Can Peonies That Are Chopped Down After Flowering Grow Back?

Peony pruning is crucial for plant health, disease control, and boosting new growth in spring. Deadheading peonies is essential to ensure they store enough energy for spring growth and don’t miss out on the beautiful fall color. The best way to remove spent blooms is to wait until the leaves have begun to die back, or worse, right after flowering. This will allow the tuber to have time for storage and make it difficult to grow again the following season.

Tree peonies should not be cut back to the ground yearly but can be pruned for health and shape after blooming is finished. The ideal time to cut back peonies is in late summer or early fall, after the blooming period has ended and the flowers have started to fade. This typically occurs around August or September, depending on your specific climate and location. Peony plants should be cut back in fall, after the first frost, as stems will have died back naturally. If growers forget to cut back their plants, dead and decaying foliage can be removed in spring.

The best time to prune a tree peony is right after it blooms, using clean pruners. It’s important not to cut back peonies after flowering, as this is too early. Wait until the first frost of the season to give the plant the chance to squeeze as much energy out of the leaves as possible. As a herbaceous perennial, peonies will die back only to re-emerge next spring, so don’t worry about cutting them too harshly.

Peonies are tough plants that will likely come back even if they’re cut down early. Trim off the dead peony blooms but leave the foliage intact. Some flowers need to be deadheaded and will grow back after their blooms have been snipped. Deadheading a peony won’t cause the flower to grow.