Transplanting peonies into clay soil--should I re-dig?

10 years ago

Hello,

We are new homeowners and I transplanted some peonies from our backyard into our front flower bed. The peonies are a deep crimson when in bloom. One of the plants seemed to be an older plant with 7 stems and a relatively large root ball (maybe about 1 foot across). It probably could have been divided into 2 plants, but I would prefer one larger plant, so kept it as is. The other plants seemed to be more recent divisions, each with 2-3 stems each.

The soil in the back is pretty good as the former owner did most of his gardening back there. The front has about 12 inches of good amended soil on top, but is a thick, heavy gray clay underneath. Because I enlarged the bed, I amended the whole thing with cotton burr compost and a compost mix bought at a reputable nursery and made up of leaf mulch, bark mulch and probably some other things.

When I transplanted, I dug the holes twice as wide as the plants' current root systems, but only dug them as deep as necessary to keep the eyes of the plants about 3/4" below grade. (The nursery recommended planting no deeper than 3/4", but I forgot to ask how deep to dig the hole). The reason I kept the hole shallow was b/c I planted a hydrangea up front last spring and dug deeper than the root ball and amended the clay soil underneath and the hydrangea ended up sinking so much that I had to re-plant it.

I am now worried that I should have planted the peonies deeper. I think I still have time to remove the plants and re-dig the holes. What do you think? The holes are currently about 1 foot deep and, in addition to the amended soil that I back filled with, I also added about 1-2 cups of cotton burr compost and 1-2 cups of regular compost into the bottom of the hole before planting. None of the plants' roots are resting on top of the clay, but the clay layer probably begins only about 2-3 inches below the root balls.

Also, should I have divided the one larger plant before replanting? Any advice is appreciated!

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Comments (3)

lizbest1
10 years ago
When did you transplant your peonies the first time? Is the amended soil in a raised bed? The only issue I could think of is a possibility of poor drainage with a clay base so close, otherwise you should be fine. Have the peonies been in place long enough to tell if the area is going to get boggy? I can tell you from experience they don't like wet roots, they'll rot!

Most people do divide the larger roots, they take quite an effort to dig out once they get bigger, don't they? Better to do it once and done with moving and dividing them! That said, as long as there were enough feeder roots kept intact to support the number of eyes on your larger peony it'll probably be okay. A lot depends on how the rootball looked when you dug it up. If the middle was really woody with little or no eyes with all of the healthy looking parts on the outside of the root, I'd dig it back up and divide it to encourage new eye/root formation. Some of them get that way and will just start dying out from the middle. If the whole thing was a mass of fleshy, tuberous roots with healthy eyes then you're fine.

I would think 3/4" of soil over the eyes is just about perfect for your zone.
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fampoula
Original Author
10 years ago
Sorry. I meant to include in my first post that I just transplanted them this Saturday (so only 3 days ago). I don't think the area will get boggy. We have had some heavy rains and the water sometimes puddles on top, but then it recedes as soon as it stops raining, or once the rain lightens. Does that constitute boggy? I do worry about the water not being able to penetrate the heavy clay base and then puddling there, but I am not experienced enough of a gardener to understand exactly how soil drainage works. The peonies are planted in front of our front stoop and so are near the top of a very slow and slight incline, so I am hoping that might help?

