Help! Transplanted tree peonies dying...

Hi --

New member here.

I just invested in a border planting of Gansu Tree Peonies. All of the Peonies are being treated the same but some look very healthy while 3 are seriously declining. Haven’t been able to figure out the cause.

Details below. Also included one pic of a healthy shrub and a few of the declining ones.

Any idea what the issue should be and how I could correct? Transplant stress I should wait out? Is it a fungus/sickness I should treat? Planting depth? Too much/little water? Get them out of that spot? Other?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Michael

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Details

* I'm in CT about a mile from the coast of the sound. Zone 6.

* I'm told the tree peonies are about 10 years old and they are on their own root (though most still have the herbaceous graft as well)

* Planted in winter. Had to pretty much break through frozen layer of ground to get them in. This is the first spring I've had them. Over last several weeks a few of the peonies have been wilting and their leaves have been shriveling at the edges. The most severe case is a division I took from a larger Peony

* At the sellers direction planted in a deep hole (3'x3') with equal parts mix of native soil, compost, and stone dust. Also tossed in a handful of lime to bring the Ph in range. Top dressed with mushroom compost as a mulch this spring and added some light general purpose fertilizer

* All the peonies leafed out (though some better than others). The healthiest ones had a few small flowers. As I understand, that is a poor showing for their age, but not unexpected given the recent stresses of being transplanted

*We've had a very wet spring with several weeks with 2”+. Irrigation is set up to drench them infrequently (1x a week) but it has been turned off until recently.

* There is a walnut nearby. The closest Peony is probably about 15' from it. But the walnut leans steeply away from the plantings over a fence so no litter falls near the peonies. My research found that 'some peonies' have issues with juglone. But no one say which varieties nor mention tree peonies. When planting I showed the seller the walnut and she didn't think it would be an issue.


This message was edited Jun 16, 2017 5:27 PM

I am lightly experienced with herbaceous and intersectional (itoh) peonies, but I don't know much about the tree form.

One of the don't for peonies is to not move entire plants - it is better to divide them.

A factor that is important to flowering is the depth of the roots crown. Again, I don't have specifics for tree peonies.

Tree peonies need space - probably 4' all the way around. They also don't suffer competition well, so mulching out the grass will help.

Finally, peonies generally prefer sun. If they must have shade, it is better if they get shade in the afternoons as peonies are prone to fungal problems and morning sun will allow them to dry sooner.

As it stands now, I would probably wait for spring and see if they take off. If not, you might want to consider dividing a plant in the fall to see if helps.

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This message was edited Aug 2, 2019 10:04 PM

the ones with brown at edges look like mine right now, it's hot and I hadn't watered much but I know mine will live, because they looked the same last year. My 2 cents worth.