Peony pinching or deadheading

11 years ago

I picked up a peony in a planting pot that had about 12-15 shoots. They are all coming up very nice, and I'm now seeing buds on the stems that came up.

It seems to be a growth that is similar to dahlias, where that first stem coming up will eventually lead to a bud. However, I know with dahlias, you can pinch back the main head and it will branch out. You can also dead-head the flowers and the plant will have a better second bloom later, and they pretty produce flowers on their own throughout the growing season.

However, I have read that peonies just bloom one time per season. I imagine the peony itself will create additional branches that may
have more buds, but the flowers will eventually stop at some point in
the season. In that case, would it benefit anything to pinch off the early buds or main stems to get them to branch out and possibly have more blooms?

Thanks!

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Comments (10)

TulsaRose
11 years ago
You'll find lots of good growing information at the
Adelman Peony Gardens website.
KarenPA_6b
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
DO NOT PINCH! Whatever buds you have is what you will get in blooms. There will be no more new growths after flowering. The only time to pinch off buds is when you wish to have a big bloom by pinching off side buds. Peonies are not like dahlias that have repeating blooms. They bloom only one time a year.
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calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
11 years ago
Depending on the age of the plant, many, perhaps all, may not make a flower. If the buds that appear, just dry up. If you have a place in the garden, I would plant it now to give it as much time to establish roots before the next winter. Peonies are a long time investment. They appreciate rich well drained soil. Al
User
11 years ago
I agree with KarenPA - do not pinch, peonies do not branch out and will not form another larger bloom, that said you did not say if this was a tree peony or a herbaceous one. I have no experience with tree peonies, but the regular ones do not branch at all, each leaf stalk with or without buds is initiated directly from the root and does not really form branches.
purslanegarden
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks all!

This was an herbaceous peony. I'm worried about transplanting it now that it has buds, so I'll either wait for the blooming period to be over or maybe until the fall. I was thinking at that time, I'll also split it. It had about 13 buds, so I think I can split it and not affect next year -- unless they put 2-3 peony roots in that pot.
Kisa Valenti
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Can you pinch the buds of herbaceous peonies to delay bloom time (not for the purpose of promoting branching)? Mine (a single white Krinkle bloom so early. I would love to have it bloom later in the season.
Nancy 6b
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
No, if you pinch off the buds, it will not set new buds later. Better to find a late blooming variety of peony and have them longer
HU-773968581
5 years ago

I cut my blooms, replant the seeds and pinch and my bushes get bigger and produce more flowers every year..
HU-773968581
5 years ago
maifleur03
5 years ago
HU that is not how peonies become bigger. Think of yourself as a child. You grew bigger with growing older. Food helped. If you cut your blooms you would not have any seeds to plant.