When Do I Cut Down My Peonies?

Peonies require consistent pruning for healthy growth and flowering.

Peonies are hardy, successful garden plants that grow in shrub and tree varieties. They grow best in U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zones 5 to 8, and require bright sunshine, loose, nutritious soil and plenty of water. As hardy plants, peonies do best with fall plantings and pruning sessions, and may not establish with spring or summer handling.

Peony Growing Season

Peonies grow and bloom from spring to summer, and go dormant during the winter. They bear bright pink or red blooms with decorative, frilled edges, and may live for more than 50 years. Peonies bear both foliage and blooms on new growth, and do best with annual heavy pruning and summer maintenance pruning.

Summer Pruning

Prune peonies throughout the summer to encourage better blooming results. Leave only one flower bud on each stem, and pinch off any others. The plant will grow more stems and set more buds, so be consistent with this pruning to restrict flower crowding. Cut wasted flower buds from the plant as soon as they fade, to encourage continued blooming. Cut off any dead, diseased or infested foliage through the summer to keep the disease or infestation from spreading to the rest of the plant.

Fall Pruning

Cut peonies down to the ground for the winter when they lose their foliage. Wait until you've had at least one heavy frost, and trim the stems to within 3 inches of the ground. Add limestone and organic compost to the top 1 inch of soil after pruning to encourage spring growth and blooming. Avoid mulching the site for the winter.

Division

Divide peonies at the root every 10 to 15 years to clear crowded sites. Divide peonies in fall, after you've cut the plants back, to ensure plant dormancy during the division. Dig the root system up and cut it into pieces for replanting. Each piece must have three to five buds and a generous share of roots. Plant the peony bulbs according to standard peony planting processes.

References

• North Carolina State University; Peonies for the Home Landscape; Erv Evans, February 1999
• La Pivoinerie D'Aoust Peony Nursery: How to Grow Peonies
• Iowa State University Extension; Horticulture & Home Pest News: Transplanting and Dividing Peonies; Richard Jauron, August 11, 1993
• Jack Eden Garden Data Sheets; Fall Peony Care; October 19, 2002