Transplanting Peonies

[katie14]

I have a question about transplanting peonies. My grandma died last week, and her sons are in the process of cleaning our her house. I have been thinking that I would really like to transplant some of her peonies for me and for others before the house leaves the family. They are heirloom plants that belonged to my great grandmother before my grandma got them. Anybody have any ideas on how or when I should do this?

[Peace]

well, i have a great row of peonies, actually, that were my daddy-in-law's and they are our pride because of him. something about them. anyway, we've had others come up wanting to take a peice of them to root. now, this doesn't always work out, but you can either dig them up and move them, but you would have to dig deep and get a good bit of dirt that is around the root and keep that there so they don't go into shock. or, you can take a peice of the root and it should root easily in healthy soil and start up. i have to tell ya, though, they usually don't bloom for the first couple years, if they are from a rooting. they have to get some size on them before they'll bloom and when they do, they may only have one or two blooms. every year, though, they get better and bigger with more blooms, so just be patient. anyway, yeah, they shouldn't be too hard, but care gently for them.

[reikienergyheals]

those are my absolute favorite flowers! they don't grow in my zone, though.

[Peace]

aww, yeah they are awesome and smell soooooo good! lol. mine are white, but my grandmother has some that are so dark red they are almost purple. i'm getting a cutting from hers next year. they are new, so they aren't big enough, yet, to get a cutting now. so pretty!

[dreamwalker67]

Peonies should only be moved in the early fall (September is the preferred month). It is however never a good idea to move a mature plant from point a to point b intact. The plant will do much better if, when you dig it up, you also divide it before replanting.

A mature plant that is moved without division is likely to just sit in its new location without flowers for some years. Newly planted divisions usually start vigorous growth immediately and will produce better quality plants.

[katie14]

Excellent information. Thanks all of you!!! BTW, Aura, these are dark, dark red also.

[Peace]

nice! very nice! i love that color!

[reikienergyheals]

can you post some pics of them? I'd love to see

[Anamere]

Awww reading this post made me think about my Peonies. I'll admit they aren't my favorite flowers. (sorry, *ducks*) They came with the house and are the State flower here in Indiana.

But after reading this post I thought about the previous owner planting them and putting her Love into them and how they've grown and been here for so many years (close to 40) and what a beautiful thing that is.

Thank you for sharing this. I have a new respect and Love for these flowers. My Gramma has always has them at her house too and Loved them. She lived in an apartment now but she has given each of us Grand Daughters some of her flowers from her home... It's like transplanting her Love. And I'd Love it and be so honored if my Children or Grand Children did this for me one day.

Sorry getting emotional this a.m. But had to share this changed my veiw on this lovely flower.

(((hugs))))

[katie14]

I would post pictures but the flowers are all gone already. Just big green plants for the rest of the season.

Anamere, that is how it feels to me, too. And I know that in the spring when those flowers bloom, I will be so thrilled to sit near them and remember my grandma.

[Peace]

awww, anamere, that is sooo wonderful. i'll admit, i feel the same as both of you. considering they were some of my daddy-in-law's faves and with him gone, it's like a part of his love is in them. when they bloom it's the most beautiful row of flowers we have. like bug snow puffs. lol. actually, i think i posted a pic of them earlier in the season this year. love them!

[♥Starlene]

They dont grow in my zone either, im in 10a,,, in other words, HOT lol!!! but thats ok I can garden in the winter time and we have plants that should die every year and come back the next, live all year long.... My great grandma had rainlilies in her yard,,, they are soooo very cute, my mom has so many of them she sells them on eBay... I have a lot in my yard too, its cool how they were passed down from my family and now my mom passed them out to people all over the world! Its like my great grandmas plants are just all over now

[Peace]

star, surely if they can grow here, they could possibly grow there? from what i see on the news, your neck of the woods doesn't get any hotter than mine......actually, we've been getting hotter than hades lately. 100-103 degrees with a heat index of 108-110! but, they don't bloom now. they are actually seeding now. they bloom in the spring here. remember that pic i shared before of the white puff balls? lol.

[♥Starlene]

i dunno, ive tried growing stuff that grow in zone 8 which is the zone that peonies grow up to,,, but i didnt have any success,,, its not just the heat (which my dad told me the heat index was 121 on Saturday here,,, i just looked right now at 2:11AM it is 101 here NOW!,,,omg!!!) its also the humiditity and the cold weather we get for the plants in the winters,,, it could be one of those plants that NEEDS a dormant season, and since it said zone 3-8 it prolly is,,, like we cant ever grow tulips here,,, they need cold... well we could grow them, dig them up and put them in the fridge for months and plant them again in the spring, but thats the only way,,, what zone are you in? im in 10a

[Peace]

i have no idea what zone i'm in. lolol.....you're right about the dormant season, though. we do have more of a winter than ya'll do there, so maybe that's it. i understand completely about the humidity, too. it's god-awful, yeah? whew! we had the 103 degrees for a few days with the heat index of 110, but then thank goddess some rain came in and has cooled it off back to like 97 today. yesterday, i can actually say it was breezy and 'pleasant', for the south, that it. lol. so, how do you know what zone one lives in? how do i figure that out?

[♥Starlene]

yea,,, i bet thats what it is with the peonies too.... here is a link to the hardiness zone map,,, im thinking your zone 8 but not exactly sure,,, ive seen about where your town is on a map but im not 100% sure on this little map.... www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html

this is helpful to use when your trying to figure out what will grow and what wont,,, i imagine that you are in a pretty good zone for more things then i am to grow,,, but then again you prolly couldnt grow pineapples either but we can,,, so it just depends on where you are as to what you can grow

[Peace]

thanks, i'll check that then. yeah, we can grow most things, but the thing about us is the hot a** sun! it gets so peircing hot that the sun litterally burns some things up. the roses get burnts alot if they don't have enough shade in the summer. stuff like that. but this zoning thing should come in handy, though! thanks!

[katie14]

Man, you two are making me glad that I live somewhere cooler. It is only 82 right now. At 8:30 this morning it was still only 48. I can already smell fall in the air.

[♥Starlene]

Thats so pretty Katie, I am uber jealous hehehehe.... only in our wintertimes we get weather like that,,, thats the only reason the summers are bearable here!

[saffy]

I wish I had this information a few years ago. It was one of the flowers that my mom had in a row right down the middle of her flower plot. I tried to get some, but had no luck. But my ex actually moved in to my mothers old house and the plants are still there. Maybe I could ask him to get a plant for me this September. Thanks for the information.

I love the peonies, but can't bring them inside. the ants love them too, but oh the aroma