Pests and diseases of peonies: photos, signs and treatment

Peony diseases must be treated when the first symptoms appear. Quite harmless diseases, when neglected, can destroy a plant. In order to recognize ailments in time, you need to study their main signs.

Causes and signs of peony disease

Peonies suffer from diseases for many reasons. Among the main factors are:

poor sanitary condition of the site - if the flowerbed is almost not cleaned, and a lot of decaying plant debris remains on it, a favorable environment for the proliferation of fungi arises;
swampy soil; with excessive watering, fungal diseases also develop in the root system of the plant;
dense bushes, fungi and viruses develop faster and more actively if the bushes grow very densely;
lack or excess of individual microelements, peony bushes may suffer from too acidic or alkaline soil, from a deficiency of potassium or iron in the soil;
poor quality of planting material - a seedling purchased from a nursery may already be infected with a virus or fungal disease.

The condition of the site affects the health of peonies

Important! Viral diseases can spread to peonies from neighboring plantings - for example, from tomatoes, cucumbers, raspberries. Often bushes become infected with viruses when planted in an area where vegetable crops previously grew.

The first symptoms of the disease are largely similar to each other. It is necessary to subject peony bushes to a more careful inspection if:

black dots and brown spots appeared on the leaves of the plant;
Dark spots appear on the leaves with most ailments
the peony leaves began to turn yellow and became covered with light, uneven stains;
A diseased plant quickly turns yellow
the foliage began to curl and dry out;
If there is a malnutrition, the plant begins to dry out
brown spots appeared on the stem;
Many diseases affect the stem and lower leaves first.
a gray or whitish coating appeared on the shoots and leaves.
Plaque on foliage is an alarming symptom

After careful study, it is necessary to establish what kind of disease has affected the peony bushes and take measures for treatment.

Peony diseases and their treatment

Diseases of tree peony with treatment can generally be divided into 2 categories. There are fungal and viral diseases, and their symptoms are similar. But the main difference is that fungi are much easier to eliminate.

Fungal diseases of peonies with photos and the fight against them

Fungal diseases develop in peony bushes most often due to improper care.The cause may be constant waterlogging of the soil, especially during rainy weather. Fungi often appear in early spring; if the garden has not been cleaned in the fall, pathogenic spores wait out the cold under plant debris.

Rust

One of the most common diseases manifests itself on peonies with recognizable symptoms. When rust occurs on the leaves of a plant, orange, brown or reddish protruding spots that look like “pads” appear - these are fungal spores. Over time, the spots become more and more numerous, the peony foliage begins to dry out and die, and the plant stops growing.

Rust is characterized by red-brown stains

The easiest way to cure rust is at the very beginning. It is necessary to remove all affected leaves from the bush and burn them, and then spray the entire flowerbed with 1% Bordeaux mixture. It is important to treat, among other things, neighboring healthy plants so that the fungus does not spread to them.

Powdery mildew

A fungal disease is easily recognized by the characteristic plaque on the leaves. When infected with powdery mildew, the leaf blades of the peony become covered with a whitish film at the top. At first, the disease does little harm to the plant, but reduces its decorative effect. If powdery mildew is not treated, the leaves will begin to turn yellow and dry out, and the peony will noticeably weaken.

Powdery mildew is easily recognized by its whitish coating

Powdery mildew is usually combated by spraying with 0.5% soda ash; you can add a little laundry soap to the solution. Figon's solution 0.2% is also suitable for treatment. Severely damaged leaves must be cut off, then removed from the flowerbed and burned.

Cladosporiosis

A fungus called cladosporiosis affects peony bushes mainly in warm southern regions.The disease usually develops in early summer and is characterized by large spots on the foliage - brown, brown or brownish-red.

With cladosporiosis, dark spots appear on the leaves

Gradually, the spots become larger, merge with each other and cover the entire leaf. In conditions of high humidity, a dark gray fungal coating appears on the underside of the leaf; in advanced cases, not only the leaves, but also the stems with buds suffer.

Treatment of the disease is carried out with the help of drugs HOM, Fitosporin and others. Affected peony leaves are removed and destroyed.

Attention! Cladosporiosis often spreads to peonies from tomatoes and carrots. If there are vegetable beds near the flower bed, you need to especially carefully monitor the health of the flowers.

Septoria

The Septoria fungus affects the leaf blades and stems of peonies. The disease usually appears in June or July; yellowish-brown or brown spots of rounded and elongated shape appear on the leaves on both sides. The middle of these spots is lighter, and the border is purple-brown. The spots gradually merge with each other, and their color becomes brownish-gray.

With septoria, the spots grow together

Septoria disease spreads throughout the bush from bottom to top; if left untreated, the leaves begin to dry out and fall off. The peony does not die immediately, but its decorative value decreases, flowering becomes less abundant, and winter hardiness decreases.

Septoria is treated using standard means - Bordeaux mixture, HOM and Fundazol. It is recommended to spray three times per season, starting in early spring at intervals of 2 weeks.

