Peonies, one of mother natures most beautiful flowers. Big, fluffy and sweet they are the ‘in’ flower for weddings in 2014.  Peonies come in range of pastel and white colors. Unfortunately, peonies have one big drawback for brides on a budget. Price.  Peonies are very expensive.

Why are peonies so expensive?

It takes a peony 2 years to grow from seed to bloom

More importantly, peonies have a very short growing season. The main peony growing season in the continental U.S. is in the spring-April through June. Now growers in Alaska are starting to grow peonies during the summer months , but the supply is limited. Also, in the winter peonies are available in small quantities from Chile during the winter months.

Peony Varieties

There are about 25 to 30 major varieties that florist use as cut flowers. The hottest variety for weddings in 2014 is undoubtedly ‘Coral Charm’.  With one of the big color trends in weddings this year is coral, ‘Coral Charm’ fits the bill perfectly with it heady ruffled bloom that give weddings that garden look.  One thing to keep in mind with ‘Coral Charm’  is the color changes from day to day as it opens, going from a pinkish shade to coral as it fully opens. Below is a brides bouquet we did for a wedding last month that was filled with ‘Coral Charm’ peonies

Another wonderful peony is ‘Red Charm’ with its deep scarlet palate that is wonderful in the fall. We feature this peony in a beautiful wedding package called ‘Rumba Red’.

Of course we can’t forget the most popular peony in weddings over the past several years, the gorgeous pink ‘Sara Bernhardt’. This huge blossom will work in with lots of shades of pink and it holds up very well.

 

They are out of my budget

OK, you’ve just seen the most beautiful wedding bouquet on Pinterest or in a bridal magazine that has peonies in it. It’s to die for. You go to your florist and they quote you a price that is also to die for. Way more than you can afford. What’s a bride to do?

Well, at Knight’s we specialize in  finding substitutions for peonies that are less expensive. The best substitution are with garden roses. Many garden roses open up as big as a peony and have those ruffled petals and wonderful smell. In fact some garden roses look so similar to peonies most people would be hard pressed to noticed the difference. Check out a previous post on garden roses.

So if your dying to have peonies, but they are out of season or just too darn expensive for your budget we here at Knight’s can help. Don’t hesitate to call or come by our shop. We can make your wedding memorable with or without peonies to fit any budget.

Our Mission

We help budget minded couples planning a wedding make their dreams a reality with bloomin’ gorgeous wedding flowers without the stress and confusion of what to order.