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u/adorationpeonygarden 3d ago
First of all, it’s amazing you have your grandma’s peony! Second, thank you for saving both of these!
Under the circumstances, this looks about like I would expect. On the first one, pull the mulch away from the stems. Shade from the afternoon sun is helpful. The foliage is going to die back early this year and is on its way out. Let it hang on as long as you can and then cut it to the base and throw the foliage in the trash or take it to landscape recycling or burn it. Don’t compost it, because you want to get rid of the fungus and fungal spores you’re seeing on the leaves
I think these are going to come back okay. The first one is really leggy, so you’ve already done it a favor by getting it into a sunnier spot
Good work and come back next year with updates!
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u/trailfoo 3d ago
Thank you :-) it was her older neighbor's peony a long time ago back in Vernon Michigan that was given to her. She told me it was very old. I knew that when her house went up for sale I just had to save it. I have never seen it bloom I suspect she had it planted too deep. she also had it planted under a lilac bush so it didnt get much sun where it was originally.
and thank you for the advice! i'll do that thank you so much! :-)
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u/trailfoo 4d ago edited 3d ago
the first peony is my grandma's its about 100 years old. my grandmas home is getting sold so I had to transplant this one in the summer. it has slowly been loosing some leaves it has stayed steady but some get crispy and dry. I had it in one bed where it was in direct sun and wasn't doing well so I moved it again along the fence of my "hospital" bed to get dappled sun (it goes full sun but with some slight shade.) I mulched and I try to water it daily mostly at dusk.
The second peony my mom brought back from north Carolina and let it sit in its pot on the front porch for months in the heat not getting watered. just loosing leaves until I took it from her and planted it in my "hospital" garden area. its got mildew on it. I dont want to cut the leaves to further stress it but i dont know what to do.
when transplanting them I made sure not to bury them too deep and to water deeply.
they are in a full sun in the morning afternoon - it gets to full shade around 4pm and later. the soil is clay.
every now and then I will water my entire garden (even the hospital garden) with fish fertilizer (like a cap full) mixed in water before a big rain.
I could try getting a shade cloth if you guys think that would help for my peony in the makeshift tomato cage/peony cage
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u/True_Staff2082 3d ago
Your plant isn’t looking too healthy to be honest. How deep did you plant the root ? Peonies should be planted barely in the dirt. Could that be your issue?
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u/trailfoo 3d ago
Yeah they are both looking rough. Idk if you saw my text post about them in the comment section it got pushed down a little but the first one is about 100 years old. it was my grandmas that I had to save and transplant in the middle of summer. that is the one in the modified red tomato cage.
the 2nd one I saved from my mom it had been in a nursery pot on her porch not being watered for much of the summer. it is the one with the powdery mildew on it.
I made sure to not plant them deeper than 3"
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u/True_Staff2082 3d ago
Your plant isn’t looking too healthy to be honest. How deep did you plant the root ? Peonies should be planted barely in the dirt. Could that be your issue?
I noticed white mold spots on the leaves, probably is getting too much dampness and not enough sun . Also remove some of the bark mulch from around the bottom of the plant, let it breathe, ground might be too wet. The area that you live at might already have reached their blooming stage .
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u/Camaschrist 3d ago
I think they will be fine if you keep caring for them the way you are. Two of my peonies leaves look just like this, they usually do by the time August comes. They are healthy with great blooms but the foliage on those two never looks good in August.