Peonies are a very simple plant. It has only 6 rules: 1. Don't move me. 2. But if you have to move (and divide) me, only in the early Fall (NOT any other time!). 3. And if you do move me, don't expect me to bloom like before in less than 2 or 3 seasons. Then I will explode again. 4. Lots of sun. 5. Spring fertilizer only. 6. Stake/suport well and early.

Given the above, peonies are an almost indestructable joy in the garden.
Greg

I disagree with Greg.

1. You may move me if necessary. If you have to move go ahead and do so, move in as big a clump as possible. If the clump breaks apart go ahead and divide. I would move away from the pond for safety. I have seen too many reconstruction projects bury things that they were not supposed to.

The peonies do not like to be moved is a semi-myth. The do not like to be moved around continuously and they may take a year or so to start blooming again but if given the choice of moving or death move.

2. Fall is the best time but if necessary you may move at any time. Check with the growers in your area many start digging and dividing in early August.

3. Depending on how frequently you move you may not have flowers for a year or so but the flowers for next year are already in the formation stage.

4. Some peonies that have their parentage in wooded areas actually do better in dappled sunlight.

5. Fertilize just after bloom and then again in the fall after the plant is dormant. Use a grandular fertilizer not a folar feeder like M-grow. If you use folar feed you are just feeding the leaves and not forcing the food in through the roots. I, myself, feed whenever I think of it.

6. Staking depends on the cultivar.I would feel silly staking my Elfin Beauty or the teni's.

Following up on the fall transplanting advice?
Given the fact that zones are so different, is there a temperature range to look for?

I live in this weird thing called an "atmospheric trough" and I have almost zone 8b seasons. Fall here, at my very own house, is as odd as my spring, which is exactly 10 days later than my nearest neighbors! Go figger.

Thanks for your suggestions,
Christine

The fall transplanting is not so much a temperature range but a time frame. Fall is when the roots have absorbed their nutriants and are starting to go dormant. In your area you could transplant probably from August until the end of November depending on the year. As I have stated in a recent post some commerical growers start in August to dig and divide. The ideal is to allow 1 to 2 months of non-frozen time after planting for the new roots to start. If you have ever received a plant with white hair like roots these are the roots that you want to have time to develope a coat before frost, hard skin.

Ahhhh...
I was wondering if I should have phrased that differently.

So we're talking while there is still foliage, yet well past blossom time.

In my weird area, I actually don't get a REAL frozen time (above or below ground) until about February. If it happens before that? It is extremely unusual.

However, I get your point and thank you. I plan to move a couple of peonies and do want to offer them the optimal conditions. I just have a hard time thinking August (through October) and its drought-like sun and heat. But with water, all things are possible, right?

Thanks,
Christine

If you don't get cold weather it does not have to be freezing but needs to be below 40F to give peonies the chill time needed for bloom. You can force dormancy by cutting the foliage off clear to the ground earlier or when you move them. This will signal the plant to put out the new feeder roots.

The reason I use the term fall rather than September, October etc is that we do have some readers that are from the southern hemisphere and their fall is during our spring.
Fall is just the time of year the seasons start to change from hot to cooler but not cold.

I do agree with Greg. The peonies in the great gardens of England are never moved. I have peonies in my back border for over 23 years without even any fertilizer, but the ones in my front border, which are now blooming for the first time, were moved from my side border in Fall (late October) 2003!! Last year, 1 plant produced 1 bloom, the others had buds that never developed. But then, I don't fertilize. You will have to wait for blooms again.

I need to move some peonies, too. I've never dug one up before. How deep does the root ball typically go? and how wide around the plant?

Years ago, I dug thru an old peony hedge with a backhoe; the roots were enoromous, going down 3-4 ft, if my memory is correct. My guess is that you don't have to move all of the roots.

If they go down that far I hope not! Can anyone else shed any light on the subject?