Pruning Peony Buds for Maximum Yield In Newly Established Plantings

NEW PEONY PLANTS NEED MAXIMUM ROOT ENERGY

A newly planted peony has a limited amount of energy available for growth. This is determined by the root size, the amount of crown tissue present, new feeder root growth, and the collective environmental conditions. Left to it’s own, a new peony plant will try to flower from whatever eyes are successful at growing into healthy shoots. An amount of energy will be spent in the creation, protection, and growth of new flower buds. This is energy that would otherwise be directed to underground root growth. This underground root growth is essential for maximum future flowering potential, drought tolerance, and disease resistance.

FUTURE FLOWERING POTENTIAL

When growing peonies for cut flower production there is a tried and true method to maximize yields. Simply stated, it is to remove all flower buds for the first three years of growth.

This is not exactly what most of us would consider great news! The love for the flowers, the excitement, the anticipation, the financial need to realize some return on investment, these all add up to make it pretty hard to remove all the flowers for the first three years.

It’s true though… removing the buds is how we will get the maximum yield.

Consider this general example, which is an average expected yield for a healthy lactiflora peony.

There are hundreds of lactifloras commonly used in cut flower production. Some examples would be ‘Sarah Bernhardt’, ‘Duchesse de N’emours', ‘Festiva Maxima’, and ‘Mons. Jules Elie’.

Looking at the totals shows that we can expect a greater 4 year total yield of 6-8 flower buds.

So, in a new planting of 100 plants, would see a difference of an additional 600 - 800 flowers. At a market price of $3/stem, this would be a $1,800 - $2,400 increased value when flower buds have been removed for the first three years.

DROUGHT TOLERANCE

More energy for root growth results in…. more root growth! More root growth increases the peony plants ability to access moisture, both in overall volume of feeder root, and feeder root depth.

DISEASE RESISTANCE

Plants with maximum strength, vigor, and and energy available are proven to have stronger disease resistance. The formation of flower buds uses some part of the plants total available energy. In the peony fields, we will notice our newly planted and pruned young peony plants have much cleaner greener foliage than the older plantings that were let bloom. There are a variety of reason for this, but the fact the younger plants had their buds removed does play a part. At a minimum, removing flower buds keeps a neat and clean field. This clean field will have lower incidence of fungal and blight problems.

HOW TO PRUNE FLOWER BUDS

Prune flower buds by cutting them off of the growing peony plant in spring.

There are a couple of important considerations in the process of removing flower buds.

• The work should be done as early as possible in the season. The smaller the flower bud removed, the less of the roots energy it has used. Simply put, do it as soon as you can see and easily work with the little buds, about when they are the size of a pea. If you are trying to remove them much smaller it can be quite tedious and time consuming. It’s nice to be able to grasp the small bud with your fingers and cut below it with a sharp pair of needle nose sheers.

***Pro Tip***

Keep a little cup of rubbing alcohol close by. Dip the shears in there regularly to avoid spreading disease and keep them free of sticky sugar.

• It is essential this work be done during a period of dry, sunny weather, preferably early in the morning. This is because we want the cut tissue of the remaining peony stem to dry and “scab” over. Doing this project in the rain or in humid foggy weather will increase the incidence of fungal disease drawn to the vector of a wet plant cut.

In an upcoming post, I’ll address some of the intricacies in pruning and harvesting peony flowers in year 5 and beyond.

In the meantime, follow us @mountainflowerfarm to stay in touch!

Best Wishes,

Walt

About the Author: Walt Krukowski started Mountain Flower Farm in 1998, and has been growing peonies on a hillside farm in Warren, VT ever since. Mountain Flower Farm specializes in shipping seasonal cut flowers and woody branches to discerning floral designers nationwide. The farm also produces peony root divisions and provides them at wholesale prices to growers throughout the USA. You can visit online:www.mountainflowerfarm.com