Knowledgebase
Wilting Peonies #751236
Asked May 21, 2021, 9:41 AM EDT
St. Clair County Michigan
Expert Response
Emily,
Thanks for the pictures. The symptoms do appear to be consistent with verticillium wilt. Unfortunately the only thing that can be done in this instance, if it is in fact verticillium wilt, is to remove the peony and replant something other than peony in that location. The picture of the stem was a little blurry. To confirm it is verticillium wilt, cut one of the wilting stems in half, closer to the base of the stem and look for brown banding. I've included some articles that have example pictures.
https://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/50166/1/01153.pdf
Verticillium wilt is present in the soil and is fairly ubiquitous. While the pathogen could've come from compost, it's impossible to be certain. It is also possible that it was already present in the soil and something caused either an increase in concentration of the pathogen or the plant became less resistant. There are also many species of verticillium so one species could very well affect peony plants but not boxwood.