Staking Droopy Flowers
Check out these valuable tips on how to keep your flowers standing up and sturdy so you can enjoy them longer.
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If your peonies are falling over, perk them up with simple staking techniques.Topics of Interest
Rebecca's Garden
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You work so hard to get your flowers up so you can enjoy them, and then it happens — a storm blows in or, in the case of peonies, once they open up they flop to the ground. Not exactly the way you want to view your flowers. Maybe it's time to stake your claim.
The time to stake peonies is when they're forming their buds. There are a lot of different stakes available. One is a grid system, which you put on early in the season just as the stems are coming out of the ground. But sometimes it isn't tall enough to keep those flower heads off the ground. Another option is a half-hoop, which works great. All you need to do is lift the stems and insert the loop into the soil at the base of the plant. This works great for peonies because they gently cascade over, and conceal, the loop.
Another staking technique works great for delphiniums, which are the first to go in a windstorm because they have hollow stems. To keep delphiniums up and growing, simply get a bamboo cane and insert it into the soil next to the stem. Be careful not to injure the root system. Tie the flower stalk to the stake using stretchy tape (available at garden centers) or raffia. This may not look that attractive now, but once the flowers open up, you won't even see the stakes and you can enjoy the beautiful blooms right at eye level.
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