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The Victory Garden Companion
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The contents of this website © 1996-2008 Sitemap | About Michael | Contact Us |
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The Victory Garden Companion
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The contents of this website © 1996-2008 Sitemap | About Michael | Contact Us |
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Project:
Transplanting Peonies If you love peonies, as I do, you can never have enough of them. As a border flower they are outstanding; as a cut flower, superb, and the range of colors and textures available in peonies is unmatched by any other flower except the rose. Peonies do have one peculiarity however: unlike most other perennials, if you want to move or divide established peonies, you can only do it in the fall. Attempting to move them in the spring will result in stunted plants which – if they don’t die outright – will linger with little foliage and no blooms for years. So if you’re looking for loads of peonies in the spring, October and November (or after your first frost) is the time to take action. HERE'S HOW YOU GET STARTED:
Suggested Sources for More Peonies Once your peonies are transplanted, thoughts immediately turn to adding additional varieties. As far as I'm concerned, one of the best peony suppliers in the world is Klemn's Song Sparrow Perennial Farm. Their catalogue is a veritable who's who of the peony world.
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Transplanting peonies is an extremely simple process. Once the foliage has died back after a hard frost, take your shovel and dig a circle six to eight inches around the outside of the peony clump; then, gently lift the clump with your shovel, attempting to keep as many of the thick, potato-like roots affixed to the plant as possible. (Leaving the foliage attached until after the peony is out of the ground makes lifting the clump much easier to accomplish.) 
during the lifting process. Don’t worry: that’s almost inevitable and won’t harm the plant in the long term. On top of the clump you'll see the bright pink shoots, called eyes, which will form next years foliage. It’s imperative that when you replant the clump, these eyes are located only an inch or so beneath the surface of the soil – burying them any deeper will result in plants with foliage but no flowers. Extremely large clumps can be split by carefully dividing the clump with a knife, making sure sufficient roots and eyes go with each section. 
to producing masses of flowers.) The bed should preferably be located in an area of full sun; peonies will tolerate a half day of direct sunlight, but again, their flower production will be lessened. Dig a hole large enough to accommodate the root mass, and set the clump down so the the eyes are 1-1.5 inches (no more!) beneath the surface of the soil. Cover the clump, mulch lightly, water thoroughly, and continue watering once a week in the absence of rain until the ground is frozen.