Peonies are frequent guests in gardens and summer cottages. Their lush flowers and delicate aroma are often associated with exams and the last bell at school. A short flowering once a year is perhaps the main drawback of this beautiful flower. Because of this, it also creates difficulties for florists: many brides want to see a peony in their wedding bouquet, and it is almost impossible or very expensive to do this in autumn or winter.
But this situation is not hopeless. Flowers similar to peonies come to the aid of aesthete gardeners and charming brides. You will learn what these plants are called and what they look like later in the article.
Handsome double
Most often, ranunculus is chosen as an alternative to peony. This plant is from the buttercup family, to be more precise, it is the Asian buttercup. Unlike its field cousin you've met on the lawns outside the city, it has lush buds that come in a variety of hues, from delicate pastels to dramatic purplish purples. This flower, similar to a peony and a rose, blooms from June to August, some speciesbloom even until October and early November. Many brides also love the white ranunculus that blooms in early spring.
The bud is smaller than a peony, the lush, thin petals are arranged in a circle and often open green or black stamens, which provide a beautiful contrast with the overall color of the flower.
Many-faced beauties
It would seem that everyone knows what a peony and a rose look like. Nothing in common, right? And here it is not. Among the roses there are flowers similar to peonies. These varieties are:
- Sweet Juliet - a flower with this gentle name has a very lush multi-layered bud, and its smell is simply divine. It blooms throughout the summer and early fall.
- Eden Rose is a variety with large double flowers, light fragrance and very long flowering.
- May rose (Rose de Mai) is a variety of wild rose with a stunning aroma, from which rose oil is made. This flower, similar to a peony, has a very large bud with a mass of petals, most often it is a soft pink color, but red-violet shades are also found.
- Austin rose or English rose - despite the fact that its bud is almost three times smaller than a peony in size, they are often confused. In fact, there are many subspecies of this flower, and their flowering period is very wide. Their smell is bright and rich, because the breeder put the shape and aroma of the plant in the first place. Moreover, a characteristic feature of the "ostinok" is two periods of flowering per year.
Many rosesgrow well in greenhouses, so they are by and large a year-round alternative to peonies. The listed varieties are only a part of the species that have flowers that look like peonies. In fact, there are many more.
Not only on March 8
Traditionally, tulips are associated with Women's Day. But such a flower, similar to a peony, can also decorate a bride's bouquet.
Double tulips come in different shades and pomp. Among them, two groups of flowers are distinguished, depending on the flowering period. The early ones are distinguished by buds up to 8 cm in diameter and pointed petals, while the later ones have a bud up to 12 cm in diameter with rounded petals. The height of the flower is also different - the former grow up to 40 cm, and the latter up to 60 cm.
An unconventional choice
There are even more exotic options. For example, eustoma has a flower that looks like a peony, but the shape of the bud is somewhat different - in the form of a bell, and it is much smaller in size. In a bouquet, she looks gentle and romantic. Several flowers can be located on the stem, which stand in a vase for quite a long time - up to 2 weeks. Fully blooming, eustoma is very similar to small peonies. Its flowering begins in June and continues until early autumn.
Pion terry poppy is specially bred to imitate peony. Unlike its field relative, it has a lot of delicate thin petals.
White terry carnations can also play this role. By themselves theytoo small, but several buds tied together produce a flower that looks like a peony.
Not similar in shape of petals, but some varieties of chrysanthemums are in no way inferior in splendor and volume. They begin to bloom at the end of summer and delight us with their beauty until the first frost. A peony-like flower can be found in Antonov, Shamrock, Regina White, Korean White.
A lush bud can also be found among camellias. There are even special varieties that look like peonies.
Dahlias also have subspecies with lush terry inflorescences, rounded petals and pale pink color.
