FAQ: Relationship between ants and peonies

Q: Is it true that ants play a role in helping peonies bloom? It doesn’t seem true to me, but people always talk about how they’re needed to make the buds open. What do you think?

A: You’re right; it isn’t true. Ants don’t just go around kindly doing good deeds like helping flowers open. In this case, what’s in it for them is tasty nectar in the structure that covers the buds though they do help the buds, too, by keeping pests that might harm the blooms away.