wintering peonies
 

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

Mine die back to the ground here in Atlanta - when you first see signs
of growth next spring, it is time to put out one of those hoop things
that support the flowers. Peonies come up so fast you can almost watch
them grow.

When they are all brown this fall, you can cut them back. If you peek
way down into the center, you'll see the little red tips still there.

Gorgeous flower! Takes about 3 years to really get big. I have about 12
or 15 now.

You will probably get ants on the flowers in the spring. That's OK - but
when you cut the flowers, submerge them upside down in a bucket of water
for a few minutes and all the ants will depart. Ants LOVE peonies.

Dawn wrote:
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

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

"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.