The theme clumps of garden peony ( Paeonia officinalis ) are typically disunite and transplanted after the plants go dormant in previous summertime or former fall . While it is technically possible to transplant them in spring or in summertime before they go inactive , transpose in those clock time is not recommended and rarely practiced because achiever is unpredictable and the florescence takes two to three days longer .
Peony Species
Garden peonies are herbaceous perennial shrub that grow from 24 to 36 inches tall in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zone 3b through 8a . Peonies need winter inhuman to yield flowers .
Since peony have a productive spirit of 25 years or longer , select a permanent site that set about lots of sun . Peonies like land with a pH of 6 to 7 . It should be well - drain to prevent their roots from rotting .
A garden paeony root division utile for transplant will have three to five " eyes , " bud that resemble pink noses . These will prepare into shoots for the next spring to fall growing time of year . A sectionalisation with only one or two eyes will typically take from three to five days to blossom after you transplant it .
Transplanting Time
Peonies go dormant in late August to early September , look on local climate . When peonies go dormant their efflorescence wilt and their foliage dries up . When that pass off , transplant them as soon as possible , giving the soil time to settle before a hard freeze can buckle the earth .
If a paeony is dead in the center or has end producing flowers , it ’s fourth dimension to separate it and transplant the division . Sometimes raise trees will shade a paeony . When this happens , divide the root and transplant the division in a cheery location .
Dividing Root Clumps
Divided peony root word are not typically stored . They ’re planted immediately after they ’re divided . Smaller garden peony beginning class take longer to bloom than larger divisions . It ’s easy to fraction the root bunch of a 2 - year - quondam garden paeony , although you may also separate 3 - year - erstwhile base . After that the roots become so big and intertwined that separate them is difficult .
Sterilize a sharp knife by soaking it for five minute in a solution of 1 part household bleach to 3 parts of piss , then air juiceless . abridge the leaves and stem to the ground first , then excavate up its ascendant ball . Be careful not to break the root .
To nullify cut the root when you hit the plant from the dry land , use a spade to dig 3 to 4 inches straight down in a circle 8 to 10 inches from the peony stem , then repeat the circle with the spade angle in so you bring down at least 6 column inch below the roots .
Wash the ground off the ascendant . separate the roots into 4 - to 6 - column inch overweight stubs , each containing three to five eyes , and winnow out the small ancestor that resemble train of thought .
Preparing the Soil
Dig a jam 18 inches blanket and 12 to 18 inches deep . Incorporate a 2- to 4 - in layer of well - age manure , pine bark or compost into the territory that you removed . Place 1/4 to 1/2 cupful of 10 - 10 - 10 plant food on the bottom . invest half of the amended soil in the hole and put the transplant on top of that , fill with the rest of the land . instead , work compost about 12 inches into the filth before transplanting .
Either method acting of grime amendment will provide necessary nutrients for transplanted roots to get established . You wo n’t have to fertilize the peony again until it ’s large enough to grant flowers .
Transplanting Basics
The uppermost fleshy eyes of a divided radical transplanting should face up and be within 2 inches of the surface . If you plant them deep , the peony will make leaf but no blossoms . Tamp the soil down and urine well when you ’re finished .
deal the graft with a 2- to 3 - inch layer of constituent mulch . Do not apply mulch any deeper because keeping them too lovesome might preclude them from blossom the next spring .
