When the demand for their peonies was at its highest, they were struggling to keep up due to the cold weather. Now that the demand is slowing down a bit, the supply is finally increasing. Marty Star, owner of My Peony Society, discusses the challenge of keeping up with the changing demand, recent weather issues and the rising popularity of peonies.
Marty Star
Cold weather
According to Star, the demand and offer of peonies have not been aligning because of the weather. “We had a really cold springtime, with extremely low temperatures. Because of this the peonies are available later than what would normally be the case. Yet the demand for our peonies has been higher these past months, as a result of everyone staying home because of COVID-19, as well as Mother’s Day.” Now that the overall situation is improving and more and more people are getting vaccinated, restrictions are loosening and stores and venues are opening up again. “As a result, we have noticed that the demand seems to decrease as people are spending more time outdoors in the nice weather. So, when the demand was increasing we were struggling to supply, and now that the weather has severely improved we are getting more flowers while the demand seems to slow down. It is a vicious cycle that is a challenge for us.” To deal with this challenge, Star shares that marketing and promoting their flowers is going to be an important aspect, in order to keep customers excited about flowers.
The return of events
He explains that the quality of the peonies has actually improved because of the long growing period. “As a result, the peonies have become longer, thicker and more strong. So we are currently in a good season for growing peonies.” And he expects that more people will get to enjoy them as events are soon returning. “The UK wedding season is opening up later this month. Similarly, we notice that people in the Netherlands and the US are starting to plan their weddings again as well. This is a big part of our demand that we lost last year, so we are excited for celebratory events to return soon.”
“The peony symbolizes the cycle of life”
The peony remains a popular flower, yet the type of peonies that customers want has definitely changed over the years. Star: “The ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ peony used to be the iconic peony that was by far the most popular type. But recently we are noticing that customers want something different and are looking for more unique varieties. The peony has become a flower delicacy, as people want to try interesting flavours.” Star explains that the peony stands out compared to other flowers and its overall popularity is because of its interesting life cycle. “Flowers symbolise a season and how people feel. The peony is special because it starts out with a closed bud which blooms into a big, colorful flower, after which the color starts to change and the flower starts to age and shed its petals. This perfectly symbolizes the cycle of a person’s life, which I think adds so much to the beauty of the peony. That is also why we find the explosivity of our flowers more important than how long it lasts, we want our flowers to create everlasting memories.”
For more information:
My peony Society
Marty Star
[email protected]
www.mypeonysociety.com
Marty Star, My Peony Society