Tree Peony Pruning and Bud Removal Methods and Precautions

Tree peony (Latin botanical name: Paeonia suffruticosa Andr.) is a plant in the family Ranunculaceae, genus Paeonia, and is a perennial deciduous small shrub. The flowers are brilliant in color, jade-like in smile and pearl-like in fragrance, elegant and unrestrained, magnificent and stately, and have long enjoyed the reputation of “king of flowers.” Among cultivated types, they can be divided into over a hundred varieties mainly according to flower color.” There are many varieties of tree peony and also many colors; yellow, green, flesh pink, deep red and silver red are considered superior, with yellow and green especially prized. Tree peony flowers are large and fragrant, hence they also have the name “national beauty and heavenly fragrance.” In the Tang Dynasty, Liu Yuxi wrote in a poem: “The herbaceous peony in the courtyard is charming but lacks dignity, the lotus on the pond is pure but short on feeling. Only the tree peony is truly of national beauty; when it blooms, the whole capital is stirred.”. In the late Qing Dynasty, the tree peony was once regarded as China's national flower. In May 1985, the tree peony was rated as one of China's top ten famous flowers, second among them. It is a valuable woody flower unique to China, with thousands of years of natural growth and more than 1,500 years of artificial cultivation history. It is widely cultivated in China and was long ago introduced to various parts of the world. The tree peony flower is acclaimed as the king of flowers, and there are abundant cultural and painting works related to it.

Like other flowers, tree peonies must undergo pruning and trimming work to maintain a beautiful plant shape and maintain balanced growth between the aboveground and underground organs.

1. Pruning: The tree peony is a clump-forming shrub. For ornamental tree peonies planted in place, keep 5-8 branches per plant and remove thin, weak and excessively long branches. The retained branches should be evenly distributed and of moderate height. If the positions of the retained branches are unsuitable, they should also be removed, and soil buds (tiller buds) at the root crown should be selected and retained to be cultivated into branches. For plants used for propagation, all soil buds and branches may be completely retained; the denser the better, so as to cultivate stems and branches through division.

2. Bud removal: Bud removal can keep the branches well-proportioned, the flowering luxuriant, neat and uniform, and can control the number of flowers and the strength of root growth. The book Zhiwu Mingshi Tukao records: "Those who plant tree peonies must remove their tender buds, so that the essence and vessels gather in the old stems; hence there is the proverb, 'Herbaceous peony is topped, tree peony is foot-trimmed.'" The flower buds of the tree peony grow on the terminal bud or the first lateral bud below the terminal bud. Therefore, bud removal in tree peonies mainly means retaining the terminal bud and removing soil buds and useless buds on the selected retained branches. To maintain the plant shape, the terminal buds of overly tall branches must also be removed, leaving their lateral buds to bloom; for those whose terminal buds do not develop well, the better-developed lateral buds should be left.

The time for bud removal is generally between the Spring Equinox and Qingming each year. If too early, the soil buds have not yet emerged from the soil and, while in the soil, can still play a transporting role for root nutrients; if too late, the excessive branches of the tree peony grow vigorously, consume nutrients, and inhibit the normal growth of the branches. After the tree peony is planted in the first year, bud removal work is not carried out; all branches and buds are left to grow naturally. In the second spring, when the soil buds extend 5-6 cm, begin bud removal, select 5-8 strong or evenly distributed branches or soil buds, and remove all the remaining buds completely with a knife or by hand.

Within two years after grafting, it is best not to let tree peonies bloom; if flower buds are found in spring, remove them early. This is especially so for tree peonies whose roots are harvested for medicinal use. Because blooming once consumes a large amount of nutrients, affects the growth of the plant's roots, and some plants then appear in an aged state.