Peonies in Dubai

Peonies in Dubai: Dutch-grown stems flown in and how to choose them

Peonies in Dubai travel the same way almost every cut flower sold in the Emirates does: by air. One of the suppliers on that route is the Netherlands, the world's largest grower of cut peonies, which sold more than 78 million stems in 2018. Peonies sold here are imported, so the real choice is what sits beside them and the shape that suits the person they're for.

From Dutch fields by air: when peonies reach Dubai

The Netherlands is one of four countries flying cut flowers into the UAE, alongside Kenya, Ecuador and Colombia, and Dubai is a regional transfer point. Dutch growers cut their peony fields from late April through June, and that short stretch is when the biggest wave of stems lands.

Outside those weeks the flower keeps arriving, just from further away: Chile ships its own peony harvest from October to December, and Israel, Italy and France cover the gap between them from February to April. A peony is on sale across most of the year, though never in quite the volume of the Dutch season.

When the variety a customer asks for isn't in stock that week, the florist substitutes one close in colour and price, and the change shows up in the photo sent before the courier leaves. Local occasions worth sending peonies for, from weddings to Eid visits, are covered on flowers across Dubai.

A peony bouquet beside Kenyan and Ecuadorian roses

Bouquets with peonies form the largest group in this part of the shop, and a peony inside one of them is often arranged next to a rose rather than left on its own. The rose stems sold here come mainly from Kenya, with the largest heads flown up from Ecuador, so one hand-tied bouquet can carry cuttings grown on two different continents.

The Duo of Peony Roses and Peonies pairs an actual peony with a peony-style rose, bred to open into the same dense, many-petalled cup. Most of those varieties were bred by the English grower David Austin, and the same look is on sale among peony-style roses in their own right. The Peony and Matiola Bouquet is named for its two flowers, which is really all there is to say about what's in it before it's made. Every bouquet is put together once an order is paid for, with the stems bought in specifically for it.

Peonies for a wedding, a newborn's family or a business thank-you

Peonies in Dubai suit a short list of occasions particularly well: a wedding, an Eid visit, the arrival of a new baby in the family, or flowers sent as a business thank-you. None of these fixes the format, so it's worth choosing the shape by the address as much as by the occasion.

A basket or a box stands on its own without a vase, which suits flowers carried straight into someone's home on a family visit. A hand-tied bouquet needs a vase waiting at the other end, which makes a box the steadier option when the peonies are heading to a desk rather than a house.

How many stems go into an arrangement matters far more to some recipients than others. An odd number matters to Russian-speaking recipients, following a custom carried over from the former Soviet Union. For most people in the city, where close to nine in ten residents are expatriates, the count makes no difference at all. Sending peonies to a hotel guest or ordering them in from outside the city works the same way here as it does for any other flower.

Peony delivery in Dubai costs nothing within the central zone and a fixed fee elsewhere, shown before checkout, and every bouquet is photographed before the courier sets off, on the delivery page. Through the hottest months a peony fares better away from direct sun, one of several local details covered on flowers across Dubai.

Deciding where to start comes down to the address and the occasion more than the flower itself. A box of peonies suits an office desk or a hotel reception. A peony basket works for a home visit where no one needs to find a vase. Peonies by stem count is the fastest way in when the number of stems is what matters most.