How to Care for Peonies After Blooming

Pink Peony Blossom

Peonies are really very easy to grow and care for and their flowers are amazing. The lush foliage of herbaceous peonies remains beautiful and green throughout summer and into fall, even after blossoms are spent. To keep your peony plants healthy after they've blossomed, there are a few important rules to follow.

Things You'll Need

• Small pruning shears
• Gardening gloves
• Water source
• Loose dry straw
• Organic fertilizer

Instructions

1. 

   With your small pruning shears, cut off all of the spent peony blossoms when you see them begin to fade and die. This is necessary not only to make your peonies look well groomed, but more importantly, it prevents seed development. Dead heading the old peony blossoms also gives your plant more energy to grow and stay healthy until fall. If you need to fertilize the peonies at this point, use a light application of a good quality organic fertilizer.

2. 

   After the peony blooms are dead headed, your peony plants will still require deep watering on a regular basis, especially in hot summer climates. This can be done using a watering wand or an adjustable spray nozzle attached to a garden hose. You can stop watering when the peony plants begin to go dormant, usually in early fall.

3. In the fall, the foliage of herbaceous peonies turns a lovely orange or yellow color then gradually begins to die. When the foliage has died back, it's time to prune the peony stems with your small pruning shears. Cut them to about 3 inches from the soil, then rake the dead stems into a pile and place them in your waste container.

4. 

   To ready your peony plants for winter, first remove any old mulch around the plants. Next, apply some loose straw all around the plants as a winter cover. Then, just bid them goodbye until Spring!