Did you prune your peonies after they finished blooming? That’s not good! Learn how to properly care for peonies, what to feed the plants, and when pruning should be done to ensure that your peonies bloom beautifully every year.
Should peonies be pruned after blooming?
Many inexperienced gardeners tend to cut peonies down to the ground right after they finish blooming. However, pruning peonies immediately after flowering is a big mistake, as it is during this time that flower buds are formed, which will turn into beautiful blooms next year. During this period, peonies also begin storing nutrients that the plant will use for further growth. The amount of foliage on the bush plays a significant role in this process. Therefore, by cutting flower stems and leaves down to the ground, the gardener risks severely weakening, and even fatally damaging, the peonies.
When and how to prune peonies after blooming?
To ensure that peonies produce lush blooms the following year, you should not completely cut off the flower stems with the faded buds. It’s important to leave the lower part of the flower stem with 2-3 leaves. Cutting peonies down to the ground should only be done in the fall, after consistent frost has set in. At that point, leave stumps about 20-30 mm high above the buds, ensuring they are properly covered to protect them from frost.
Feeding peonies after blooming
For young peony bushes (up to three years old), care consists only of regular watering and loosening of the soil. Older bushes, however, need regular feeding. To ensure a peony bush is strong, healthy, and produces abundant blooms, it should be fertilized at least three times. Here’s how:
- The first feeding is done in early spring when the snow begins to melt. Sprinkle 10-15 grams of nitrogen and 10-20 grams of potassium around the base of the bush. Be careful not to let the fertilizers touch the crown of the bush. As the snow melts, the nutrients will dissolve and be absorbed into the soil, nourishing the plant.
- The second feeding is done when the buds are forming to improve the quality of the flowers. Use 15-20 grams of phosphorus, 10-15 grams of potassium, and 8-10 grams of nitrogen.
- The third feeding is done 10-14 days after flowering. As mentioned earlier, peony buds for the following year (called renewal buds) begin to form after flowering. The best way to support the plant during this period is by feeding it with a mixture of potassium (10-15 grams) and phosphorus (15-20 grams).