Pruning Peonies Before Summer
Let me share some knowledge about pruning peonies after they bloom. Please refer to the detailed introduction below.
In古装 dramas, peonies are often seen in imperial gardens, giving people the impression that only such gardens are worthy of them. This makes many feel intimated by peonies, unsure of how to plant, care for, or prune them. Today, I'll briefly introduce the pruning methods for peonies.
Peony pruning is usually done in stages for a more meticulous approach. If not, you can simply wait until after the flowers bloom, cut off the spent flowers, and prune again in winter. Although caring for flowers isn't that complicated, we'll still take a meticulous approach today.
Pruning Peonies After Blooming
After peonies finish blooming, you should promptly cut off the spent flowers and avoid leaving seeds. Seed propagation is complicated and time-consuming, so it's not recommended for individuals to propagate peonies from seeds. Therefore, after the flowers bloom, promptly prune the spent flowers.
The method is very simple: just cut off the spent flowers along with the flower stems, without removing the leaves. Key point: do not cut the leaves.
Pruning Peonies Before Summer
After removing the spent flowers, maintain normal care, and by the time before summer, around May to June, prune the peonies again. This time, it's about damaging the leaf buds of the peonies.
Use a sharp knife or a pin to break off or damage the leaf buds at the top of the new branches of the peonies.
These buds will be useless in the future. We'll discuss this further when we talk about peony pruning in winter. The new branch's leaf buds won't be able to sprout and grow, so removing them early helps concentrate nutrients on the flower buds below.
Earlier, I mentioned that there is a less meticulous pruning method, which involves skipping the process of damaging the leaf buds in May and June. If not damaged, these buds will gradually wither in autumn and winter, wasting some of the plant's nutrients.
Winter Pruning of Peonies
A significant pruning of peonies is done after the leaves fall in autumn and winter. Pruning too early can cause the peonies to bloom prematurely in spring.
Pruning Principle
Winter pruning should follow the principle of "one inch of growth, eight inches of retreat." Generally, only the 3rd to 4th axillary buds of peonies will differentiate, and the buds above the 4th will gradually wither. These withered buds are actually the leaf buds that should have been damaged in May and June.
Pruning Steps
First, prune away dead and diseased branches, and also剪掉 overly weak branches.
When pruning branches, follow the "one inch of growth, eight inches of retreat" principle. For larger plants, follow the "three in a row, one out" rule, meaning when three branches are together, the middle one should be pruned to allow more growing space ( prioritize strong branches).
Prune dense and small branches according to the principle of keeping the strong and removing the weak, retain outward-facing diagonal branches, keep the curved and remove the straight to adjust the overall shape of the peony.
When retaining bud points, keep the outward-facing ones and avoid the inward-facing ones, giving new branches more growing space and a more beautiful plant shape.
Peonies are cold-resistant but not heat-resistant. Many peony enthusiasts have noticed that peonies tend to have problems in summer, and some may even die. Tomorrow, let's talk about how to help peonies survive the summer safely. Stay tuned for tomorrow's update.
The detailed introduction above about pruning peonies after blooming, pruning before summer, and winter pruning is hoped to bring some floral knowledge to flower enthusiasts.