Sandsock said:when would I take that bloom off and still see if it is true? (Is it marshmellow stage?)
I think it's either one or the other, Annie. If you want to see the benefit from disbudding then it's best to do it as soon as you see a bud form and can extract it without damaging other parts of the plant. If you let it get to marshmallow stage in hopes of seeing if the plant flowers true to name, at that point you might as well let the flower open to give you a better chance at making a positive ID. The other approach, if you're keen on disbudding, is to pinch off all flower buds except for one so that you can confirm that you were sent the right plant.
I'm a believer in letting the plants choose when to flower and that they need minimal assistance from us in that regard. The only exception that would give me some pause is in a situation Liz described where you have like 10 buds on a plant in its first growing season, which has only happened once to me on a Tranquil Dove plant some years ago (all primary flowers, too!). There was a post by an Alaskan peony producer that was shared on Facebook that likened young peony plants to vulnerable babies requiring disbudding for their survival. I really don't see it that way at all and don't think they should be putting that information out in the world; in my experience these plants have been tough as nails and are capable of supporting flowers at a young age just fine.
