I am always amazed when nurserymen or plant people
tell those of us who are not so knowledgeable that
its okay for ants to be on a peony they help it open.
In fact they are attracted to the sap on the buds
and do not help or detract the opening of bloom at all.
People are generally nervous by the sight of an
abundance of ants but they do no harm.
This time of year I am currently collecting seeds and
although I do not know the secondary half of the
coupling I do know one of the parents and list the seeds
accordingly. Since my collection currently sits at 102
peonies I could have any number of crosses so to watch
the siblings for future blooms will be very interesting.
I send many of my seedlings to the Canadian Peony Society
for there seed distribution. All in the pursuit of teaching
others that peonies are not that hard to raise but they do
take time and patience. From seed to bloom is at least
7 years.