Pruning Mistakes That Will Ruin Your Peony

It has come to

the Grump’s

attention that many of you

love, love, love


pink peonies

. You think about them night and day and worry yourselves sick about their health and welfare. You want to know if the care you’re giving them will encourage the production of gargantuan, fragrant flowers again next year with which to torture your jealous neighbors. Keeping

your garden’s

peonies pruned is important to those beautiful blooms, but you don’t want to make the mistake of doing it at the wrong time. Here’s what you need to know about pruning these booms and when to cut back peonies.

Don’t Trim After Blooming

I thought you’d be interested in the following question I received from Ellen in Boaz, Alabama, because it may be something you’ve also been wondering about:

« I have some peonies I transplanted from my mom’s house, » she writes. « They are over 50 years old and beautiful when in bloom. They’re not so pretty after the blooms are gone, though. Can I trim down the foliage now? »

Grumpy’s heart just skipped a beat. No, Ellen, you cannot!

Don’t even think about trimming your peonies now!

If you do, you will get no flowers next year, and that would be a terrible way to thank your mother.

Why Pruning Needs To Wait

You see, what the leaves do all summer is soak in

the sun’s rays

and convert that energy into food reserves for the peony. It takes a lot of reserves to produce the dozens of eye-popping blooms you’ve come to expect. Peony foliage needs to bask in full sun from spring until fall. Cut off that foliage beforehand and a bodacious bloomer becomes a flowerless flop. You’ll be left with fewer blooms next year and plenty of disappointment.

So When Should You Prune?

Peonies actually need little pruning, but it is important for the plant’s good health and to maintain its shape. Cutting away dead foliage also helps control insects and diseases.

In The Spring And Summer

It’s okay to cut diseased or damaged foliage during the growing season—but not much. If foliage is dense, thinning out the foliage will help increase airflow and the amount of sunlight the plant gets. Mostly, though, during the summer, put away those pruners for now. Wait until the leaves yellow in the fall. That’s your sign that the peony’s larder is fully stocked and it’s okay to trim.

In The Fall

Cut back peonies after the season’s first hard frost or after the foliage turns yellow. This timeframe depends on your region, but waiting until the leaves absorb full sun throughout the summer encourages abundant blooms the following season. Pruning can typically occur in October or November.

How To Cut Back Peonies

To prune, after a hard frost in the fall and once the plant has died or yellowed, cut the stems back at or near ground level, being careful not to damage the crown. Be sure to use clean, disinfected shears. Throw out the foliage with the trash to make sure it doesn’t harbor diseases and insects over the winter.

Types Of Peonies

Though

growing peonies

in the South has its challenges, it can most definitely be done. Several types of peonies do better here, although they have different requirements when it comes to foliage pruning and cutting back.

Herbaceous peonies are the familiar varieties whose foliage dies back in winter. They can grow in

Zone 8

, from Texas to Alabama to North Carolina. Woody-trunked tree peonies, which can grow from

Zone 4 to Zone 9

, have dinner plate-sized flowers and stems that don’t die down. Hybrids boast large flowers and handle the heat, with foliage that dies in winter.

While herbaceous peonies should be cut back in the fall after the first fall, tree peonies should be mostly left alone. In the fall and early, spring, you can remove some leaves and dead branches from tree peonies as necessary.