Cut Back Peonies At Around 4 Inches To Prevent Botrytis, Says Expert Koen Hurtekant
Elizabeth is a Permaculture Garden Designer, Sustainability Consultant and Professional Writer, working as an advocate for positive change. She graduated from the University of St. Andrews with an MA in English and Philosophy and obtained a Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design from the Permaculture Association.
Reviewed By COLIN SKELLY
Colin is a Horticulturist and Horticultural Consultant with experience in a range of practical and managerial roles across heritage, commercial and public horticulture. He holds the Royal Horticultural Society’s Master of Horticulture award and has a particular interest in horticultural ecology and naturalistic planting for habitat and climate resilience.
Contributions From KOEN HURTEKANT
The founder of The Peony Society, Koen is also the owner of a cut flower peony nursery based in Belgium. He hybridises and breeds his own peonies that are now recognised by the American Peony Society and by gardeners all over the world.
With 15 years of experience growing peony flowers, Kate is the Owner of the specialist nursery Little Budds Peony Farm. Kate specialises in the cut flower market and is known for her very large blooms.
IN THIS GUIDE
Peonies are varied and popular garden plants which can really add a lot of interest and drama to your garden.
However, to make the most of these plants, you need to care for them correctly.
With herbaceous and intersectional peonies, it is a good idea to remove all stems and foliage to ground level as soon as the foliage has died back in the autumn.
This can reduce the chances of peony wilt disease and help to ensure that your peony can grow back strongly the following spring.
The process of pruning peonies of these types is very simple:
- Wait for the foliage to die back in autumn.
- Cut off all the stems and dead foliage at ground level.
- Get rid of all plant debris, removing it from the site.
We discuss this in more detail in the rest of the article.
| Difficulty | Easy |
| Equipment Required | Secateurs or pruning shears |
| When To Prune | October-November |
Pruning Herbaceous & Intersectional Peonies
Pruning of these peonies takes place in the autumn after any bud removal and deadheading have taken place throughout the season.
It is usually best to wait until after the first few touches of frost when the foliage is dying back naturally.
However, you may sometimes cut back earlier if your plant shows signs of disease.
1) Wait For Foliage To Die Back
It is usually important to wait for the foliage on your peony to die back naturally before you cut it back to the ground.
If you cut it back too early, the plant will not have been able to store enough energy through photosynthesis to grow and flower well the following year.
2) Cut Off Stems And Dead Foliage
“In autumn, cut the foliage from your peonies at around 4 inches above the soil level,” says Koen Hurtekart, founder of The Peony Society.
“Research has found that this results in lower numbers of botrytis infections amongst peony plants.”
To do this, take a clean, sharp pair of secateurs or some gardening shears and cut off all the dead/dying plant material as close to the ground as possible.
This is a good idea because the material may harbour invisible fungal spores and diseases which could affect the plant the following year.
“Mulching around the plant after cutting back can help to reduce the spread of fungal spores from rain splash,” shares Master Horticulturist Colin Skelly.
“Wood chip is particularly effective for this but be careful not to bury the crown.”
“Never pull the old stems out, as you might also pull out the new buds which grow alongside them,” warns Koen.
3) Get Rid of All Plant Debris
Even where the material does not look infected, it is best to be assiduous in removing all the dead material from the area around the plant to reduce the risk of any diseases like peony wilt taking hold.
It is best not to compost this material as invisible fungal spores might spread through your composting system to other parts of your garden.
“Don’t hoe around the peony as you will destroy the feeder roots,” explains Kate Blacker, the owner of Little Budds Peony Farm.
Pruning Tree Peonies
Note that these pruning guidelines apply to herbaceous and intersectional peony types.
Tree peonies have different care guidelines.
With tree peonies, you will typically only need to do minor pruning – deadheading blooms and removing any dead, damaged or diseased branches.
