"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?

As others have said, you should just let them die back and then clean-up the
area. Removing the dead foliage will reduce the possibility of carrying
diseases over to the next year. In general, I would discourage fertilizing
anything late in the season. This is particularly true for high nitrogen
fertilizers. Encouraging growth just as the weather turns cold is a bad
idea.