Plant them now in their permanent home. Work compost into the area before planting down to about two feet. The longer you wait to plant the weaker the plant. Al

Deana, I must ask....in Georgia, where you are having a 7B zone, have you ever had peony growing before the purchase of these. Peony does need a wintering period. If your area gets down to 20º = 10º F...then I'd say you can grow peonies.
If not, then possibly the mail-order house winters them prior to sending and expects you to get them into the ground. Did they not send instructions with the order.

Peony needs exactness in its depth of planting.
Plant it too deep...it may never bloom.

Two inches....have the topmost nodule...where the shoots come, two inches below surface...no more. To that too, in spring, never top-dress your peony...side dress only.
Putting more soil over top of the peony effectively puts it deeper. That may be enough to stop your peony from further flowering.

Give it some good rich soil....compost, cow-manure if you have it, mixed in well with your present soil and add a tablespoon of lime --but not to touch the roots.
Water in well and the soil must drain good.

The mail-order house---was it a local one and do they regularly sell peonies to areas as far south as yourself.
Whenever I hear of someone selling something that might have a hard time making it where they're sending it, I think they are not concerned about whether the plant lives or dies.
Have they given you any warrantee on the plant?

I'm just guessing...I have travelled in the south but have never actaully seen a peony grow in your neck of the woods.

I do hope you have success....you too should have this gorgeous bloomer spoil you.

My peonies have been growing and flowering for twenty years. Many nurseries here in zone 9 do not sell or recommend peonies for their customers. They don't want the complaints from an unhappy customer. Allan Rogers a professional peony grower and nursery owner has written a book titled "Peonies" in it he says if you have at least 400 hours of chilling peonies will bloom for you. In your zone that will not be a problem. If you plant deep enough like the two inches suggested where the ground freezes a foot down, they will not bloom. The buds for next years flower stems are visible now in my garden without removing any soil. Your peonies should do well, but do not be discouraged if they do not bloom the first year. Al

Jeannie,
Some peonies do excellent in 7B and have for a century or more. I have about 75 herbaceous and 25 Itohs growing for 1-3 years. This is a trial planting, but some are already flourishing and blooming in an excellent way. Not all varieties will work, however. This far south it is best to stick with early varieties.
Keep on growing.

Need Advice: I have a customer who has 8 raised planters 2 of which have peonies in them. Believe it or not they do great here in mid Georgia. We are schedule to replace the soil in all the planters in a few weeks due to nutrient depletion. Everything I have read is to transplant in peonies in fall.

Question: How will the peonies react to transplanting this time of year?

Any tips on how to do this with little disturbance to plants?

Try to dig as a ball of soil, lay on tarp, replace soil, replant. This should work unless the plants have broken dormancy. If they have broken dormancy they may not bloom this spring and the foliage may not be as good.

However if the soil is nutrient depleted the peonies may not be alive or able to bloom.

I have questions for you. Rather than removing all soil unless planters need work why not remove half of the soil and add additional. If the customer has been using liquid fertilizer the soil may actually be too inriched. Have you done a soil test to see what is there. Depending on how deeply the planting is you might want to consider building boxes for the peonies and anyother perminate plants then hidding the box below a layer of soil. That way you can dig and replace the rest of the soil without disturbing the roots.

If a 'raised planter' is a container separated from the earth,usually containing a potting mix, I can agree it could need the mix replaced. If it is what is usually called a 'raised planting bed' with no bottom and consisting of garden soil, I doubt replacing the soil would be advisable. Al

I have just purchased 2- 1 gal. peonies and after reading several sites on peonies am confused about putting them in the ground. Should I leave them in their plastic pots until October or replant them now in June?
Thanks, Earlene