The larger rootball was in good shape when I dug it up with, I think 3 eyes on one half of what could be divided, and 3 on the other. Maybe I will dig up and divide, but I kind of wanted the "instant gratification" of a larger peony bush for impact. Short-sighted, I know, but as a relative newbie gardener, I am a little impatient. :-)
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i fear you have an option of killing it with too much love.. GET IT IN THE GROUND ASAP!!!! mother earth.. is the best place to hold over stock ... then you have a month or two to figure out all the variables .. to plant it properly... but it would probably be best if you just put it where you want it ... why dig it up again if you can avoid it.... what is your native soil ... can you protect or shade it?? what is the soil drainage ... and forget about ferts and sprays... the plant is in shock.. no need to rescue it.. to shock it again in a month ... just get it done.. if the soil is anything but clay .....dig hole.. loosen soil ... insert plant at proper depth ... refill halfway ... tamp in lightly .... fill with water.. let drain out... refill the rest.. tamp in lightly.. but firmly .. and water again.. add shade if possible ... add mulch.. and keep properly watered for about 2 years.. water when your index finger.. inserted to the 2nd knuckle.. indicates it is hot or dry .. most plants need to nearly dry in between waterings ... if clay.. advise.. other options ... i would have preferred if you had waited until it was dormant.. but as you said.. sometimes.. you just gotta do what ya gotta do ... dont worry about it ... its hours from winter in WI anyway.. lol ... and i wouldnt be surprised if all the leaves fall off soon based on the fact that it is mid-spetember.. dont worry about that.. its all about those buds on the tips .... if they stay firm you will win ... if you can take care of business without over-thinking it.. or killing it with too much love.. you ought to be all set ... i usually horrify peeps who watch me .. when i just rip something out of the ground.. and stick it somewhere else.. and then water it properly.. but otherwise ignore it ...no over-thinking it here.. lol.. JUST DO IT now go seize the day.. or tree peony .. lol [i guess you already did.. lol] .. now let go of it .... ken ps: what did i miss gal?? lol pps: i potted and moved one .. over-wintered in the pot ... and it made it.. they arent as foo foo as you might think ....
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The peony nursery that used to be near here cut the stems off and lifted, divided these early - like in September. Once the overwintering red buds are set on the root crowns they are ready to be handled. Another thing these plants have in common with woody shrubs, in addition to setting overwintering buds, is the majority of root activity occurring in fall. I suppose a problem with digging now is that recent fall root growth may be interfered with. Dig the hydrangea after the leaves die. Both kinds of plants are better dug bare-rooted, in order to get as much total root mass as possible, than having the roots cut back in an effort to move intact soil balls of manageable size.
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Well, maybe I'm mistaken and gladly will learn different, but I believe that in case of P.tenuifolia, so-called 'dormancy' is not a true dormancy. In ideal situatiation, when plant will be in a full sun in spring and in shade a whole summer it may never go 'dormant' till September-October, which would about to correspond to normal 7 months alive/5 months dormant cycle of herbaceous peonies. P.tenuifolia going into early VISUAL dormancy in July-August when LEAVES can't tolerate summer sun and heat anymore, but feeder roots are still well alive and still providing underground tubers with nutrients. Only in Oct-Nov those feeder roots become dead/useless, therefore moving in a fall is a prefered time. Many ferns, the real one, looks ratty or going into dormancy in about the same time if grown in a full sun, so I guess that this theory have some merits. Mine grow in full spring sun and in part shade during the summer and it goes 'dormant' in early-mid August. I'm looking to aquire one more fernleaf peony to check on this theory, as I have a perfect spot where it will have full sun till late May and gradually will be in full shade by July.
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Best to dig them after the stems start dying off in the fall, whenever that is in your area. They'll probably have pretty large root systems if they've been in place several years. Start by digging a circle around the base a foot or so out from the outer stems, maybe even a bit further out. You might have to dig down 2 feet or so to get the majority of the roots out, too. The roots are brittle, you probably won't be able to get an established clump out without breaking roots, it happens so don't sweat it. You can cut the stems down to a couple of inches before you start digging or after, whatever makes it easier. You can probably divide the big clumps into several smaller root pieces with a knife or small saw, try to keep 3-5 eyes on each division as well as a good portion of the feeder roots attached (the part that looks like a tuber). You don't have to plant them right away, you'll want the broken/cut edges to dry out a bit before sticking them back in the dirt. Plant roots down and eye side up with eyes 1-2" deep. If some of the eyes are to the side or pointed down that's okay, they grow weird sometimes. If there's woody pieces in the middle that don't have eyes you can try to plant it if you'd like, some pieces are re-energized by the dividing and will grow again, but they're less likely to do so than the pieces with eyes so put those in the best spots. At least 6 hours of direct sunlight a day in a non-boggy area. Even after moving them your brother might end up with more peonies, some will grow back from a small piece of root left after transplanting. Good luck with your new plants!
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lizbest1
10 years ago
Sorry, by boggy I meant does the area stay muddy a day or so after a rain, doesn't sound like that'll be a problem in your case. Top of the slow incline is a good thing!

If there wasn't a big, dead looking woody area between the 2 sets of 3 eyes you're fine as long as you didn't break a lot of the feeder roots. If you were careful and got the rootball out without much damage you'll probably not see any negative change in your plant at all and will have some beautiful flowers in a good spot to enjoy them next spring!
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Transplanting peonies into clay soil--should I re-dig?

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lizbest1

fampoula
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Transplanting peonies into clay soil--should I re-dig?

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lizbest1

fampoulaOriginal Author

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fampoula
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