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Tree Peonies

Should I cut down my tree peony in the autumn?
last year I left it and it did begin to break at a lower branch. I fixed it with gaffer tape and it has been amazing with beautiful flowers this year.
Any advice much appreciated 
Arthur

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited September 2021
    Noooo … tree peonies are different to herbaceous peonies … you don’t cut them back in autumn in the same way. 


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Thank you.
    I will tie it up better this autumn.
    I appreciate your advice…
    Arthur…
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    Arthur, why are you tying it up?
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    Tree peonies require minimal pruning. Just remove flowered shoots, cutting them off just above the new growth on the stem in summer; or in the autumn after the seeds are collected if this is desired. Remove any dead shoots in late winter, cutting back to a healthy bud.
    Stems may become leggy over many years. Cut them back by a third in the autumn after leaf-fall to encourage bushier growth.
    Tree peonies such as Paeonia delavayi f. lutea and P. delavayi tend to produce more vigorous , upright stems. Removal of a proportion of the oldest stems at ground level in autumn helps to control the size once the plants become established (i.e. they are flowering freely each spring).

    As per the advice I would prune back/remove any damaged or overly leggy stems, but otherwise leave it be.

    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • Many thanks. It is “leggy” so much so that it did split the stem last autumn. I used some water resistant gaffer tape to hold it together and it produced lots of beautiful blooms this summer. I had to tie the branch on the fence to ensure the weight of the flowers didn’t snap the stem. 
    I will take your advice and look to shorten the branch as recommended and hope for a bushier 2022.
    many thanks
    Arthur
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