Fall - just as the plants begin dormancy - is the best time. Like most shrubby, woody plants, this is when they have increased root development and a fall planting provides sufficient time for the roots to develop before the plant goes about the spring business of producing leaves and flowers. It is important to remember that these are really shrubs and have (or will have) a large and often deep root system. And much like their herbaceous cousins, they pout after transplanting - don't expect flowering for a season or two after transplant.

I've attached a link to the best - IMO - peony website online. They have excellent information on all things peony. And they have a catchy name :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: peonysenvy

it might be 3 years longer to get it to bloom again ...

peony is one plant.. that i would rather design around.. rather than move ...

short answer ... yes it can be done ..

i ask .. WHY SHOULD IT BE DONE ....

is your only option to move it???

move everything else.. and leave this foo foo plant where it is.. it is happy ... dont mess with the fates

ken

I've transplanted *young* tree peonies in the late spring before with no problems.

I'd be really careful about transplanting established ones and would follow the fall transplanting advice, if possible.

My oldest one (somewhere around 12-13 years, I'd guess) started as a one-stick wonder and I grew it in pots for years, potting up as the plant grew larger (with winter storage, of course). Didn't seem to mind that one bit, even after it was getting to be good-sized. So perhaps if you're not quite ready with the new spot you could go the pot route temporarily.

I wouldn't classify tree peonies as foo-foo - they have very tough constitutions when they're established, just as herbaceous peonies.

foo foo .... they are for me.. out on the prairie [winter winds] ... in sand ... in full sun .... in my z5 ....

but you guys arent z5 ...

but i would still work around something that took 3 years to first flower.. for fear that it might be more years before it does so again ....

ken

Tree peonies are perfectly hardy in zone 5, with some sources claiming zone 4 - these are not wimpy plants and don't require coddling once established. Of course, as with any plant - "right plant, right place" does play a role in vigor.

well, there's all sorts of reasons why it needs to be moved, the most distant yet pressing of which is that we will be moving in summer 2012. we are keeping this property, so it could stay here, but i would like to take it with me and move it while i'm doing the landscaping at the other place. if fall is the best time to transplant it, i can reserve a place for it and move it when it is safest for the plant. thanks for the input!

As to the "foo-fooness" of tree peonies, one of the larger and better known growers of both herbaceous and tree peonies in this country is Klehm's Song Sparrow Nursery located in Wisconsin (zone 5a). And they rate these plants fully hardy to zone 4. I suspect a lot of the alleged foo-fooness (I love that word!!) has to do with less than ideal planting conditions or siting. As mxk3 notes, right plant, right place makes ALL the difference :-)

Rose, if you are anticipating moving and taking the plant with you, I'd suggest rather than transplanting in fall, you simply pot up your peony in the largest pot you can manage that will accommodate the rootball. You can sink the pot in the ground for winter protection if you need to, but it will be less stressful on the plant to containerize it rather than transplant twice in such a short time period. Like other shrubs, tree peonies can develop a pretty healthy root system over time and transplanting always damages some roots despite how careful you might be. I wouldn't be entirely pessimistic about it not blooming during this period - one year old grafted starts of tree peonies we grow at my nursery bloom pretty reliably their first season, even in their nursery containers.

i'm really surprised it has survived, quite frankly, after the winter we had last year-- way more snow than usual, bitter cold, and then the rainiest spring i remember in the last decade. it does seem to be a hardy little thing. i am glad to hear they do well in containers, as that was one option i was entertaining. my bf thinks i am kidding about moving my garden from one site to another-- i don't think he quite understands how deep the obsession runs :)

thanks again everyone!

Please allow me to express a different point of view on this subject of the sturdiness of tree peonies. I am in zone 6, theoretically not a difficult zone for peonies. Unfortunately what is theoretical and what is real can be worlds apart, and that appears to be the case for me. I have several tree peonies and love each one dearly, but they are temperamental. As to transplanting, I would be extremely careful with them. I have tried in the past to fall plant tree peonies, some bare root and others potted. Not one of them made it through the winter. Not one. If I plant them in spring, I have no big problem. Usually the intersectional and regular herbaceous peonies are not a big problem, but that is not always true either.

Here we are very subject to wildly fluctuating spring temperature conditions. Late, hard freezes can occur and do major damage. I have lost both tree and herbaceous plants because of this. My red tree peony bloomed last year for the first time in three years since a late, hard freeze. We had a hard freeze after it bloomed in May, and then it seemed to go prematurely dormant in August. Unbeknownst to me at the time, rose cane borers got into it and have evidently bored their ways down most of the now dead stem lengths. It is trying to come up from the bottom, but I doubt at this point that it will make it. I have noticed that the borers also go for the woody stems on the intersectionals also. This year, none of my tree peonies have set more buds than they had last year. Some are having no flowers at all. My points are these. Climate zone doesn't always tell the whole story. That just covers expected average minimum cold temperatures, not what the weather does. Be careful if you have to move that tree peony. It might not make it in spite of what many might think. You might want to purchase one or two extra ones just in case. I know that I would always like some more tree peonies, but given my circumstances, I am not so sure. Good luck whatever you finally decide.

I am in zone 5 canada and had a tree peony for around 8 years. I transplanted it many times to different parts of my garden. I usually got 3 or 4 blooms the second year but guess I moved it to much to get many flowers. I moved it the last time a couple years ago and it got a couple flowers. The next year it got 4 or 5 blooms and the third year it really grew a lot and got about a dozen blooms. It got so big that I finally dug it up and gave it away because I just didn't have room where I had it planted.

My sister bought the same one at the time but after a couple of years she lost hers so you never know.

I have to move a massive delavayii this autumn - just cut it back to the woody parts and treat it like any other bare-rooted shrub - they are considerably easier to move than herbacious types and surprisingly tough. Timing is key - as soon as it starts to lose its leaves, have at it. If you normally deal with bare-roots in spring, it can be done then (early though.) You can even dig it in autumn and store it in s cold dry place if snow, frozen ground and so forth is your lot. I have promised a photograph the event (moving my monster) and have already done some harsh pruning.