Things You'll Need:
- Some knowledge of plant diseases.
- Pruners if necessary
- maybe a fungicide mix
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Step 1
The peony is one of the most popular spring flowers. It is a showy and generally hearty perennial that doesn’t require much care. It has large showy blossoms that come in soft rosy pink, deep red and white. Like any flower peonies can become diseased also. If planted in a site where there is not enough sun, water drainage and proper planting that includes spacing for air circulation and proper watering they will become susceptible to a disease.
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Step 2
The more common one you may expect to encounter, especially if the spring has been unusually cool and wet is a fungus called Botrytis Blight, or White Mold (called Scerotinia Sclerotiorum).
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Step 3
White Mold is a fluffy white mycelium that generally appears under humid conditions. It is a soil inhabiting fungus, that is impossible to remove and your peony plants will need to be removed and replaced with non susceptible ones. Do Not Replant With Peony’s. It is extremely hard to stop this disease since it is a soil born fungus. Replacing and planting plants farther apart to allow for air circulation, watering only at their bases in midday will help to reduce the infection.
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Step 4
Botrytis Blight symptoms include irregularly shaped spots on leaves and brown spots on flower buds that are covered with a mass of gray fuzzy fungal spores. Botrytis will also show up when weather has been a cool wet spring and summer. The gray mold will cause unopened buds not to open and open spread quickly to open flowering buds. The infection will spread down the stems causing a brown or tan discoloration. The infected petals will drop off into the leaves and cause the entire plant to become damaged.
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Step 5
It is hard to stop the diseases after they appear, however you can greatly reduce the infections. Remove any spent flowers or blooms, buds, leaves and or stems. Do this after the morning dew has dried this will prevent water from any wet plants getting on healthy ones. When cutting off infected leaves and stems, clean your pruner with a 10% Bleach Solution or with 70% Regular Rubbing Alcohol. Always clean you’re your tools before and after cutting off the diseased parts of a plant and before you prune the next one to prevent transfer. Carefully dispose of the infected parts, Do Not Place them in a Compost Bin or Pile. Good sanitation is important when your plants have been infected
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Step 6
In the fall cut back the diseased plant to the ground or just below and add some well composted Organic Material as a mulch to the soil, fungicides have a limited affect against blights but applying Copper Sulfate when applied early in spring when the shoots first emerge and reach about 6 inches tall will protect them. Spray all the plants parts to completely wet the foliage and soil. Remember to Read and Follow Manufactures Instructions.
