Peonies and Ants

Peonies requiring ants to bloom is a myth! Peonies and ants have a symbiotic relationship where insect and plant benefit from their interactions.

Table Of Contents

Why Do Peonies Attract Ants?

Ants are attracted to peonies because peony buds produce nectar, a sticky, clear sap.

The nectar is a food source for ants because it provides sugars, lipids, and amino acids.

When you see ants on peony bushes, they’re eating the nectar, not the peony buds or blooms.

Once the ants have eaten the nectar, they will move on to another food source.

Ants are not bad for peonies. They are actually helpful to peonies.

Ants protect peonies from pests, such as thrips and aphids.

The peony provides ants with food and ants provide peonies with protection from pests. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship.

Peonies do not need ants to bloom. Peony blooms will open with or without ants feasting on the nectar peonies produce.

There’s no reason to eliminate ants as they eat the nectar produced by the peony buds.

Remember, they’re helping the plant, not harming it. Please do not use insecticides or other interventions to kill or deter ants.

By the time peonies bloom, most of the ants will have moved on to another food source, but some still linger around.

There are a couple things you can do to remove the stragglers so you don’t bring them into your home.

Fill a large bowl or bucket with cold water and take it outside.
Cut the peony stem from the bush.
Hold the peony by the stem and submerge the bloom into the water and hold it there for 10-15 seconds. The ants will float out of the flower.
Remove the peony from the water and gently shake it to remove the excess water.
Place the flower in another vessel with water. Be sure to keep flowers that have been dunked away from flowers that haven’t.
If you wish, dump out the water and ants by the peony bushes.

To be certain you’ve removed the ants, cut peonies when the buds are at the marshmallow stage.

The marshmallow stage is when the buds are soft when gently squeezed between the thumb and index finger.

Rinse the buds with water before bringing them indoors to be sure all ants have been removed.

Ants are active during the day, so cut peonies in the early morning hours before ants arrive to feast on the nectar.

Use the water removal method to be sure all the ants are off the blooms before bringing them indoors.