Your peonies are likely blooming or coming into bloom about now, but what to do after they bloom? Do the following to keep the plant healthy and encourage future blooms:
Two easy steps for great peonies next year:
- Remove the faded blooms (deadhead) to focus plant energy on root and leaf growth until Fall.
- Many peony die back to the ground once an Autumn frost kills the plant’s foliage. At that time, cut away the dead leaves. New growth will appear in the spring and you’ll have another gorgeous display.
More detailed steps
- Deadhead spent flowers
- Snip off faded blooms just below the flower head to prevent seed formation and tidy the plant.
- Leave foliage until it yellows and dies back
- Keep the leaves intact through Fall; they photosynthesize and store energy in the roots for next year.
- Cut back in late Fall after first frost. Cut stems one to two to inches above soil level to reduce disease and pests.
- Remove and dispose of cut foliage and debris to prevent fungal spores from overwintering.
- No mulch over the crown is needed (it smothers the plant and creates moisture where fungal diseases thrive).
- You can apply one to two inches of mulch in a ring around the base of the plant to prevent freeze/thaw cycles from damaging the plant after ground has frozen.
- In late Fall or early Spring, apply a balanced granular fertilizer or a low-nitrogen formula (e.g., 5-10-10) per package rates; avoid high nitrogen fertilizer.
- Watch for and treat disease. If foliage had fungal spots, discard, don’t compost. Consider fungicide or improved air circulation next season.
- Divide every 8–10 years if plants are crowded or if clumps produce fewer flowers each year. Dig and divide in Fall (or early Autumn) to give roots a chance to establish.