Best to dig them after the stems start dying off in the fall, whenever that is in your area. They'll probably have pretty large root systems if they've been in place several years. Start by digging a circle around the base a foot or so out from the outer stems, maybe even a bit further out. You might have to dig down 2 feet or so to get the majority of the roots out, too. The roots are brittle, you probably won't be able to get an established clump out without breaking roots, it happens so don't sweat it. You can cut the stems down to a couple of inches before you start digging or after, whatever makes it easier. You can probably divide the big clumps into several smaller root pieces with a knife or small saw, try to keep 3-5 eyes on each division as well as a good portion of the feeder roots attached (the part that looks like a tuber). You don't have to plant them right away, you'll want the broken/cut edges to dry out a bit before sticking them back in the dirt. Plant roots down and eye side up with eyes 1-2" deep. If some of the eyes are to the side or pointed down that's okay, they grow weird sometimes. If there's woody pieces in the middle that don't have eyes you can try to plant it if you'd like, some pieces are re-energized by the dividing and will grow again, but they're less likely to do so than the pieces with eyes so put those in the best spots. At least 6 hours of direct sunlight a day in a non-boggy area. Even after moving them your brother might end up with more peonies, some will grow back from a small piece of root left after transplanting. Good luck with your new plants!

All I would add to the above excellent advice, is I would let the whole root mass sit for a couple of days after digging, before dividing. You will get a lot less inadvertent root breakage as the roots will have wilted and be more rubbery than brittle. Al

I don't know if this story helps you or not, but many years ago a local church let people know that they were planning a community garden in the lot next door. The entire lot was surrounded by a peony border. An old one. Anyway, I filled the back of a pickup truck with the plants which were in bloom and moved them to my place and planted them right away. By July, they were just black sticks! However, the following spring they were beautiful lush plants but did not bloom. The following spring they were amazing and looked liked they had been growing there for 50 years!!! I think peony and iris are not the most delicate plants and can take some abuse. I'd move them whenever you would prefer.

I am actually having the same thing happen to me right now with a Peony that I got from a friend last year. She didn't want it anymore, so I said I would take it. It had been well established there. So my fiance dug it up for me and we replanted it a couple of days after we got it here. It had some leaves on it as well as 3 buds when we transplanted it. A couple of weeks had passed and it looked like it had been stressed as it started to die. The buds turned black and then the leaves did too shortly after.

This year, I had for sure thought it was dead as it wasn't producing anything, there was no sign of life at all. I accused my fiance of killing it when he dug it out. Hehehehee!!! :) This one day I went out and checked it as I have some bleeding hearts by the peony area and there it was, growing out of the ground. It wasn't dead after all. :) All I got this year was leaves.

Next year, I'm expecting flowers. I have my fingers crossed. Here's why......

A few weeks ago, I spoke to someone who knows all about peonies and they said it could take a few years to get flowers on the plant. They said the first year not to expect too much out of the plant. The second year one can expect some plant growth with leaves that die off not too long after growing. The third year is when one can see possible flowers, although to have the leaves that die off can also happen again. Fourth year, for sure one should get flowers. :)

Your friend was absolutely right, sweetie2002! Most of us peony freaks order from online sellers who optimize their roots for maximum sales balanced by customer satisfaction which ends up with the 3-5 eye division. That size can easily bloom the next spring after planting but not always. Some of the slower growers can still take 2-3 years to bloom even if the division if normal sized. From the way you described your peony you should get blooms next spring!

Do you have other peonies? I noticed your zone is 2A, good to know they can grow in that amount of cold. Make sure you post pictures next spring when yours blooms, would love to see them!

How might I augment the soil in the new location?
Remind me, replant at the surface, slightly below, deep?

You can add compost to improve, vermiculite for drainage if you have clay, peat moss to help retain moisture if it's sandy (but peonies don't like damp!) Eyes should be around 2 inches deep for your zone, Emerogork2. Just position the roots however you need to so most of the eyes are pointed up.

LizinElizabeth.........That was my first peony, actually. I just got done planting 5 more for next year and I was thrilled in the quality of the roots I got. :) That being said, up here in Canada, I find that we don't have the selection of different kinds of peonies that you do in the US.

But yes, peonies are planted all over the place here, so they definitely can tolerate the cold. I find that even though we are in zone 2A, we can plant zone 3 plants and not have to worry about them at all. :)

But you have Parkland! They have a wonderful selection and deliver nice sized roots. Last year's thread about what roots have you received had some massive roots from the Canadian growers.
I'm in Colorado and there are no nurseries that specialize in peonies, almost all of mine are ordered online. Actually ordered from 2 Canadian nurseries this year, Parkland and Select Plus.