In the past, I have left the foliage alone for the entire season before cutting it back to the ground. But now that they have become so cumbersome, I wanted to know if that much foliage ripening is really necessary. Could I leave the foliage for, say, 8 weeks and then cut it down? Or does it require the whole summer to perform well next year?

I would plan to move them in late summer, here that would be Sept. Gives them some time to settle in, leaves on still feeding them a bit, before we get fall rains started. I cover them with shredded leaves for protection from the rain washing all the dirt off.

Do dig out away from the plants as you start the uprooting. With older plants you find much larger roots than what you see in the stuff at stores. You can get closer with shovel when you see the actual size roots you are dealing with. They can snap easily, so don't pull too hard. But sometimes they just are too unwieldy to manage, so breakage does happen.

My mother's peonies have HUGE root balls. She has a real touch with peonies, treats them roughly in separating them because it is so hard to do, and they still come right back, bloom the next year. She is always digging them up to give some away, thinks hers are crowded. I am not that lucky with mine! Mine take longer to recover when moved, especially if I am nice to them!!

Good luck with your renovation next fall.