While its quite normal for plants to droop a little over the season, if you have a particularly top heavy flower, it can be frustrating watching them dive towards the earth. Peonies are classic blooms for this sort of thing: their blousy, beautiful flowers can often overpower their stems.
Using peony supports is one of the best ways to stop your blooms trailing against the ground; here are some of our favourites.
Want to make your own? Find out how to make peony supports and plant supports at home.
The best peony supports for the garden
Natural rust metal three leg peony supports
Buy medium size from Amazon (£32.98)
But large size from Amazon (£35.99)
We love the classic, three leg rusty design of these peony basket supports. They have a flash of exuberance with the balls at the ends of the legs, but the rusty metal means they aren't too showy and won't show up your peonies.
These support rings are 79cm high by 50 cm in diameter and the idea is to grow through them, so plant them over your peonies when they are small. These come in a set of two and they will rust naturally over time in the garden: much better than if the rusting time has been sped up by chemicals.
Plant in the ground and push down until secure, but always watch out for where your plants are, to avoid hurting them.
Bow plant supports for peonies
Buy from Amazon (£31.99)
These are a good option for discreet peony supports, plus ideal if you have a long border full of peonies all of which are prone to drooping. You can use as many as you need and place them in front of your peonies so they act as a support wall.
These come in a pack of 9, which are 60cm high and 30cm wide. These are plastic coated solid steel, coming in at dark green, so they will be particularly difficult to see against the foliage of your peonies.
There are five different sizes, however, and so lots of different plants can be supported and the supports can also be bent gently, if needed, to support your plants in the best way possible.
Garden pride peony plant cage
Buy from Amazon (£41.99)
You can buy these peony cage plant supports either in plastic coated or raw steel, that is designed to rust. These are heavy duty peony supports, and will easily keep even the heaviest of blooms happy and upright.
Coming in a pack of one, they are 62cm tall but there is an option to buy a 92cm high one, if you have particularly tall flowers. These are a solid, sturdy, no-nonsense option.
Double ring plant support
Buy two-pack from Mano Mano (£39.58), B&Q (£40.17)
Buy three-pack from B&Q (£52.25)
This is a nice alternative on the usual peony support design, with two rings at the top, rather than one at the top and one in the middle. These are solid steel and uncoated, which means they will rust when they are left outside in the garden.
The balls at the end are designed to make them safer from children and pets. The small option measures at 63cm with the large one measuring at 82cm.
Thompson & Morgan herbaceous peony support frame
A classic peony and herbaceous plant frame design, which supports stems as they grow. These are smaller than several of the other options on this list, coming in at 45cm high, with a width of 35cm. These aren't a rusty option, and instead are classic metal and easier on the wallet than several options here.
Heavy duty naturally rusty plant supports
Designed to rust evenly and quickly and naturally over time, these rusted peony supports come as a five leg. Manufactured in Yorkshire from solid steel rod these should be very long lasting.
There are a few height options, one at 79cm and one at 54cm, depending on how high your plants are.
Fluted peony supports
Buy from Agriframes (£39.00)
These no-frills options are lovely and discreet, letting the flowers and plants do their thing and don't draw attention to themselves. One of the dearer options on this list, you can choose from rusty brown or sage green, which again, is a nice discreet option.
The wide top encourages the flowers to face upwards rather than droop and the metal is galvanised solid steel. The green is a polymer coating. The small is 63 cm high.
Basket peony supports
Buy from Etsy (£45.00)
We love this alternative riff on the classic peony support design. The solid steel option is handmade and comes in at 60cm high and 55cm wide, with the bottom hoop being 40cm wide. They are a very sturdy, long lasting option, and versatile too: if you have other herbaceous plants then you can use this support for them too.
Trumpet peony support
Buy from Harrod Horticultural (£37.00)
If you're looking for a peony support with a design flourish, look no further than this trumpet peony support from Harrod Horticultural. Bang on trend, these plant supports are dearer but they will look lovely in your garden borders.
The shape of them will add to the allure of the plants themselves and they come with a five year guarantee. These have also been featured on Spring into Summer with Alan Titchmarsh, who rates them highly.
They come at either 60cm or 90cm high and have been manufactured in the UK.
Do peonies always need a support?
Most of the peony varieties you're likely to find in garden centres do need a support. You'll often find they look great as they begin to bloom, and then as soon as the rain or a harsh breeze comes along, they droop to the ground.
You could try keeping your peonies upright by planting them at the right depth, making sure they're healthy and avoiding overcrowding, or grow them in a sheltered spot - but heavy rain could still be a problem.
If you really don't want to use plant supports, you could consider doing a bit of research and seeking out specific types of peony like intersectional varieties called Itoh peonies, which are a bit sturdier.
In general, it's probably best to keep a few plant supports in the shed, ready for the summer. Most are versatile in design, so if you don't use them for peonies, you can help prop up other plants around the garden if they start to droop.
We've also created a round-up of our favourite plant supports to use around the garden, including obelisks and hoop-style stakes.
