They look like fertilizer burn or herbicide damage. Did you recently fertilize your lawn? If this is not the case, then the other possibility is perhaps sudden change in temps, like from cold to very warm. If it is fertilizer burn or herbicide damage, the best thing is to water it hard to try to wash away the chemicals. Also, I suggest that you brush the mulch off the crown off the peonies so that no stems of peonies are touched by mulch.

I'm not savvy enough to disagree :) I took both of your advice because any and all of the above are possible. The big peony is just showing off and has about 9 healthy looking buds! Photos will definitely follow should one or all of them bloom.

The small one next to it has had the bricks and mulch removed. There was actually a lot more mulch around them than I thought. I also flooded both small peonies as herbicide damage is very possible. The season is just beginning in the Atlanta area and everyone is spraying everywhere. I will be broadcasting tomorrow but will be sure to put plankets over all of them to avoid any fertilizer/weed control getting into the beds.

Thank you VERY much for taking the time to look at my photos and respond!

The droopy one really perked up after the brick edging was replaced and the root zone flooded. The big, healthy one is a total mystery! I remember planting Shirley Temple and Singing in the Rain, the plant is healthy, it bloomed and still has lots of buds, but the fragrance is, um, kinda' nasty. This is not what I had before but I'm not sure what went wrong.

The foliage looks right for an Itoh as do the longer, pointy buds but I'm not sure about the color of the bloom. Here's a picture of my Singing in the Rain from last spring. My blooms start out a salmon pink, darker than the bloom in your picture, and fade to completely yellow. With the side buds opening I have shades from medium to dark salmon pink to yellow on the shrub at the same time. Did yours start out darker? Is there more yellow in the bloom than the picture shows? And some of the Itohs are advertised as having a lemony scent but fragrance is certainly not a selling point for them! The pink peony at the bottom of the pic is Victorie de la Marne, certainly not Singing in the Rain! And we get really bad hail storms here, can you tell from the foliage? Yours looks so nice and healthy!

I'm glad the droopy one is recovering!

Liz, you Singing in the Rain is lovely! I think I have the same flower but I don't get any pink, I'd say there's salmon/peach overtones. I wonder if I could put the third into the same bed? I think it's too close to a gutter and may be utterly waterlogged. I'd read they need 36" of space but Victorie de la Marne seems close in your photos and is doing well.