How to prune peony

Pruning time

Peony is a herbaceous plant with rapidly growing branches. It is usually necessary to carry out proper pruning about half a month after germination in spring every year. This break is necessary. If no pruning is done, the peony will not bloom or the flowers will be very small.

Prune once during the bud stage. From mid-March to early May, picking off the flower buds and some of the remaining flowers of flowering peonies can reduce nutrient consumption. It can not only ensure that the remaining flowers are bright and lush, but also accumulate nutrients for the plants.

In late autumn, the third pruning should be carried out to cut off weak branches, diseased branches, dead branches and broken leaves. The garden should be cleared in time and burned in a centralized manner to reduce the occurrence of diseases and insect pests.

Pruning methods

When pruning peonies, first remove all weak branches and leave only strong branches. If you remove the leaves and keep them, you can ensure that the peony plants that grow will have beautiful shapes. Leave only one relatively strong flower bud on each branch, or two larger flower buds. Another point is that generally only 5 to 7 leaves should be kept on the branches, and all the extra leaves should be removed.

Perennial peonies are pruned every year so their flowers are the most beautiful. Therefore, some old branches should be pruned back before they sprout. In professional terms, this means allowing the old branches to "shrink" and rejuvenate, which can make the plant shape neat and promote the sprouting of new buds. After germination, thin out the dense branches to ensure good ventilation and light transmission. Don’t be reluctant to let go. You should know that if you are reluctant to let go of a branch now, you may not be able to see more than a dozen flowers!