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Roses vs Peonies: the two queens, honestly compared

Flower duel

V Written by Editorial TeamEdited by Vladimir

Roses take 4 of the 6 verdicts below to 2, and every line of it can be recomputed from the open table. The full picture, including when the honest answer is a third flower, is below.

The two most requested flowers in America, and they almost never compete for the same job.

Roses, photographed at the same scale as Peonies
Roses
Peonies, photographed at the same scale as Roses
Peonies
vs

Shot to one scale: bloom beside bloom, from our own library.

Where each one wins

The verdicts, line by line

Every line below is a field of the open table, not an opinion.

The vaseRosesRoses guarantee 5 days in plain water and can reach 10; peonies start dropping at 3.
The budgetRosesRoses wholesale around $0.32 to $2.50 a stem against $3 to $8, on typical trade prices rather than a quote: the same look for less.
Deer pressurePeoniesRutgers rates peonies A (left alone); roses are rated C.
The cat questionRosesASPCA lists roses non-toxic to cats; peonies are on the toxic list.
The upkeepPeoniesextension guides rate peonies medium maintenance; roses sit at high.
The seasonRosesRoses bloom 6 months a year; peonies give 2.
Anthurium
Neither, if the bouquet must survive the week. Neither guarantees a week in plain water. Anthurium holds 14 days minimum and wins the vase ranking at 100/100.

In the vase

In plain water the gap is not taste, it is arithmetic: roses hold 5 to 10 days while peonies manage 3 to 7. Money settles the rest of the argument: roses wholesale around $0.32 to $2.50 a stem against $3 to $8, roughly double for the same job. Those are typical trade prices, not a quote: what a florist charges you moves with the season and the region.

In the garden

Both come back, but not everywhere: roses shrug off zone 2 winters while peonies tap out below zone 3. On upkeep the table sides with peonies: rated medium maintenance against high. And if deer walk through, the choice makes itself: Rutgers rates peonies A while roses get eaten.

Side by side

The full card

A line is marked only where one flower clearly leads. Equal or too-close values are left plain.

FieldRosesPeonies
Vase life, days5 to 103 to 7
Wholesale, per stem$0.32 to $2.50$3 to $8
FragranceFragrant as a genus tag; intensity varies hugely by cultivar and classFragrant by cultivar
LightFull sunFull sun to part shade
WaterMediumMedium
Hardiness zones2 to 113 to 8
Bloom months6 months2 months
Deer (Rutgers)Occasionally severely damaged (Rutgers C)Rarely damaged (Rutgers A)
Cats (ASPCA)Listed non-toxicToxic
Out of waterFairnot recorded
How we rank

We keep one table of 85 flowers, with 25 documented facts each, drawn from university and extension sources. Every ranking is a published formula worth 100 points; tap any score and it unfolds into the lines that made it. A flower that does not fit a job is not scored lower: it is excluded, and the reason is named. Nothing here is sponsored, and no score can be bought. When the table changes, every score and stamp updates itself. The full method ↗

Read the full profile

Everything the table holds on each of them, in plain prose.

Roses in full ↗ Peonies in full ↗ All duels and nominations The table behind this page