Help!! It's a long story but suffice to say that someone destroyed my
Raspberry Sundae peony and all the stalks are broken all they way down
to 4" above the ground. It was a 2nd year peony (about 24"x 24"). Is
there anything I can do to save it so that it will bloom next year?
Or should I just dig it up and get a new one?

TIA,
Jen in Chicago

Jen in Chicago wrote:

Help!! It's a long story but suffice to say that someone destroyed my
Raspberry Sundae peony and all the stalks are broken all they way down
to 4" above the ground. It was a 2nd year peony (about 24"x 24"). Is
there anything I can do to save it so that it will bloom next year?
Or should I just dig it up and get a new one?

TIA,
Jen in Chicago

I would imagine it will do fine without any special lifesaving measures,
other than trimming off any broken parts from the stalks, to discourage
disease and insects from entering.

Most perennials and bulbs are alive as long as their roots are alive;
they will come back even if their tops are removed.

Anyone know of exceptions to this? Are there some perennials that have
so little stored energy that they will literally die if the roots don't
get fed by a full season's worth of foliage?

- Alex

Hi Jen Sorry to learn of the problem. Cut the peony back hard and check to
see if you have some basal buds off of the stems. Water as usual and pray
that it will come back.

Derryl in Calgary

Help!! It's a long story but suffice to say that someone destroyed my
Raspberry Sundae peony and all the stalks are broken all they way down
to 4" above the ground. It was a 2nd year peony (about 24"x 24"). Is
there anything I can do to save it so that it will bloom next year?
Or should I just dig it up and get a new one?

TIA,
Jen in Chicago

Shannon, coming out of lurkdom to put your mind at ease:

I have a stand of peonies that routinely go through hell. The dog has
stomped on the eyes as they came up; knocked over the stalks before, during,
and after bloom; we've transplanted them (ignorantly) during the wrong
season; and yet they thrive. We also have some that are a great deal more
protected, and they thrive too.

Trim off dead bits, leave the living bits on (even if they are bent). Give
it some compost every year. Peonies are hardy creatures, and can take quite
a beating.

-Shannon

"Jen in Chicago" wrote in message
om...
Help!! It's a long story but suffice to say that someone destroyed my
Raspberry Sundae peony and all the stalks are broken all they way down
to 4" above the ground. It was a 2nd year peony (about 24"x 24"). Is
there anything I can do to save it so that it will bloom next year?
Or should I just dig it up and get a new one?

TIA,
Jen in Chicago

"Jen in Chicago" wrote in message
om...
Help!! It's a long story but suffice to say that someone destroyed my
Raspberry Sundae peony and all the stalks are broken all they way down
to 4" above the ground. It was a 2nd year peony (about 24"x 24"). Is
there anything I can do to save it so that it will bloom next year?
Or should I just dig it up and get a new one?


I planted thre peonies two years ago. Last year one of them got snapped off
at the ground. This year it was the only one that bloomed.

On 13 Jun 2003 08:43:32 -0700, Jen in Chicago wrote:
Help!! It's a long story but suffice to say that someone destroyed my
Raspberry Sundae peony and all the stalks are broken all they way down
to 4" above the ground. It was a 2nd year peony (about 24"x 24"). Is
there anything I can do to save it so that it will bloom next year?

Peonies are remarkably tough plants. I'd suggest trimming it just
below the breaks if the top portions of the stem are completely broken
off. If they're still attached moderately well, I'd let the plant recover
what nutrients it could from them, then trim when the broken portions
have gone brown and dry.

I'd probably also remove half of the flowerbuds next year... but I tend to
do that on any young perennial plant anyhow.

Kay Lancaster

Greetings...
Just leave it be - it'll come back by itself. Peonies grow from a tuber,
and as long as nobody dug it up and pulled it out, it'll be just fine.
Don't know if it'll bloom next year, but it will survive.
Just bury the idiot that destroyed it in your flower bed - at least they
will make good fertilizer... ;-)

Rich

"Jen in Chicago" wrote in message
om...
Help!! It's a long story but suffice to say that someone destroyed my
Raspberry Sundae peony and all the stalks are broken all they way down
to 4" above the ground. It was a 2nd year peony (about 24"x 24"). Is
there anything I can do to save it so that it will bloom next year?
Or should I just dig it up and get a new one?

TIA,
Jen in Chicago

Thank you all for your help. Actually, the branches are all GONE!
Vanished. Anything broken was taken too. I found a lonely bud in the
bushes a few feet away while I was planting TWO replacement peonies
this weekend. I'll water, feed and pray and we'll see what happens
next year!...

Thanks again all, I appreciate your feedback.
Jen in Chicago

Kay Lancaster wrote in message ...
On 13 Jun 2003 08:43:32 -0700, Jen in Chicago wrote:
Help!! It's a long story but suffice to say that someone destroyed my
Raspberry Sundae peony and all the stalks are broken all they way down
to 4" above the ground. It was a 2nd year peony (about 24"x 24"). Is
there anything I can do to save it so that it will bloom next year?

Peonies are remarkably tough plants. I'd suggest trimming it just
below the breaks if the top portions of the stem are completely broken
off. If they're still attached moderately well, I'd let the plant recover
what nutrients it could from them, then trim when the broken portions
have gone brown and dry.

I'd probably also remove half of the flowerbuds next year... but I tend to
do that on any young perennial plant anyhow.

Kay Lancaster

On 16 Jun 2003 09:15:19 -0700, Jen in Chicago wrote:
Thank you all for your help. Actually, the branches are all GONE!
Vanished. Anything broken was taken too. I found a lonely bud in the
bushes a few feet away while I was planting TWO replacement peonies
this weekend. I'll water, feed and pray and we'll see what happens
next year!...

This sounds more like kids or lawnmower or deer damage... of the three,
deer is least likely, as they tend to munch peonies only as a last resort,
preferring almost anything else, including the prickliest roses in the world.

If they disappeared just as the buds were showing color, my suspicions would be
that they got sold as cut flowers...