Verticillium wilt

Fungal disease is very dangerous for peonies.The disease usually becomes noticeable during the flowering period; leaves and stems suddenly begin to wither. On cross sections of the shoots you can see that the vessels of the plant have darkened. The disease spreads from the root collar upward, the plant’s nutrition is disrupted, and it inevitably dies.

Verticillium wilt is an incurable disease.

Verticillium wilt is virtually untreatable. A diseased peony bush is removed from the flowerbed along with a lump of earth, and then burned in the far corner of the site. The soil in which the peony grew is spilled with formaldehyde to reliably destroy the pathogens.

Gray rot

Another dangerous disease is gray rot, which affects the entire plant. You can recognize the disease by brown spots at the bottom of the stem, wilting of shoots and the appearance of a grayish coating on the leaf blades. The peony quickly dies under the influence of the fungus, and gray rot develops especially quickly in conditions of high humidity.

Shoots, buds and leaves suffer from gray rot

You need to start treating the disease immediately after the first symptoms appear. All affected areas are cut off and burned, and the flowerbed is spilled with 0.6% Thiram solution. After this, you need to carefully monitor the affected plant and neighboring peonies so as not to miss possible relapses.

Phyllosticosis

The disease phyllostictosis manifests itself as small brown spots on peony leaves. As the disease progresses, the spots surrounded by a dark purple border become larger, their center becomes lighter, and convex dark dots appear - fungal spores. Under the influence of the disease, the peony leaves begin to dry out, and gradually the plant completely withers.

With phyllostictosis, dark spots gradually grow

To save the peony bush, it is necessary to promptly remove all affected parts of the plant. After this, the flowerbed is treated with a 0.6% Thiram solution, and the peonies themselves are sprayed with Bordeaux mixture and other fungicidal preparations.

Root rot

Among the diseases of peony tubers, root rot is especially dangerous. It develops under the influence of several fungi at once, but in all cases it provokes rotting of the roots and above-ground parts. You can recognize the disease by the withering of the leaves and stems, and if you dig up the affected peony from the ground, you will find that its roots have turned brown, become covered with a whitish or pinkish coating and have begun to rot.

With advanced root rot, the bush cannot be saved

If the fungus has not affected the plant too much, then the affected areas can be cut off and the sections treated with activated carbon or manganese.

Advice! In case of serious infection, you just need to destroy the plant and take more careful care of the remaining flower bed, do not flood or acidify the soil, and do not allow the bushes to thicken.

Viral diseases of peonies with photos and their treatment

Peonies suffer not only from fungi, but also from viral diseases. At the same time, viruses pose a much more serious danger. Most of them can only be protected preventively; if a peony gets sick, it is often impossible to save it.

Lemoine's disease

Lemoine's disease is a common virus with an unknown pathogen. The disease manifests itself with the following symptoms: the shoots of the plant stop developing, the peony becomes smaller and does not bloom. If you dig a plant out of the ground, you will see swellings on the weak roots.Since the symptoms of Lemoine's disease are very similar to the symptoms of nematode infection, there is a version that worms are carriers of the disease.

Lemoine's disease can be seen by shredding and curling of leaves.

It is impossible to fight Lemoine's disease; the diseased peony is dug out of the ground and destroyed. After destroying the plant, it is important to treat the soil with formalin and not plant new plants in it for several months.

Rattle virus

Rattle virus is a disease of peonies, which is expressed by the appearance of light green or yellowish spots on the leaves. The photo of the tree peony disease shows that the spots have the shape of half rings or rings. Often they merge with each other and form a pattern on the leaf plates. Symptoms of the virus appear in May or June.

Rattle leaves light stains on the leaves

Peonies react to disease in different ways. Some plants bloom without interference, and the next year their leaf blades grow healthy and clean. Other peonies begin to dry out, become deformed and fade. In the latter case, it is impossible to save the plants; it is better to destroy them and disinfect the tools and soil with a formaldehyde solution.

Advice! Although peonies under favorable circumstances can cope with rattling, usually diseased plants are still eliminated to preserve the health of neighboring bushes.

Ring mosaic of leaves

Another viral disease is also characterized by the appearance of light spots and stripes on the leaves of the plant. When the disease is advanced, necrotic spots appear on the leaf blades. When infected with ring mosaic, peonies quickly stop developing and wither.

Ring mosaic stains leaf plates with an uneven pattern

The disease cannot be cured; the only way to combat it is to destroy the diseased specimen and disinfect the soil. A diseased peony should be eliminated as soon as possible, before the virus spreads to neighboring plants.

Pests of peonies and their control

In addition to diseases, peonies in the garden are threatened by pests. Parasitic insects feed on plant juices, eat up the green mass and can completely destroy the flower in a short time.

Aphid

Small insects with a greenish body gather mainly in the upper part of the plant - around the buds and at the ends of the shoots. Aphids exist due to the vital juices of the peony and weaken it. If the damage is significant, the flower may die completely.

