Peonies are one of the most popular garden flowers to grow. And one of the most requested flowers by brides for their weddings, no matter the season. Producing huge, ruffly blooms in late Spring, it’s easy to see why they are called the Queen of Flowers.
Many varieties of peonies grow side blooms that produce smaller flowers below the main bloom. You may be a fan of this, excited to have more blooms. Personally, I remove them in a process that is known as disbudding. A strange word, all it means is that the buds are removed from the stem. See this guide on how I disbud my peonies.
There are several reasons I choose to disbud my peonies. One is that it almost always rains right when the peonies are in full bloom. I do live in rainy Washington, after all! By removing the extra weight from each stem, I have a better chance of keeping my blooms from filling up with water and bending over. It just breaks my heart when their petals get dirty.
Another reason is I want the biggest blooms I can possibly get. By removing the side buds, the peony plant can focus all its energy to growing the main bloom. Some of my blooms get as large as plates this way!
Finally, I love to use the peonies in floral arrangements. The side buds are difficult to work around and tend to break off. I find it’s much easier to work with a single stem, especially if I am using other flowers in the design.
Whether you chose to disbud your peonies or not is totally up to you. Your peony plant will be happy either way. Peonies are a definite must to have in your garden. I’ll share a few of my favorite varieties with you soon!
