Will my daffodils and peonies live if they were run over in June by a lawn mower?

Question

Back in June, I hired a new man to cut my grass. Even though I pointed out my daffodils and told him to trim around them, the second time he cut my grass, around the end of June, he forgot and weed-whacked them anyway. I also had a peony bush in the back that was green and leafy, and I thought, obviously not a weed, but he weed-whacked that, too. The daffs were just planted last year, and had flowered beautifully for me. The peonies are old, and truthfully, no longer thriving, so I was going to divide them this year. Will they come back? How should I proceed, other than to explain the difference between a weed and a plant to this ninny, or hire a new guy? I guess I should wait to divide the peonies now? In both cases, he trimmed down to about an inch or two above the ground.

Answer 1

I think they will both be fine. Your daffodil leaves probably had not turned brown yet, which is the signal to remove the leaves. It is best to leave the foliage till they wither down, but by the end of June, they had some time to energize the bulb through the foliage.

And the peony is also an early bloomer and many people cut their peonies close the ground at some point before fall, so I think you are OK there, too. Peonies, by the way, don't like to be divided, but I will attach some information that tells how to go about it.

Good luck!

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/peony/peony-pruning.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/peony/dividing-peony-plants.htm