There is a difference between Dead heading and Pruning as such. If you simply want to remove the spent flower heads, cut the flower head and it's stem back to the leaf joint. If you want to save the seeds for future, just ensure they are fully ripe. I'm not sure about pruning but perhaps someone else can advise you if you feel it is necessary
@philippasmith2 ah thanks! No I don’t want to prune - wrong term - just getting my head around this gardening… it was more the flower heads to remove… might be nice to get some seeds, although I’m not sure when they would be classed as ripe? 😊
The seeds on my Yellow Tree Peony turn black when they are ripe. Just a word of warning tho before you get too excited, the seeds can take anything up to 3 years to germinate
I just take the flower stems off down to the next leaf joint. That keeps the plant tidy until all the foliage dies down. As @philippasmith2 says - it's a long haul if you want to collect seed
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Hi, should I dead-head these peonies now? If so, where should I cut back too? Leaves looking healthy! Thanks 😊
Posts
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
If you simply want to remove the spent flower heads, cut the flower head and it's stem back to the leaf joint.
If you want to save the seeds for future, just ensure they are fully ripe.
I'm not sure about pruning but perhaps someone else can advise you if you feel it is necessary
As @philippasmith2 says - it's a long haul if you want to collect seed
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...