to repeat some ... interior browning is normal.. no conifer holds its needles forever ... they are a full sun plant for prime growth.. yours appear shaded.. which will not hurt them.. other than reduce vigor to some extent ... i doubt they had mites ... i think your sales man made part of a boat payment ... otherwise ... and this is going to be hard for you ... THEY LOOK ABOUT NORMAL... you have rather large transplants.. that is not favored here ... they take longer to get 'established' ... and the shade issue may extend that .. and they are probably still working on that ... seriously .. that looks like a normal GG .. and its alive.. what more do you want ... seriously.. they grew 2 feet in a year.. 2 years after a large transplant.. and you are not happy about it???? what more can they do.. barbie you a burger and fetch a beer .. then what.. you will complain the beer was warm .... lol i suspect.. your only problem is your expectations of more ... GG NEVER live up to the hype that surrounds them .. they are not going to grow 3 to 5 or more feet per year .. IMHO good luck ken

Unfortunately I think you're right, everything I've searched for so far points to herbicide damage. It's completely my own fault too I think. I thought I was careful and and was avoiding drift. Thanks for the sites though they're really helpful. I still can't figure out if my plants are salvageable or if I should tear them out and plant new. I don't want to keep growing them if they've been permanently damaged or unsafe to consume.

I'm not really sure what kind of peony you have but you can always bring a picture of it to your local nursery. They will be able to help you identify it. As for whether or not something is wrong with your peony, your peony looks okay to me. Sometimes when it's too hot and there is no rain, the buds may shrivel up. This has happened to me many times, I end up picking the buds off and my peony is okay the following year. I would try to clear the area around your peonies. There seems to be a lot of little plants growing inside and around the stems. When there isn't enough air circulation, peonies can develop gray mold or bortrytis. I would then try to clear away some of the dirt around the stems. Peonies should not be planted more than 2 inches deep. Otherwise, they won't flower. I would add some bonemeal or Neptune's Sea Harvest around each of the peony plants. Stay away from the artificial type fertilizers, they can do more damage than good. Lastly, get some peony rings to support the leaves. I wouldn't cut the leaves off unless there was a disease. Peonies, like other plants, need their leaves to photosynthesize food in order to develop a strong root system. Peonies are hardy plants and can live for up to a 100 years given they are planted in the right conditions. Good luck!

Hi, I live in zone 8b western Washington. I've purchased this about 2 weeks ago. I have been moving it around a lot having no clue which spot to keep it, unsure if it needs morning light and afternoon shade or could I keep it in full shade. I don't know the ph of the water, but I know we don't have hard water here, so it's somewhere in the middle..I've repotted it with miracle gro potting mix, added peat moss and perlite..I have also fertilized it once a week with miracid. I haven't been watering too much because it has been raining off and on here.