With peony season well and truly over, your homegrown peony bushes will be looking a little sad and empty. But what are the next steps for your plant post-flowering?
Whether you've learnt to grow peonies at home or keep up to date with when peonies are in season and in the shops, it's no secret that their flowering window doesn't last long. And whilst the short but sweet period of flowering is well worth the wait, it does mean you're left with a flowerless plant for summer, and you may be wondering what exactly you're meant to do with it after the blooms are spent.
There's the question of whether you should deadhead peonies or not, and what else the plant needs once it's finished flowering. To help, we chatted to our plant experts who offered their advice.
What to do with peony after flowering
If you're sorting out your garden this season, you'll have probably noticed quite a few of your spring blooms are past their best, including your peonies. This does beg the question of what's the next step for the plant?
"After peonies have flowered, they should be deadheaded. Deadheading peonies can stop them from producing seeds, meaning the plant will instead redirect its energy towards flowering for the next year and strengthening the roots and foliage," explains Richard Barker, Commercial Director and horticulture expert at LBS Horticulture.
"To deadhead a peony, identify faded flowers and cut the stem back to just above the first set of healthy leaves. Do not cut the main stem or remove too many of the leaves," he adds.
"Peony plants like to be kept consistently moist, both when they are in bloom and also after they have been deadheaded. Once they have finished flowering and you have deadheaded the spent blooms, continue to keep them well watered so the plant remains strong and healthy as it stores up energy reserves for over winter and next spring," adds Lucie Bradley, gardening expert at Easy Garden Irrigation
"You will often find deep watering, watering the soil around the base of the plant, avoiding getting the foliage wet, once a week for plants in garden borders or more often for those in containers, will sustain them when there isn’t sufficient rainfall to keep the soil moist," she continues.
After the flowers have properly faded and you've deadheaded your peony plant, Lucie recommends providing a light feed using a low-nitrogen, slow-release fertiliser or top dressing.
"Be careful not to overfeed and don’t get the feed or top dressing close to the foliage as this can cause rot, so a light feed around the drip line is usually best," she warns.
These popular secateurs feature a carbon steel blade and lightweight, non-slip handles, making precision pruning and deadheading easy.
This weather-resistant plastic watering can from Accurate has a large capacity and includes a detachable sprinkler rose. It's ideal for larger, more established olive trees in your garden.
This is a fantastic fertiliser to add to your plants post bloom, is has just about everything they could need to grow successfully.
Do I cut back peonies after they bloom?
Before you get your essential gardening tools out and start chopping, your peonies must actually be ready to be cut back.
"It is vital that after peonies have finished flowering, you don’t cut them back. You do need to deadhead, but when doing that, you remove as little of the stems or foliage as possible," starts Lucie
"The reason peonies are not cut back after flowering is that they need to build up energy reserves in their roots through summer so that they are ready for the following spring. By leaving the foliage in place, the plant can continue to effectively carry out photosynthesis, and that is how it sends energy back to its roots so it will be ready for the following year," she continues.
Even if your peony bush isn't in bloom during the summer months, its foliage will add some delightful structure and greenery to your garden borders. All the while, it stores up the energy it needs to produce a spectacular, fluffly bloom in the next year.
When to cut back peonies in the UK?
Avoid making a summer gardening mistake by cutting back your peony too early; just because it's finished flowering doesn't mean the plant itself is done for the year.
"You should only cut back peonies after the first frost of autumn, usually when the plant is naturally dying back in October. This provides months for your peony to store up energy that will support the creation of flamboyant flowers next year," points out Lucie.
Want to start growing your own peonies? It's important to know when you should plant peony bulbs for an impressive and timely bloom. Following the right advice will provide you with larger, longer-lasting flowers.
