Staking Peonies In The Perennial Garden: Fast Easy, Effective and Free

This little tip for staking peonies is almost so easy to do, I’m embarrassed to tell you about it.

This is no fancy technique, it’s simply a good way to stop flopping flowers and I’ve been using it for years now.

This 42-second video will show you how quickly and easily you can deal with flopping flowers and plants whacked down by rain storms

For Those Who Hate Video

• Take an old metal coat hanger.
• Straighten it out using a pair of pliers. Tougher to do with hands alone but it can be done.
• Put a hook in each end by bending the metal about six inches from the end.
• Wrap the coat hanger around the peony about 1/3 of the way down the plant – this is a rough rule of thumb, you may find it better to do it higher or slightly lower.
• Hook the two ends together.

Done.

Your peony will now not flop around. The flowers may bend over in heavy rains but will straighten up (most of the time) after they dry.
Note: you can adjust the length by making one hook bigger for smaller, younger plants and indeed can use two coat hangers hooked together for larger, older plants. Generally though, I’ve found one coat hanger works fine for all sizes of peonies

Advantages and Disadvantages

The best advantage is that it’s fast and easy. No fuss or muss.

The wire disappears so there’s no wire showing, no ugly string or stakes sticking up would be a close second.

The disadvantage is you have to remember you did it and remove it in the fall. Otherwise, it will wind up in the compost pile and you’ll dig it up a year later (ah, no, I never did this – not me – nope) 🙂

The Hardest Thing

The hardest part now is finding the used metal hangers – try junk shops and garage sales.

Pay somebody fifty cents for a handful and you’ll have a lifetime supply.
This kind of staking (plus old Christmas tree branches) can be used on many different perennial flowers

Multiple Sources of Peonies

Both plants and seeds of peonies can be found here but do not buy seeds unless you’re a germination expert – they are tricky to start. For 99% of gardeners, it would be a waste of money.