Peonies in San Francisco

Peony delivery in San Francisco: a West Coast relay of seasons, a global supply calendar, and the SF Flower Mart

A peony needs a real winter chill to set its buds — and San Francisco's mild, foggy coast doesn't provide it. So the city doesn't grow its own; instead it leans on a relay of cooler growing regions up and down the West Coast and around the world. In spring the buds arrive from Northern California's foothills and the Pacific Northwest — Oregon and Washington — cut a day or two before and brought to the San Francisco Flower Mart with a short journey. It is the most 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

San Francisco strings together a series of growing regions — the flower is passed like a relay baton between north and south — and the Flower Mart gathers it all in one place.

• April – June — Dutch imports, and the West Coast crop: Northern California, Oregon and Washington. Peak quality, the widest choice, the best price.
• July – September — peonies from Alaska. The far-northern summer means Alaska blooms when almost nowhere else in the hemisphere still can — and the West Coast is its natural market, 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 San Francisco peonies hold a special place partly because their window lines up with the early-summer wedding season and with June, when Pride fills the city with celebration.

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 West Coast 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. We wait for them all year, and when the West Coast crop lands in late spring the early-summer wedding rush begins around the Sarah Bernhardt window. When it closes, Alaska carries us right through to September. Our cool, foggy air actually suits them — heat is their enemy, so I bring them in closed and cold and let the city's climate do the rest."

— James O'Connor, florist, 15 years in the trade, San Francisco

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. San Francisco's mild rooms are kind to them, but keep the vase away from a heat vent or a sunny window, which 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 San Francisco

We deliver peonies across San Francisco — Pacific Heights, the Marina, Nob Hill, Russian Hill, SoMa, the Mission, Hayes Valley, the Castro, the Haight, the Sunset, the Richmond and the Financial District — as well as the wider Bay Area on request, with prices in US dollars ($, USD). In late spring and early summer they are the natural choice for weddings, receptions and Mother's Day; for walk-up buildings, please include the unit and buzzer. 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 San Francisco this week.