Q: My peony has bloomed wonderfully for many years but this year the buds are turning black and are not growing. What can I do?
A: It is too late this year to get flowers, but it is not too late to help prevent problems next year. The symptom you describe is caused by a fungal disease caused by Botrytis paeoniae. It is often called gray mold because of the gray fuzzy spores that grow on the infected plant.
