Peonies in New York

Peony delivery in New York: the short Northeast local window, a global relay of seasons, and the Flower District

Unlike the warm South, New York has a real, cold winter — and that is exactly what a peony needs. The plants require winter chill to set their buds, so the Northeast genuinely knows how to grow them. In late May and June, peonies arrive on the market from farms in the Hudson Valley, upstate New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania — local, cut the day before and brought to the Flower District with almost no journey. It is the shortest and best-loved window of the flower year.

This category covers single-variety peony bunches, mixed bouquets with roses or ranunculus, and peonies as the centerpiece of wedding and event arrangements. The loveliest, field-grown peony has a short window, so the secret to offering it nearly year-round is knowing the supply calendar across both hemispheres.

Season and where they come from

New York pairs a short local crop with imports — the flower is passed like a relay baton between the northern and southern hemispheres, and the Flower District gathers it all in one place.

• April – June — Dutch imports, and in late May and June the local Northeast peonies: the Hudson Valley, upstate New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Peak quality, the widest choice, the best price.
• July – September — peonies from Alaska. The northern summer means Alaska blooms when almost nowhere else in the hemisphere still can, bridging the gap for late-summer weddings.
• November – January — imports from Chile and New Zealand, where it is late spring south of the equator.
• Varieties — Sarah Bernhardt (soft pink, the classic), Coral Charm (coral fading to peach), Red Charm (deep dark red), Duchesse de Nemours (white).

Why peonies cost more

A peony is volume and softness in a single stem: one open bloom does the work of a whole handful of other flowers. The pastel range — from white and powder to deep coral — slips easily into a wedding palette or a Mother's Day gift. In New York peonies hold a special place partly because their local window lines up with June weddings — the busiest wedding month in the city.

The catch is the short field window and the logistics of importing, which keep peonies in the upper price range for much of the year. In late spring, when the local crop comes in, the choice is widest and the quality peaks — that is the moment to order them by volume for a wedding or a big celebration.

"Peonies are the one flower people book a month ahead for. All winter we wait for them like the first warmth, and when the local crop arrives from the out-of-town farms in late May, the June-wedding rush begins around the Sarah Bernhardt window. When it closes, Alaska carries us through to September. Heat and stuffy air are their enemy, so I bring them in closed and cold."

— James O'Connor, florist, 15 years in the trade, New York

How to open them and make them last

Peonies often arrive as tight, almost spherical buds — and that is exactly what you want. Indoors they open over two to five days. To help, keep them at normal room temperature and gently wipe the sticky sap off the bud with a damp cloth.

Re-cut the stems on arrival, change the water every two days and keep them out of direct sun. In winter the main thing is not to place the vase by a radiator: the dry heat of the heating makes peonies blow open and drop within a day or two. If you need them for a specific date, take them closed and keep them cool — a bud held in the cold can wait another two to three days.

Delivery and occasions in New York

We deliver peonies across New York — Manhattan (the Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Midtown, Chelsea, Tribeca, SoHo, Greenwich Village, the Financial District, Harlem), as well as Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island — with prices in US dollars ($, USD). In late spring they are the natural choice for weddings, receptions and Mother's Day; doorman buildings are the most reliable for delivery. Out of season they arrive as a considered, slightly luxurious gift — a way to mark a birthday or anniversary with something not easy to find that month.

In peak season order three to five days ahead, and if you need a specific variety like Coral Charm or a large volume for an event, a week ahead. Message our team and we'll tell you exactly what's arriving in New York this week.