How to prune Tree Peonies!, by Grower Coach on YouTube. 1 min 1 s.
- Video length
- 1 min 1 s
- Time to do it
- 20 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 10
What you need
Steps
Pick your moment. Prune lightly right after flowering to tidy the shrub, or in late winter while the plant is still dormant and you can see the bare stems clearly.
Look over the whole shrub first. Tree peonies flower on old wood, so the woody framework stays. Only dead, damaged, weak or crowded stems come out.
Wipe your pruner blades with rubbing alcohol before you start, and again between plants, so you do not pass on disease.
Cut out any dead stems back to live wood. Live wood is green or cream inside and firm. Dead wood is brown, hollow or snaps easily.
Remove thin, spindly shoots and any stems that cross and rub against each other. Rub wounds open the plant up to rot, so take one of the pair out.
Take out stems growing inward toward the middle of the shrub. This opens the centre for light and airflow, which helps prevent bud rot and fungal problems.
Make each cut just above a healthy outward-facing bud, slanting the cut away from the bud so water runs off. Do not leave long stubs of bare stem.
If your peony is grafted, cut off any strong shoots coming from below the graft line near the soil. These are rootstock suckers and will take over the plant.
Snip off spent flowers as they fade, cutting back to the first strong leaf or bud below the bloom. Do not cut the whole stem off, or you lose next year's flowers.
Clear all fallen leaves and petals from around the base and bin them. Do not compost them, since they can carry disease back to the plant.
Tips and common mistakes
Never cut a tree peony back to the ground the way you would a herbaceous peony. You would remove the woody stems that carry the flower buds.
Keep pruning light. A tree peony grows slowly, and heavy cutting can leave it sulking for a season or two.
Cut on a dry day so the fresh wounds seal over rather than sitting wet.
Wear gloves and cut away from your body, since bypass pruners are sharp and tree peony stems can be tough.
Questions
Will my tree peony die if I cut it right back to the ground?
It may survive by sending up new shoots from the base, but you will lose the woody framework and probably several years of flowers. Prune lightly instead and keep the main stems.
When is the best time to prune a tree peony?
Late winter while it is dormant is easiest, because you can see the stem structure clearly. A light tidy-up straight after flowering is also fine.
Why has my tree peony stopped flowering?
The usual causes are too much shade, buds nipped by a late frost, or heavy pruning that removed the old wood. Check that it gets sun and that you are not cutting healthy stems.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
