Prune tree peonies like this after flowering for bigger, more abundant blooms next year

16. Prune tree peonies like this after flowering, and next year they will bloom big and abundant!

This is the 16th article in the original "Tree Peony Cultivation" column by Lan Yao

In my impression, tree peonies are most often seen in costume dramas, where it seems only the imperial garden is worthy of tree peonies. This makes many people feel intimidated by tree peonies: they want to plant them but do not know how, and after planting they do not know how to care for them, and after caring for them they do not know how to prune them. Today Lan Yao will briefly introduce the pruning methods for tree peonies.

For tree peony pruning, the more refined approach is to do it in stages. If you are not so particular, you can simply wait until flowering is over, cut off the spent flowers, and then wait until winter to prune again. Actually, Lan Yao is not that particular when growing flowers, but today we will still be a bit particular.

Pruning tree peonies after flowering

After tree peonies finish flowering, the spent flowers should be cut off promptly, and it is best not to let them set seed. Growing from seed is rather troublesome and time-consuming, and Lan Yao does not recommend that individuals propagate tree peonies from seed, so after tree peonies finish flowering, promptly prune off the spent flowers.

The method is very simple: just cut off the spent flowers together with the flower stalks. There is no need to cut off the leaves. Key point: do not cut the leaves.

Pruning tree peonies before summer

After cutting off the spent flowers, carry out normal care. Before summer arrives, around May to June, prune the tree peony again. This pruning is, accurately speaking, destroying the leaf buds of the tree peony.

Use a sharp knife, a pin, or another tool to pick off or destroy the leaf buds at the upper end of the new branches of the tree peony.

These buds will be useless in the future. When we talk later about winter pruning of tree peonies, we will mention that a tree peony "grows one chi and retreats eight cun." These leaf buds on the new branches will not be able to sprout and grow later, so destroying them early allows nutrients to be concentrated and supplied to the flower buds below.

At the beginning Lan Yao said that there is also a less particular pruning method for tree peonies. The less particular method is to simply omit this process of destroying the leaf buds in May to June. Because if you do not destroy them, by autumn and winter this part of the buds will also gradually die off; it just wastes some of the plant's nutrients.

Winter pruning of tree peonies

A relatively important pruning of tree peonies is carried out after leaf fall in autumn and winter. This pruning should not be done too early; pruning before leaf fall can easily cause tree peonies to sprout early and fail to bloom in spring.

Pruning principles

Winter pruning should follow the principle of "grows one chi and retreats eight cun." In tree peony growth, generally only the 3rd to 4th axillary buds will differentiate, while buds above the 4th bud will gradually die off. These dead buds are in fact the leaf buds that should be destroyed in May to June.

Pruning steps

First, prune off dead branches and diseased branches, and branches that are too thin and weak should also be cut off.

When pruning branches, prune according to the principle of "grows one chi and retreats eight cun." For large plants, pruning should follow "leave three remove one," that is, when 3 branches are together, one branch in the middle should be pruned off to leave more growing space. (Give priority to keeping strong branches.)

According to the principle of keeping strong branches and removing weak ones, prune off branches that are too dense and small, keep outward-growing slanted side branches, keep curved ones and remove straight ones, so as to adjust the overall form of the tree peony.

When retaining bud points, keep outward-facing bud points and avoid keeping inward-facing bud points. In this way, new branches will have more growing space and the plant shape will be more graceful.

Tree peonies are cold-tolerant but not heat-tolerant. Many flower lovers who grow tree peonies will find that tree peonies are especially prone to problems in summer, and some may even die in summer. So tomorrow Lan Yao will talk about how tree peonies can safely get through summer. Welcome to continue following Lan Yao's update tomorrow.

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