My grandmother died and left me in charge of dividing her peonies amongst my family. They were brought over from Italy over 100 years ago and were in her garden in the Bay Area until about 45 years ago when they were brought up to Tahoe. They're in huge clumps (11 clumps in all) about 4 feet across each clump. I need to safely extract them before the house goes up for sale and divide them and ship them to various family members. I doubt they've been divided or even touched in about 10 years. In my research I've found that I can dig them up leaving as much root as possible, divide them into sections with 4-5 eyes per section. Can I clean the dirt off them? How do I pack them to ship them? We've already had snow this fall and I'd like to get this done ASAP.
I've also received things wrapped in damp paper towels or shredded newspaper, and wrapped in damp newspaper. Assuming you'll use fast shipping, plastic bagging shouldn't be necessary, and might even promote mold. Unlikely to dry out at this time of year, and not so serious if it does as plant is not actively growing. What a lovely legacy for your grandmother to leave for her family.
Hi Tahoe Ocean, Sorry for your loss, but it is a wonderful legacy from your grandmother. When you ship the peony make sure that they are packed tightly. Crunch up lots of newspaper so they don't bounce around in the box. Ship by express mail on a Monday or Tuesday so they don't sit in some warehouse over a weekend. If anyone in your family needs directions on how to plant them just let me know and I'll get you some sites. Newt
Just remind everyone NOT to plant them any deeper than they were in the beds - peonies react badly to that.
We got them out of the ground and they are packed in damp moss in a box on our porch. I'm sending them out on Monday (tomorrow). I planted some in my yard already, but when we dug them up they were planted very deep (about 8 inches) and I only planted them about 3 inches. Should I plant them deeper?
I'm thinking that these are herbaceous peony and not the kind that has woody stalks that stay up all winter. If they are the herbaceous type, plant the eyes about 2" below the surface of the soil. They can be left undisturbed for many years, so mix lots of compost into the new planting bed. Don't expect flowers for 2 or 3 years after transplanting. http://www.treepeony.com/PlantingHerbaceous.html Newt
