Peony Wilt
I have three of a grandmother's 50 year old peonies - two pinks and a
white - always bloomed faithfully with no wilt or disease of any kind.
This year the white came up normally and set the usual number of flower
buds (about 20..a VERY large old plant) when suddenly is turned black
from the top down to about the bottom 4 inches. I cut the top off and
the bottom seems to be fine but there are now leaves or flowers left.
The two pinks are about four feet from the affected plant and don't seem
to have suffered at all.
I'm at a loss to find any kind of insect or to explain what happened.
I'm in zone 4-5 in Maine and in the area that got hit badly by both ice
storms in Jan-Feb, but I don't think the ground thawed. Every year I
leave the dead stalks over the winter and clean up in the spring -
someone suggested that this may be the problem.
Can anyone offer any suggestions? Should I pull out the damaged plant
to save the other two?
begin: vcard
fn: Jackie Bell
n: Bell;Jackie
org: Great Works Internet
email;internet: jbell@gwi.net
title: Special Projects Manager
note: www.gwi.net
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end: vcard
