Do you wish for big, really big peony flowers? Then disbudding is for you-NOT "This Bud's for You"! No, this is not a commercial for Budweiser:) Peonies have several buds, some primary and some secondary. When the plant sets many secondary buds off from the primary bud, the plant spends a great deal of energy growing more flowers; which can make the primary peony bud and resulting flowers smaller. Think quantity over quality in this case.
In the picture above there is a primary bud (the largest bud) with a side bud branching off from the from main stem of the primary bud. The secondary bud is clearly smaller than the primary bud. 
I chose to pinch this secondary bud off from the plant in order to have larger blooms. I pinched several secondary buds off from my peony plants as an experiment.
Do you see this peony above with all of its buds? It is 'Immaculee' and also grows multiple buds per stem. The peony I am showing you to demonstrate the difference in budded and disbudded peony blooms is 'Festiva Maxima' as pictured in the first picture. Most peonies form multiple buds though; which is fine but if you want larger blooms-redirect the plant's energy into fewer buds by disbudding.
Can you see how much bigger the peony flower that has been disbudded is than the one on the right? (I am holding the disbudded flower and you can clearly see the additional buds with the flower on the right where it has not been disbudded). The other two flowers in the pictures were also disbudded and are large as well. I am not sure if I'll do this all the time, but where you want a big impact or when you show your flowers, disbudding is a good thing to do. What an impact the large peonies make....
in the garden....
I will be on a Beachaven Garden Club tour and field trip today. See you all tomorrow. I hope everyone is out enjoying the gardens and spring! It sure is glorious this year!
Everyone, please head over to Dave's The Home Garden blog to find a link to vote for him in the Better Homes and Gardens Contest. He worked very hard on his arbor and did a great job and I know all of us bloggers can help him win the prize!
I chose to pinch this secondary bud off from the plant in order to have larger blooms. I pinched several secondary buds off from my peony plants as an experiment. Do you see this peony above with all of its buds? It is 'Immaculee' and also grows multiple buds per stem. The peony I am showing you to demonstrate the difference in budded and disbudded peony blooms is 'Festiva Maxima' as pictured in the first picture. Most peonies form multiple buds though; which is fine but if you want larger blooms-redirect the plant's energy into fewer buds by disbudding.Can you see how much bigger the peony flower that has been disbudded is than the one on the right? (I am holding the disbudded flower and you can clearly see the additional buds with the flower on the right where it has not been disbudded). The other two flowers in the pictures were also disbudded and are large as well. I am not sure if I'll do this all the time, but where you want a big impact or when you show your flowers, disbudding is a good thing to do. What an impact the large peonies make....
in the garden....
I will be on a Beachaven Garden Club tour and field trip today. See you all tomorrow. I hope everyone is out enjoying the gardens and spring! It sure is glorious this year!
Everyone, please head over to Dave's The Home Garden blog to find a link to vote for him in the Better Homes and Gardens Contest. He worked very hard on his arbor and did a great job and I know all of us bloggers can help him win the prize!
