A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 Ants on peonies?

Every time I look at my peonies, I see ants hanging out near the flower bud. Is there something going on there that I should know about? Are they damaging the plant? Should I try to get rid of them, and, if so, how? Thanks for the help!

Look for something smaller.. aphids. If you see a bunch of ants on your plants, then chances are, they are there to collect the honeydew the aphids create. Icky critters.. suck the life out of your plants.

Meg

Hey Rosy,

Where there are peonies there are ants, I even planted zinnia's right next door to them and used the nicotine tea. Ants aren't moving. they even built a nest/house/colony alittle farther down in the weed patch.

Ants won't hurt your peonies...

Peonies and Ants

Wow, that's cool to know Cindy. I wouldn't have thought about the flower having something sweet & attractive to the ants. But that makes sense! Thanks for the link! Now, I learned something new today.

Meg

Cool-Thank you very much Cindy-that's a relief-now I'll smile when I see the ants instead of grumble

Peonies and ants go together. I've heard they eat the "green" over the bud, and therefore are helpful. I remember as a child (AGES ago) when I'd stand at the hedge row of peonies my grandmother had and try to get all the ants off the buds. Those peonies made the most beautiful display........enjoy!

I was told that the ants were necessary for pollination.

The flowers will not open if not for the ants. I've planted them in order to draw them away from certain areas and towards the plants instead. Seems to work well thus far.