Gardening expert Melissa Strauss provides a comprehensive guide on pruning peonies, focusing on the importance of knowing when to cut back and how to properly make your cuts. Peonies produce new growth from the plant’s crown, and pruning them can be done for various purposes such as more blooms, cutting flowers for arrangements, cleaning up spent blooms, or preparing plants for winter.
Peony plants should be cut back in fall after the first frost, as stems have died back naturally. If you forget to prune your plants, dead and decaying foliage can be removed. Tree peonies should be pruned right after they bloom, using clean pruners. This will encourage healthier growth the following year.
The best time to cut back peonies is after the first hard frost in fall, cutting back peonies to about 3 inches (8 cm) high or all the way to the ground. Jennifer Green, a botanist and expert at Positive Bloom, advises cutting peonies back to about 1 inch (2.5cm) above the ground.
For healthy growth, it is recommended to prune peonies in early spring, right when new shoots start. Cut back peonies after the season’s first hard frost or after the foliage turns yellow, depending on your region. To disbud peonies in spring, pinch off the small side buds with your thumb and forefinger, leaving the terminal bud to grow into an even bud.
Pruning shears are ideal for trimming back peony stems and foliage, and hand shears are easy to use. Waiting until the first frost of the season is best, as this will give the plant the chance to squeeze as much energy as possible.
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