Sounds like botrytis blight - see link below

Here is a link that might be useful: peony botrytis

Hi Woody :-)

Thanks for that link. I was pretty sure it had to be some disease. I have another healthy peony close to the sick one, but they came from different sources. I am going to just rip it out and throw it away. I don't want to see it spread to anything else in that bed. Oh well...

Thanks :-)
pm2

PM2, you don't have to throw plant away if you want to save it.
Dig it out. Cut all foliage down to the ground and discard it, not compost it. Soak roots in a fungicide that treat botrytis (Mancozeb, etc) and plant in a pot. Next spring you'll have an absolutely healthy plant. And in another year it should bloom for you.
Alternatively you may just cut everything above the ground and drench soil well with fungicide. Result will be the same as above, but for two years you'll have a non-blooming spot. If you leave it in a ground don't forget to mark the spot, otherwise you may want to plant something there this year.

Ego...thanks so much for that info. Unfortunately, although I normally procrastinate a lot longer, this time I went right out and dug it up and out it came. Well, I probably would have done that anyway. I do garden organically and have not used a fungicide in 30 yrs living here. I didn't enjoy pulling it but I had another healthy one a short distance away and I was afraid it might spread.

This will be my first year with peony blooms. I planted both plants late last spring and one plant had one bloom on it when I bought it. This year there are about 8 buds on it, so I am very pleased. I am going to leave that spot vacant for the season and will just enjoy the one I have this year.

Hope the groundhog damage has shown some grow back for you. I think of you every time I hear a groundhog story and feel very sad after all the hard work you put into your lovely garden that you have lost so many plants this year. It's always something, isn't it?

Thanks...!

:-)
pm2