Peonies have few pests, but there are many diseases affecting foliage, stems, flowers and buds. Most often, they are brought to the site along with planting material. In order to stop the developing peony disease in time, it is necessary to regularly review them in wet rainy weather. If necessary, spray the plant with fungicides. From time to time, peonies are transplanted to a new site, after dividing the bush in half. If you follow all the precautions, then no problems with the colors will arise. But if, nevertheless, the first signs of a bacterial or fungal infection appeared on the leaves and buds, then it is best to know which disease has affected the plant and how to deal with it.
The most common and, perhaps, malicious peony disease is gray rot. It affects not only buds, stems and leaves, but also the underground root part. Most often, young shoots in the spring suffer from this fungal disease during the regrowth period. The first sign of damage to the plant is the appearance at the base of the stem of gray plaque. Then dark spots form in this place. The plant becomes very brittle, often the stems are bent and fall to the ground. Gray rot develops especially actively in rainy, cold, damp spring. The pathogen of this phytoinfection winters over on plant debris. The disease causes significant damage throughout the growing season.
Despite the fact that flower diseases affect different parts of the plant and manifest themselves in different ways, measures to combat them are not much different from each other. Firstly, prevention. It is necessary to strictly follow the
agricultural technology of cultivation. This includes timely cultivation, careful weeding, fertilizing with mineral fertilizers and proper watering. Secondly, we need an annual autumn pruning of stems, especially in the lower part of the plant. Cropped shoots are collected and burned in pits. Thirdly, it is mandatory to spray the plants with antifungal and antibacterial drugs. For example, to prevent the development of gray rot, peonies are sprayed with fungicides.
Another very common disease of peonies of fungal origin is rust. It affects most often the leaves. Yellow-orange spots appear on both sides of them. These are the spore-bearing zones of the fungus. The infection is always transmitted through plant debris after pruning, so they must be burned outside the garden. As a preventive measure, it is also recommended to spray the flower bush with Bordeaux liquid in March-April. You should be aware that if pines grow near the site, then the likelihood of rust increases at times.
Another peony disease is powdery mildew. It is also an infection of fungal origin. The affected area is the leaves. A plaque forms on them, under which the deciduous tissue first turns yellow, and then dies. To rid the plant of this pathogenic fungus, it is sprayed with a soap-copper compound. The solution consists of 20 g of copper sulfate, 150 - 200 g of green soap and 10 liters of water.
Peonies - flowers are unusually beautiful, but, unfortunately, are very susceptible to various diseases. In order for the bush to please with huge pink, red and burgundy flower hats every year, you must follow all the rules of agricultural technology.