PEONIES

Tads

🤔 Perhaps another kind member could please help ?
i planted two new Peony plants (i think it was in August/September time).
but this is what has happened to them (see photos). Unsure of how easy it is 
to grow Peonies in this country, I don’t know if i have lost them or this is normal 
die-back on these young plants - & if so, how to proceed ? 
“ thankyou ” 🤔
Tads, Guildford 🤔😊

Hostafan1

Lovely healthy buds at the base ready to shoot next Spring. Have no fear.

Dovefromabove

I agree with @Hostafan1 ... all looks good. Lovely fat buds at the base.
You could cut the old foliage off but I leave it over winter and remove in the early spring so that I can see where they are and I don’t step on them when working on the bed. 
Id give them a good mulching with some organic matter but don’t cover the buds up. 

Fairygirl

I'd agree. The first one could possibly  do with a little extra soil in against it - there looks like a bit of a gap around the ankles - but it's normal for the folaige to be dead by now. 
If you're worried about stepping on them, as Dove says, then put a few canes around the  perimeter of them. They need a lot of support when in growth  anyway 

Which ones do you have? Lovely plants when in flower.   

Kitty 2

I planted my first herbaceous peony in the garden this year, with the crown sitting just level with the surrounding soil. I've left the foliage to die back naturally, and put a circular plant support over it, which will stay there full time (to stop me stepping on it). 😉

I'm wondering what to use as mulch, for frost protection though. 
I was thinking of using fallen leaves, but will this create a slug haven?
I found a forgotten bin bag of leaf mould last week 😁. Would that be better?

JennyJ

Peonies are hardy - they don't need frost protection (in most of the UK - not sure about colder climates).

I think the mulch will be more beneficial applied in spring when the soil is moist and the new shoots are big enough not to be at risk from slugs, to keep moisture in the soil.

Kitty 2

Thanks Jenny👍. That's good to know, I'll ignore it now until spring.  I like tough plants that require the minimum of fuss.

Fairygirl

Mine have no protection here Kitty, although, due to our late winter/spring weather here [heavy rain followed by long spells of freezing ]  I have occasionally put fleece round the plant support. The 'buds' of the crown appear around March, and we can get a lot of that kind of weather at that time until well into April, so a bit of fleece just keeps the worst off them until they come through properly. Mine is up against the house wall too.

Snow isn't too much of a problem unless it's at that time of year, and lying on the buds for a length of time, when it might get in about them as it melts. All the rest of the time it isn't an issue. 

Lyn

Have you dug it up?  Those tubers/roots should be below ground, if the frost gets to those like that it will kill it, Plant it back in the ground with the roots and shoots just about an inch below the soil then mulch around the edge. They are very hardy.