I'm in the same boat Mary; I was haphazard in my digging technique, and ended up with many small root fragments with only one eye.

I was wondering if I were to plant these in containers and keep them under flourescent lights indoors for a few weeks, would this give them a chance to build feeder roots, or would they think it was spring? Or are they just doomed? Also, when I move them outside, would the drastic change in temperature cause problems? I plan on removing them from their containers during the outdoor transport.

If you temporarily pot them, I would leave them outside to go dormant. You shouldn't need to bring them inside.

Don't store them in water. Keep them in soil which is barely moist until you can replant. I would probably agree that they should stay outdoors instead of bringing them indoors.

As to planting smaller pieces together. You can always do this. You may end up having to divide faster, but if you have 3 small pieces of the same kind, I would plant them 6-8" apart in a small triangle.

If you have good size roots with no eyes I would still keep them. It is possible that advanticous eyes may appear. It is worth the trouble to plant or pot them until they either grow or fade away. Al

Well, I kept them in pots outside all winter(after 6 weeks inside in an attempt to grow feeder roots), and I planted them in early spring.

After lying dormant for almost four weeks, all of my transplants have now sprouted! They're tiny in comparison to last year, but they're in a better place and will do better in the long run.

BTW, a separate peony, transplanted this spring, is now 3 separate monstrous peonies, all ready to flower. I'm doing all my transplanting in the spring from now on.