From my point of view as a peony plant, the process you call "division" is a significant event. My entire being is centered around my rhizomes—those thick, knobby, brown structures that you find underground. These are not just roots; they are my life savings. Within these rhizomes, I store all the energy I have painstakingly gathered from the sun through my leaves during the previous growing seasons. This stored energy is what fuels the development of my spectacular flowers and new shoots each spring. When you divide me correctly, you are essentially creating new, self-sufficient plants, each with its own bank of energy to draw upon. If a division has ample stored energy, it can focus on establishing a strong root system and, crucially, on producing flower buds for the next cycle.
Timing is everything for my survival and future blooming success. The absolute best time to undertake this process is in the autumn, after my leaves have begun to turn yellow or brown. From my perspective, this signals that I am entering dormancy. I have withdrawn the valuable nutrients from my foliage back down into my rhizomes for winter storage. The hot, stressful days of summer are over, and the cool, moist soil of fall is ideal for root growth. If you were to divide me in the spring or summer, you would cause immense stress. I would be actively growing, using my energy reserves for foliage and flowers, and a division at that time would severely deplete me, potentially leading to my death or, at best, a failure to bloom for several years. Autumn division respects my natural cycle.
When you decide to divide me, please be gentle. First, carefully dig around my perimeter, loosening the soil and lifting my entire root mass out of the ground. Gently wash the soil away with a hose so you can clearly see the structure of my rhizomes. You are looking for the "eyes"—these are the small, reddish-pink buds on the top of the rhizome that will become next year's stems. This is the most crucial part. Using a sharp, sterile knife, you must cut my rhizome into sections. Each division must have at least three to five of these plump, healthy eyes and a substantial portion of the attached roots. A division with only one or two eyes will take many years to produce a bloom, as it must spend all its energy on root and foliage development first. A division with ample eyes and roots has the resources to establish itself and still have energy left to produce a flower bud.
How you replant my divisions directly impacts my ability to produce those coveted blooms. I am a creature of habit and have very specific needs. My "eyes" must be planted at the correct depth. In most climates, they should be positioned no more than 1 to 2 inches below the soil surface. If you plant me too deeply, I will expend all my energy just trying to push my shoots up to the sunlight, and I will refuse to flower for years. The planting hole should be generous, wide, and amended with some compost. Place the division in the hole with the eyes facing upward, backfill with soil, and water me thoroughly to settle the soil around my roots. A layer of mulch will help protect me from the freezing and thawing cycles of winter. In my new location, with the right depth and ample resources, I can focus my energy on establishing a strong root system through the fall and be ready to reward you with vigorous growth and, in time, more blooms than ever before.
