Hometalk is where people share and help with everything home & garden

Fredericksburg, VA on Apr 17, 2012

PEONIES:

I vaguely remember reading something about needing to snip off the outer buds on a Peony stem so that the center flower would be larger. I'm betting Erica, Walter or Doug could enlighten me (and others) on this. My peonies are budding now so should I go ahead and "sacrifice" the outer buds so the center flower will be BIG???

Like Clip

2011 Peony

9 Comments

Susan S Fredericksburg, VA

Gosh, I can't believe the HT gardners haven't chimed in on this!!! I'm
really disappointed :~ (

on Apr 18, 2012 · Like 0
Miriam I New York, NY

Hi Susan, don't worry--they probably didn't see it since you posted it as a "post" instead of a question. I converted it to a question for you so you should have some answers soon. I'd answer if I could. lol.

on Apr 18, 2012 · Like 1
Southern Trillium LLC Stone Mountain, GA

Susan, you can use a practice called dis-budding. You will want to keep the terminal flower bud, and then remove the side buds. This will allow the plant to use its energy to produce a larger terminal flower. I believe it also helps the flowers last longer, but I may be incorrect on that part.
When doing this practice, you will definitely want to stake up or tie the flowers, as the weight may cause them to droop or break the stems. Better safe than sorry, so be sure to provide additional support.

on Apr 18, 2012 · Like 1
Susan S Fredericksburg, VA

@Miriam - thank you once again "Mentor Mommy"!! Like I said, you always keep me outta trouble. LOL
@Southern Trillium - thanks for re-inforcing what I thought was the right thing to do. Didn't know the middle flower was called the "terminal" one. Learned something today!!
We do have a cage around the peonies - they definitely lop over w/their own weight. I just ...»
wish they lasted longer - plus one hard rain does them in after they've opened!! Makes me want to run out and put an umbrella over them!!

on Apr 18, 2012 · Like 1
Miriam I New York, NY

Pleasure :)

on Apr 18, 2012 · Like 0
Southern Trillium LLC Stone Mountain, GA

A hard rain will do just that. We had over an inch of rain in Atlanta over the last 24 hours, and I think it has finished off the peonies in our bed.

on Apr 18, 2012 · Like 0
Erica Glasener Atlanta, GA

Susan, sorry I am just now seeing your post. Southern Trillium gives good advice. I would recommend a support (ring with squares) to hold your peony up so it won't flop over but will still be full. Looks beautiful.
Enjoy.

on Apr 18, 2012 · Like 1
Douglas Hunt New Smyrna Beach, FL

I'm late to the chorus but I have always dis-budded my peonies. They're very poorly designed plants, actually, since they have stems that can't support the blooms they produce, but, oh, those blooms...

on Apr 19, 2012 · Like 1
Susan S Fredericksburg, VA

@Douglas - yeah, the stems do seem a little spindly don't they??? Their fragrance is almost beyond description so maybe that makes up for what they lack in strength????
So, the technical term is "dis-budding" and the biggest flower is called the "terminal" - GOT IT!!!
Again, a heart felt T/U to Southern Trillium, Erica & Doug for taking the time to educate me!! ...»
Gotta go do some serious dissing to pretect my terminals!!!

on Apr 19, 2012 · Like 0

Feedback

Oops! Leave without saving?

Hometalk.com

Hometalk is where people share and help with everything home & garden

PEONIES:

NOTE: You can drag and drop your photos to reorder them