I have only been in my house 4 years. After moving from a peony-impossible warm climate, I fell in total love with three existing peonies in my garden and have increased that to 8. Now we will probably be moving, still to a peony-friendly climate. I want to take a division of some of the older ones, the ones that were here when I moved in, but I am unsure as to what to do with the newer ones. Three I got three years ago and are blooming well, but still small. The smallest one has at least six major stems coming out of the root, and then those six major stems split into smaller stems very close to the crown. I'm assuming that means it has at least six eyes. Two I got at plant swaps last year and both had too few eyes to make blooms this year. One is an unknown red, but the other is a Bowl of Beauty--oo la la! I want to be able to take these five newer ones with me. They don't add to the current garden right now and I don't want to miss out on them since I chose them (except for the unknown) especially.

I am confused about the "don't move but divide" rule for peonies. Does that mean I can never move the original plant, and can only take a division off of it? Or, does that mean I dig the whole thing up, split it into divisions, and then plant those? And, how would that work with a very young peony with less than five eyes?

I am more than willing to divide them and wait a few years until they have enough eyes to bloom. I just don't know how to move my little guys if I also have to divide them somehow.

Thank you all! Gardenweb gardeners are better than any gardening book!