Peonies – Transplanting

Q: My peonies have outgrown the place where I planted them. I would love to transplant them now but everything I have read says to wait until Oct.

A: If the clump is so big that it needs dividing, I’d wait until October to do it. But if it is small enough that you can excavate a big clump of dirt surrounding the roots you can transplant now. There will still be some root damage but not so much that it can’t be ameliorated with occasional watering this summer.