We recently got hit with tropical storm Isaias and received quite a bit of damage/power lost in the area. One of the things that Isaias brought was salt spray from the ocean that covered the entire area. The trees that were not uprooted during the storm are now turning brown from all the salt. All of my peonies are starting to curl their leaves and showing signs of burning on their leaves. Would it be better to rinse off the leaves with a lot of water and let the salt go into the soil (could that potentially shock the roots?) or would it be better to remove the leaves at this point?

Oh, Helen so sorry! Sounds so bad! I don't know what is better but maybe cutting leaves would be OK this time of the year than rinsing. Salt will go to the soil eventually from other plants/surfaces but at least not right where peonies are growing. My pure guess.

Thanks Anya! I think I'll cut the leaves soon or spot wipe them down. It's definitely a bit of an unique situation, as the last salt spray we got was during Sandy.

Wow, Helen, I can't imagine. Did you last salt water effect your soil? I would cut them back, not that it is right but you are close to time to safely do that anyway. I really don't know the effect once the plant takes all of that into it's root system through the leaves. Do keep us posted. What an interesting question.

Oh Helen,
I am so sorry that you had all that damage.
I googled your problem. They do recommend flushing the soil. Six inches of water will flush 50% of the salt. They also recommended adding gypsum to the soil to replace the accumulated sodium ions, and said it would not change the ph of the soil. Also add organic matter, and do not use synthetic fertilizers.

We have agricultural extension offices in our state. You might google to see if you have one on Long Island, and call them for advice.

I hope you didn't have any damage to your home.

Please keep us posted.

I too am sorry about this terrible event. I also agree with others about removing the foliage before flushing the soil with water. I am already pruning my peonies as some are more affected by blackspot and powdery mildew earlier than others. I have not seen tremendous effect on blooming of pruning early done to these peonies. They continue to bloom for me year after year. Good luck and I hope your peonies will make it through this exposure.

Thanks for all the advices!

Tracey- thank you, I feel like it's all a wild guess at this point. At least I'll have some interesting updates for you guys next year. As far as I can tell, the itohs are not as sensitive to the salt as herbaceous. I'll post some pictures tomorrow before I remove the salt damaged foliage. As for the last salt spray, I don't quite recall what happen with the salt level. I just remember plants and trees struggled for the next few years. I'll have my husband do a dirt test soon and compare the results from 4 months ago. Ill post it if I have anything interesting.

Mieok- thank you for the suggestion! I'll get some gypsum and add some compost after I remove the foliage. Thankfully, we walk away with no damage, just without power for a couple of days.

Karen - thank you! I feel a little bit better removing the foliage. I was a bit worried about removing them so early in the season, but no real lost as some of them are looking pretty scrawny from powdery mildew.