Hi Dawn,

I like to wait until they begin to yellow thoroughly, then I cut them down
and remove all the stems and leaves-- letting them dieback and having the
vegetative matter on the ground is a great way to invite botrytis appearing
next year. I then lay down a nice helping of bone meal and composted manure,
followed by sand (instead of mulch, which also harbors botrytis more
readily) and it's all set for the winter.

Dave

"Dawn" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I planted my first peonies this year and am looking forward to enjoying
the blooms next spring.

It's turned chilly here in MO and I notice the leaves on my two small
plants are turning gold and brown. Is this normal for peonies? Or are
they lacking something? Should I be fertilizing them before it turns
really cold?



Dawn