Dividing Peonies

Fall is a great time to dig and divide your peonies. We learn how to do it correctly and what to look for in an tuber.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• gardentime
• peony
• adelman
• fall
• planting
• dig
• divide

[gerajmar]

One hundred dollars each plant? why are they so expensive? they are very beautifull and are my favorites but i don´t know why they are so expensive, there are many beautifull plants but this one is more expensive than the roses? why?

[GardenGuy06]

@gerajmar there are so few plants on the market and there are not a lot to propagate to make more. they may come down in the future.

[thejway]

@svcruz The older and bigger, the better. Then you'll have stronger roots systems to divide.

[thejway]

@98user The plant will not grow well if it is dug up and not divided. New strong growth is stimulated when the parent plant is cut into divisions. It is also said not to dig one up and put it back in the same hole or put a different peony in it's place. For best results, if you did them up they need to be divided and all parts are to have new growing places. Professional peony growers sell more and still maintain their inventory by not selling the entire root system.

[IndianaMatt85]

Martha Stewart said once: to cut off all buds except for the largest on each stem. According to her, this causes the single bud to get even larger than if you had let all the buds open. I have never tried this.

Has anyone tried this? What do you think?

[IndianaMatt85]

I have seen people cut their peonies completely back mid summer. I think it is a shame to cut back all that great foliage. I like to dead-head my peonies. I cut the dead-heads back to a leaf that is growing out and away from the plant. I try to make cuts so they are hidden by other leaves. Dead-heading allows the peony to put its energy back into itself and not the seed pods. It also gives the plant a nice clean look for the rest of the year.

[IndianaMatt85]

I have 2 plants that are 2 feet in diameter. They put on quite the show. I would love to divide them next fall, but I had know idea how large the roots can get. I bet mine are huge! I'll have to make sure to dig far enough out as to not cut the roots. Thanks for the great video!

[RHRHorticulture]

A peony can go many decades without being divided. To find out how old a peony should be to make "blooming size" divisions, estimate about how many stems the clump produced last year and keep in mind that most divisions have around 3-5 shoots or "eyes" per division. This number of eyes with a few strong tuberous roots is a good size to transplant.

[RHRHorticulture]

You can inquire in the summer if you can purchase the entire clump and be quoted a price, but most growers prefer to divide them so they can sell each division. These divisions are easier to handle and ship and makes many varieties available to many more people!