Marianne's Response
Using mulch to control mildew and blight
I have many peonies: a tree, Itoh, and herbaceous. Some are diseased. I may have to toss them into the clean green can. But for the others, picking up the old foliage every autumn is tedious and I always miss some. Is there a small outdoor vacuum that has the suction to gather these leaves for me? It would be nice to get the top 1/4″ of soil as well to get rid of soil borne fungi, etc. Any recommendations? Home shop vacs are big and clumsy. Some small ones do not have the necessary suction. Any ideas?
Posted by wheezyweeder on October 27, 2015
Marianne's Response
I love your creative solution to the problem of garden clean up. I do not know of any shop vacs that could clean up the foliage and not disturb the soil, but I do have an easier idea. You can seal in the spores of mildew and blight by applying a mulch on top of the soil after you cut back the peonies in the fall. A mulch of wood chips or even gravel would help. The best time to apply the mulch would be early spring before the new growth emerges from the soil, but after the winter freeze has hit to kill some of the soil pathogens. Pruning peonies in the fall to remove any diseased leaves is a great way to prevent leaf blights and other fungi among us.
Keep growing,
Marianne Binetti
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