Hello,

The peonies I grow in my garden don’t have any support. I only grow peony varieties that don’t need support. So I cannot add much to the discussion. Several of the lactifloras need support, Sarah Bernhardt amongst them and it is a widely grown one. But you could easily choose a variety with stronger stems (The Fawn for example). Same thing for the old officinalis double cultivars like ‘Rubra Plena’, you could go for Red Charm or any other more recent introduction.

Therefore I don’t think there’s much of a marketing opportunity with stronger support rings or something like that. The market opportunity lies more with offering stronger stemmed varieties. I guess you’d be happier with a strong stemmed somewhat more expensive peony not needing any support compared to the hassle of having to put the support ring around some cheap and pretty but floppy one. But of course if sturdiness isn’t mentioned explicitly people may opt for the older cheaper varieties that will bend down after some heavy rain…

koen