How to Transplant Peonies
If you need to transplant Peonies the time to do! it is at the end of summer once the weather cools down. In warmer climates where you get cold winters but not extremely cold you can transplant them right up until midwinter. Generally Peonies are best left undisturbed, however if you do need to transplant them this is how to do it.
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| How to Transplant Peonies |
Here we're dealing with the Herbaceous and Itoh types, both are treated in the same way, and we'll deal with the Tree Peonies separately. This is a plant that's been in the ground for 7 years. It's been neglected and also receives very hot sun in the summer so it does need to be transplanted. Use a garden fork or a spade to dig around the plant a fair distance from the plant so that you don't damage the root system any more than you need to.
Dig around the plant as deeply as you can until the plant begins to pop up out of the soil, lift it out and then clean up all the dead stems. The herbaceous types will only have buds at ground level so all of the old foliage and the stems are pruned right away. In the case of the Itoh type and this is an Itoh type peony, you'll have buds at ground level as well as on some of the stems.
Prune the stems back to a bud and prune away any dead wood .Next examine the root system and make fresh clean cuts on any damaged pieces of the root system this helps prevent rot damaging the plant. You can wash all the soil Off The Roots if you wish, however you don't need to just clean up the damaged Roots.
The planting hole should be prepared before you dig the peonies, make it larger than the root ball. If your soil is acidic then you need to add some lime to the bottom of the planting hole. We use a granulated lime which lasts longer than other types and add 3 to 4 cups to the planting hole. We also add a cup of slow release granular fertilizer. Mixing the fertilizer and the lime through the soil a little soil on top of this will prevent any root burn from the fertilizer.
Plant your Peony with the buds just at surface level backfill and water in well . It's a good idea to mulch around the plant with a good layer of mulch and at the same time add a little more fertilizer into the mulch, water again your newly planted py should burst back into life in Spring and it will usually flower in the first season after transplanting.
Sometimes they can tend to sulk a little and the flowers will be not existent or poor. If you divide the plant into sections chances are it will not flower in the first season. Again we'll look at dividing peonies in a separate video. Tree peonies do not respond well to being transplanted especially the hybrid types .
