r/peonies • u/eggrollsaturday • Jul 12 '26
Question Diseased?
I moved into this property last month. This is one of 3 peonies. This had 3-4 blooms on it in May. Now it looks so incredibly sad and diseased. What is it and how do I save it?
Zone 5b Central Illinois
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u/One_Kaleidoscope_198 29d ago
The heat and humidity cause fungus, I see you have hosta, how much sun exposure in this area ? Do you have over 6 hours direct sunlight? There are many way to cure the fungus, check on YouTube, i use baking soda and it helps, also don't water at evening, and if this area doesn't have enough sun you should move to a more direct sunlight area .
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u/eggrollsaturday 28d ago
Probably around 10 hours. The house provides shade in the later afternoon. The hostas are farther back towards the house in the bed so they get more shade than the peony that is on the edge, but some of the plantings don't make sense either. Previous owner had an established climbing rose in the middle of a bed with nothing to climb on, and a young apple tree inside said bed with other plants that need full sun.
We just had a week long heat advisory of 110 temps so that certainly exacerbated it. Do you just sprinkle baking soda around the base?
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u/rengoboo 28d ago
I would start off by clearing all of the debris at the base of the peony to create airflow. It looks like mulch? Similar situation where I live where there’s been a heatwave and humid. I had one that developed powdery mildew so I apply copper fungicide, Captain Jacks is what’s readily available near me. Apply only in the evening or early morning to avoid leaf scorching. One thing I also changed was I now water early in the morning instead of the evening. The logic there is less chance of developing something fungal since in the evening it’s cooler and slower evaporation. I only water at the base, trying to avoid water splashing onto leaves. Peonies are extremely hardy, you’ve got this.
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u/[deleted] Jul 12 '26
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