When is the best time to prune, repot and change the soil of tree peonies?

Anyone familiar with tree peonies knows that they are extremely afraid of heat. In the hot summer, tree peonies enter a dormant state, so for flower lovers who like tree peonies, after the flowers fade in spring, they will prune them, and the more ruthless ones will even cut them back hard, then place the tree peonies in a cool, bright, scattered-light, well-ventilated spot to care for them through the summer.

After the hot summer and the autumn tiger weather pass, and once cool autumn arrives, when the temperature is around 20 degrees, the tree peony will slowly sprout new buds. At this time we need to pay attention to controlling the growth of the new buds, to avoid the new buds growing too fast and excessively consuming nutrients, which would lead to fewer flowers or poorer flower quality next year, so care in autumn and winter is very important.

As for the netizen's question about when to prune and change the soil of tree peonies, both autumn and spring are good choices, that is to say, late autumn and the start of spring each year are the most suitable times for pruning and changing the soil. In late autumn, prune off the new buds that emerged in autumn, and if the potting soil is severely compacted, then repot and change the soil, then care for it safely through the winter, and after the start of spring once the ground thaws, just care for it normally and naturally wait for it to bloom.

The start of spring is also a good choice. After the start of spring each year, dig out the tree peony seedlings, then prune the dead roots, prune off most of the withered branches, then pot them and care for them. As the tree peony's new branches sprout, provide good nutrition, and then a pot bursting with flowers is not difficult. However, I always feel that the suitable care range for tree peonies is rather narrow, and in places where the temperature is too high they simply do not bloom; comparatively speaking, Chinese peonies are easier to care for.

In autumn, what we need to pay attention to is preventing the tree peony's branches from growing too fast, because autumn temperatures are very suitable for tree peony growth, and the tree peony will quickly send out many new branches. Generally it starts sending out branches in September, and after October it will send out very long branches. In autumn the tree peony does not bloom, and at this time it is very wasteful of nutrients, so we do not recommend letting the tree peony grow vigorously in autumn.

So after autumn arrives, as the tree peony grows, we should supplement nutrients appropriately, then pinch off the tips appropriately to control vigorous growth, prune off branches as much as possible, leaving only a few leaves to ensure normal photosynthesis to store nutrients, keeping only a small number of branches and not letting more new buds sprout.

After winter begins, just replenish base fertilizer in time and let it safely pass the winter, and after the thawing water at the start of spring it will directly send out a large number of new buds and new branches. With enough nutrition, sturdy buds, and full flower bud differentiation, the tree peony's flowers will be bigger than a bowl, with bright colors, elegant and noble.

Conclusion: Autumn is the best time for us to introduce tree peonies. Tree peonies are quite popular in autumn. After potting and changing the soil in autumn, once the tree peony passes its acclimation period, it is almost October. As the temperature slowly drops, root activity slowly decreases, and after passing the winter smoothly, in spring it will directly sprout and send out branches without any fuss. You only need to supplement nutrients and it can normally bloom for you to enjoy. Of course, you can also repot and change the soil after the start of spring, but this should be done before root activity is strong, that is, it is best to do it at the start of spring when new buds are sprouting. Too early and there is a late spring cold snap; too late and the flowering is poor.