Aphids feed on the juices of buds and shoots

If there are few aphids on the peony shoots, you can collect the insects by hand or wash them off with a stream of water with moderate pressure. In case of severe infection, the flowers are sprayed with a soap solution, Actellik or Fitoverm according to the instructions.

Root-knot nematodes

Of all the pests, nematode worms pose the greatest danger to peony. They damage mainly the roots of the plant and almost do not manifest themselves in the early stages. As the disease progresses, the peony's leaves begin to deform and dry out. If you dig an infected bush out of the ground, you will see that its roots are covered with numerous nodules.

Nematodes irreparably damage roots

The root-knot nematode cannot be treated, so the peony is simply removed from the flowerbed and burned. To prevent nematodes from spreading to other plants, the soil is treated with formaldehyde.

Important! The nematode must be combated using preventive spraying, sanitary cleaning of the area and regular digging of the soil.

Thrips

Thrips are small insects with an elongated black body. Pests appear on peonies in early spring and suck the juice from the leaves and shoots. They are especially dangerous during the budding period, since they harm the petals and can interfere with the upcoming flowering. Thrips are very small in size, and it can be difficult to spot them on a peony.

Thrips are very small and difficult to spot.

To get rid of pests, you need to spray the flowerbed with Karbofos solution three times a season. Homemade infusions of yarrow and dandelion are also suitable for fighting thrips.

Ants

In general, ants are not considered pests, but they are quite dangerous for peonies. The buds of plants secrete a sweet syrup, and the ants feed on it, and at the same time eat the petals and leaves.

Ants on peonies harm flowering

To get rid of an insect infestation, you need to treat peonies and the soil around them with repellent solutions. Iskra and Fufanon are well suited - these are biological preparations with a mild but powerful effect.

Hop spinner

The adult pest is a large butterfly with a silver or yellow-brown color. But for peonies, the main danger is the caterpillars of the thin weed; they settle in the roots of the plant and feed on their juices. As a result, peonies stop receiving the required amount of nutrients and stop growing.

Hop weed caterpillars feed on peony roots

To get rid of hop worm caterpillars, you need to spray peonies with Iskra solution according to the instructions. For preventive purposes, it is recommended to regularly loosen the soil and remove weeds.

Bronzovka

The bronze beetle is an insect with a beautiful golden-yellow-green shell color.The beetle flies from May until the end of August, and is dangerous because it eats the petals, leaves and stems of peonies.

Bronzovka can eat peony flowers

When bronze insects appear, it is recommended to collect the pest from plants manually. You can also use insecticidal agents and infusion of tomato tops. In August, the soil in the flowerbed must be properly loosened, since during this period the bronze grass pupates in the ground.

Why do peony leaves curl, what to do?

Among peony diseases and their treatment, leaf curling is not the least important. Deformation of leaf plates is a very common symptom. If a problem arises, peonies should be carefully examined and tried to determine what exactly prevented the normal development of the plant.

Leaves become deformed and curled mainly for the following reasons:

Exposure to pests - aphids or ants. When attacked by insects, leaf blades often curl, and holes and spots also appear on them.
Lack of moisture. Peony bushes react poorly to waterlogging, but too dry soil is also harmful for them, the plants stop receiving nutrients, the leaves turn pale and curl.
Lack of light. If plants do not receive the required amount of sun, the process of photosynthesis in the leaves is disrupted and the plates curl.
Exposure to rodents and insect larvae. When the roots are damaged, the condition of the leaves first deteriorates, they become flabby and deformed.

Leaf curl is a common symptom of fungal and viral diseases.

To keep peony leaves green and healthy, you need to plant the plant in a well-lit area with good drainage and follow the recommended care rules.

Prevention measures

Treating diseases and pests of peonies is quite difficult, and sometimes impossible. Therefore, the easiest way is to follow the rules of prevention, this will reduce the risk of infection:

At the end of each season, the site must be thoroughly cleaned. The soil is dug up to remove weeds, all fallen leaves, old stems and dried flowers are collected, taken to the far corner of the garden and burned.
To prevent peonies from getting sick, you need to monitor the condition of the soil and regulate its composition. Every summer after flowering, the top layer of soil should be loosened, and fertilizers should be applied three times a season - nitrogenous in early spring, potassium and phosphorus during and after flowering.
Peonies should be planted freely, no less than 30 cm from each other. If the planting is too dense, diseases and viruses appear much more often, and they are more difficult to cure, since the plants quickly become infected from each other.
To prevent fungal diseases, every spring it is recommended to spray with fungicidal agents - Fundazol, Bordeaux mixture, HOM solution. Treatment allows you to eliminate fungal spores even before the first symptoms of disease appear.

To prevent disease, the flowerbed must be kept clean.

Compliance with the rules of care plays an important role in the treatment of peony diseases and their prevention. Violation of the irrigation regime, lack of light and deficiency of minerals weaken peonies and make them vulnerable to illnesses.

Conclusion

Peony diseases are easier to prevent, but even if symptoms appear, most ailments can be dealt with. It is important to understand in time what kind of disease the peony suffered from and to apply the recommended treatment measures.