Peonies…

Peonies are one of the most beautiful plants that I have in my garden.  When they are in bloom they are absolutely gorgeous…when they are done blooming I clip the spent pods and have learned to embrace the greenery as part of the landscape.  As you are not supposed to cut the plant itself until after the first frost in the fall.  I myself have wait until the plant becomes discolored – just as I would the change of color in a bleeding or astilbe.  You can kinda just tell its ready to go! Its important to do this so that we eliminate any of this years disease out of the landscape and cutting back our plants is the easiest way to do it!   If you are unsure how to cut yours back – just use a sharp pair of garden shears and snip away about three inches from the ground.  Remove any mulch from the base of the plant – peonies do not like any mulch!  If you are able to find any of these in the clearance section of a nursery, fall is a fantastic time to plant peonies so that their root system gets established during the winter season. Peonies will be popping up in early spring – they certainly take their time though showing their blooms, but once they do ~ you will love your garden. If they are younger plants you might need to stake them so that they do not fall over.  Rings are great, but I have found that using tomato stakes allow them to grow through the centers sort of like a flower frog. No need for fertilizer either…Peonies are not a fan!

So this past few days, I walked around and cut back all of my peony stems!  Funny how everything we do in our gardens this time of year, prepares it for next year! The more time and energy we focus on doing things now, the more beautiful our gardens will be next spring.  Wanted to share with you some of my favorite peony blooms that I took this past summer.

Peony Trees on the other hand do not need anything done to them except for some light trimming.  Earlier this year my Peony tree had become so tall that the top of it had nearly bent in half and touched the ground at it’s tip.  It was hysterical to look at – clearly something had to be done…as it could not keep that shape without snapping in half!  So, that is exactly what I did.  I took some clippers and cut it just as I do my roses in the spring.  I was terrified I had killed it ~ but within two weeks new baby buds started to appear at the base of the main stem – it has such a better shape now ~ but I’m curious if that serious trim will effect next years blooms…only time will tell I guess.

Would love to see you at this weeks Garden Party ~ party should be posted soon. To see where else I am linking to this week – please check my “Cottage Links” label…xoxo, tracie

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