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tree peony
DEBORAH STEEL
Posts: 2
in Talkback
TREE PEONY
I purchased a tree peony which had lots of nice new shoots, however the leaves started to go brown and it appears to be working its way down to the whole plant. I have tried giving more water, less water. All to no avail, what is wrong?
debs
0
Posts
I don't know how you've treated it Deborah, but tree peonies are best planted in Autumn/Spring. They like good drainage, although I have seen them growing happily in clay, too much heat in the early days can hold them back and they won't establish. I'd hold off on the watering and mulch it, keep the mulch away from the main stem and leave it alone for a while. They can be slow to establish anyway, and if it's a grafted plant, it should be planted with the graft below soil level. Although hardy, they can be fickle in my experience especially when first planted.
I planted in a pot in the correct compost recommended by the garden centre. I used bone meal as suggested to me as well. The tree is grafted and I am thinking that it is above the soil. I planted it to the depth it was in the original pot, so maybe I should put some more in up to the graft. I will move to a less sunny position and leave it alone for a bit. Thank you for your prompt reply.
What compost did the garden centre recommend? It should have been John innes No3 plus added grit. Tree peonies will only last a few years in pots min 12inch pots,, they'll need regular feeding throughout the summer and top dressing every spring. They really do better in borders than containers where they can really show off. I'd take it out of the pot and plant it deeply at least 4 inches below the level in the original pot.