Even after the beautiful flowering phase, you should treat your peonies to one or two pampering programs. Or at least you shouldn't neglect care. In order for the shrub or perennial to continue to thrive and bloom, a lot has to be done afterwards. How should you care for peonies after they bloom? Pruning is one of the big questions that hobby gardeners ask themselves. Do you prune peonies and if so, how and when? We'll summarize the most important points for you in today's article.
Cutting spent peonies – makes sense or not?
Yes, cuts are sensible and necessary, but they have to be the right cut. What should you consider when caring for your peonies after they have bloomed?
Care for peonies after flowering – The wilted flowers
You should remove any wilted flowers that are still attached to the plant. This does not prevent them from blooming again the next year, but in the long run this means that the shrub will no longer produce flowers at some point and you could have one the following yearnotice smaller amounts. In this way, you also prevent the plant from putting unnecessary energy into producing seeds that you won't need anyway. Instead, she invests it in the roots and the rest of the plants so that they grow strong and healthy and are perfectly prepared for the cold winter.
Withered flowers can also be a cause of infection, as under certain conditions they rot quite quickly, causing fungi to form.
If you cut off the flowers, also remove the flower stem, as it will dry out and look unsightly anyway.
Tipp:If you do plan to propagate your peony with seeds, you don't have to leave all the flowers. You can still prune and simply leave a maximum of one or two flowers on the plant. The seeds that will grow there are completely sufficient.
You can find a few hereTips for lush growth.
When do you cut leaves and stems?
Speaking of winter: You can also help them overwinter with another cutting rule:
Withered flowers do not mean that the plant has completed this year's growth cycle. On the contrary, because now she concentrates on the green parts of the plant and the roots. So it wouldn't be a good idea to cut them back completely.
However, some home gardeners do just that as part of caring for peonies after they bloom, once these parts too are wilted and dry. We would advise against this too, because that is actually exactly what protects the peony from winter. So you're doing her a favor if you wait.
Instead, you can cut off the leaves from the peonies in spring or, alternatively, cut off the plant in autumncut back to no more than 10 cm above the ground, although this may reduce winter protection somewhat.
Otherwise, you can do a few very light maintenance prunes in the summer when you prune the peonies after they bloom. This includes the following:
- dried stems; cut them off just above the next pair of healthy leaves
- If there is not at least one leaf on the remaining shoot, it is better to remove it completely instead of leaving a bare stem
- cut in dry, not too sunny weather to avoid rot or burns
You can find out more about “cutting peonies”.in this article.
Fertilizing peonies – what should you pay attention to?
As already mentioned, the plant continues to grow and for this it continues to need nutrients. The formation of the flowers cost her enormous energy, which she now needs to rebuild as much as possible. That's why it's worth fertilizing shrub peonies and perennial peonies again. Of course, the best option is an organic fertilizer, which ideally also serves as an instant fertilizer so that it works quickly. Hobby gardeners usually use compost here. Alternatively, you can also buy horn meal (not horn shavings, as they decompose more slowly).
So that the fertilizer can work faster, it is advantageous to work it into the soil a little by loosening it slightly. Since the roots of the peony are not very deep, you must proceed with caution. The nutrients that you have now incorporated will also be available to the shrub or perennial at the beginning of the new season next year and will be of great benefit.
A few more tips on what to consider when fertilizing:can be found here.
