They are deer- and rabbit-resistant too, so you can usually depend on peonies to put on a beautiful spring show with their enormous, colorful flowers. But because working early-spring soils can be difficult in all parts of these zones due to lingering winter cold, dividing peonies is best done during the fall after plants have lapsed into dormancy. Preparing your peonies to survive winter is a simple task whether the plants are freshly placed in the bed or have been thriving there for years. A 25 year old peony will have a large root so be prepared to dig a wide, deep hole in order to get it out of it's current spot. The best time to move your peonies would be in September, but it should still be OK to move them now if you do the work soon. Or you want share your peony with a gardening pal. The plants need some time to settle in before winter… You can do it! Low temperatures however are required if the peony is to overcome seasonal dormancy. When to transplant peonies depends on the results you want. You can also tackle moving peonies in early spring before plants sprout (while they’re still dormant). Success with peonies in containers will depend on how large a container you can provide and what winter conditions are like. If peonies are planted too deep, few, if any flowers will develop. When transplanting, moving or dividing peony, replant the roots to a depth of 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.6 cm.). Wait until the heat modifies but give yourself enough time so the peonies root before winter hits: end of August - first half of September should be fine. As perennials go, peonies can be extremely long-lived, growing for up to 100 years. Long-lived peonies require minimum maintenance when compared to other popular bedding flowers. The answer is yes, but there is an appropriate way of propagating peony plants that you should follow if you … If you want to avoid any possible interruption of growth or flowering, transplanting peonies in fall, when plants are dormant, is best. Doing it after summer has finished is better because they are about to go into a dormant state and it gives them time over winter for their roots to bed in. Peonies display their luscious flowers for a few weeks starting in spring. Peonies (Paeonia spp.) Peony Care - Dividing & Transplanting by Don Janssen, UNL Extension Educator. flower for only a short period in early summer, but these perennials can survive 20 years or more in the garden. October is the best time to add new peonies to your garden or divide older, crowded plants. This isn’t the best time because they’re starting to wake up in spring. email this page to a friend. If you have been moving things around in your garden and have some peonies, you might wonder if you find the little tubers left behind, can you plant them and expect them to grow. The transplanted peony may not produce as many, if any, flowers as before it was transplanted. Hence success will depend on finding the right balance. Other reasons you would transplant a peony: you’re moving and want to take some of the plant with you. Peonies in containers exposed to deep-freezing temperatures will likely not survive. If you need to transplant peonies, the best time to do so is in the fall after they finish blooming and are approaching dormancy. You may hear that you can transplant and/or divide Peonies in spring. Every 10 or 15 years, you’ll need to thin peonies out, so the plants don’t get overcrowded and strangle one another out. But after 10 or 15 years, peony blooms slow down, and that’s the time for you to dig, divide, and transplant them. 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