Ants on my Peony Plants

I love peony flowers. When I was growing up, I used to cut off the open blooms and put them in a vase or glass next to my bed because I just loved how their beautiful fragrance filled my bed room. Before I brought them inside, I had to be sure to shake the ants off of them.

If you have peony plants in your garden, you are probably familiar with the ants that crawl all over them. The ants are not harming your peony plants. They are a temporary, natural "by-product" of having these lovely garden plants.

Did you know the ants have nothing to do with the health of your plants or whether they bloom or not? Ants are not required to open the flowers. They are attracted to the nectar that is given off by the peony blooms and do not damage the blooms themselves. In fact, once the blooms open, the ants will disappear. Since the ants disappear on their own, spraying the ants with insecticides or other chemicals is not recommended. Doing so will do more harm than good.