peonies blossom, but the two actually have a positive association.
A sweet, sugary nectar that is secreted by peony blossoms draws ants. An army of ants immediately locates the food source after one ant emits a pheromone to the colony when she discovers a nectar-rich bloom. How is this beneficial to peonies? The ants chase off other insects trying to eat on the peonies in order to defend their prized food source. There is no need to apply insecticide to get rid of the ants because once the nectar is gone, they will depart the flower in search of other sources of sustenance.
Snip just-opening peonies for cut flower bouquets (they will have a longer lifespan in a vase). Make sure no ants are bringing the blossoms inside with them. To get rid of any ants, submerge the chopped peony heads in a bucket of water. Plant peonies inside in the fall for spring blooms. Due to their need for colder winters and the fact that they frequently take two to three years to produce their distinctive show-stopping blooms, these flowers can be challenging to grow in Southern backyards. But good news for you: It is simple to find peonies at nearby grocery stores and flower shops for usage in bouquets and cut arrangements.
How can I prolong the blooming of my peonies?
If you know when to cut them and how to store them, you may store peonies for several weeks or even months.
One of the most popular springtime flowers is the peony. They bloom in the Midwest from late May until mid-June. In her book, “The Flower Farmer, An Organic Grower’s Guide to Raising and Selling Cut Flowers,” Lynn Byczynski refers to peony as the “darlings of the spring flower world.”
I was recently discussing peonies with a friend when she said how her grandmother always had a fresh bouquet of peonies on her Thanksgiving table. Years had passed before our beloved South American spring flowers made their fall market debut. Flowers are now commonly seen “Those of us who love peonies long to have them as cut flowers longer than the few weeks they are blooming in season. How could my friend’s grandmother have a peony bouquet at Thanksgiving? Even today, if it were possible to get peonies in November, the price would be so exorbitant the bouquet would be more expensive than the rest of the dinner combined.
The good news is that depending on the variety, cut peonies may be kept in storage for a few weeks or even months. The key to keeping peonies in storage and having them bloom much later is understanding when to cut them and how to properly store them.
The timing of cutting the peonies needs to be exact if you want to achieve a vase life of five to ten days, according to Wilma Jackson from the Sunny Dale Spring Peony Farm in Valley Center, Kansas.
After cutting the peonies, you should store them dry; Michigan State University Extension advises stripping the leaves off the stem to lessen water loss. The next step is to wrap the peonies completely, stem to bud, in clear plastic wrap; sealing both ends of the wrap helps to ensure minimal moisture loss from the flowers themselves.
When removing them from their cold storage, cut the stem and place in tepid water in a cool area. Once the peony is hydrated, it should bloom for about a week. Store them horizontally for up to three months. (Or, according to my friend, until Thanksgiving. Her grandmother stored hers in dampish newspapers.)
If you’re considering receiving a bouquet of peonies for Thanksgiving, read Byczynski’s book, “Numerous peony varieties are listed along with their vase life in The Flower Farmer, An Organic Grower’s Guide to Raising and Selling Cut Flowers. Try extending the amount of time you may enjoy fresh peonies, perhaps for months, even if you have no idea what kinds of peonies are flourishing in your garden.