I was going through some materials from the 1920s to 1940s and one of the rule of thumbs listed was never to plant a peony into a spot where you had lifted another peony plant.

The document didn't explain why.

After some thought, I *think* that the reasoning is that you will have a fine mess if you didn't get all of the original plant recovered - two peonies growing in one spot. The other thought I had is that perhaps that location will be somewhat depleted of necessary nutrients and the new plant will be off to a very poor start as a result.

Any other ideas? I am hoping to allow the spot where a plant was moved / divided to lay fallow for a year.

Top

Most likely the theory was and still is that new locations have a new supply of the micro nutrients all plants need. Another is disease prevention. Farmers do the same thing with crop rotations. Here, we have the corn, wheat, then beans rotation, then repeat the sequence.

Here is the original text... from:

PEONIES
The Manual of the American Peony Society
EDITED BY JAMES BOYD
Copyright 1928 by American Peony Society

PEONY DON'TS

1. don't buy from dealers who are not careful in their garden methods and their catalogue lists.

2. don't buy anything smaller than the standard three- to five-eye division.

3. don't divide plants less than two years old.

4. don't plant big clumps or big roots.

5. don't permit manure to come in contact with the roots.

6. don't plant too deep or you will have no bloom—two or three inches to the topmost bud is deep enough.

7. don't try to divide the plant immediately after digging it up. Let it stand in the air an hour or two.

8. don't split roots when dividing if you can possibly avoid it.

9. don't plant where peonies have grown before, without changing the soil.

10. don't fail to disbud if you want exhibition bloom.

FWIW the only place that I've seen #7 echoed was by Martha Stewart and she said that it was much easier to divide the peonies when you allowed them to rest for 2 hours.

#7 has been mentioned by some major growers. Gives the roots a chance to lose some of their turgor and become less brittle for handling. In short, it makes the roots more flexible.

Thanks for the explanation, Jerry, I appreciate it. I like tips that make things easier

No idea if its depletion of soil or something else, but I had read the same for roses many years ago.

Topdecker said:Here is the original text... from:

PEONIES
The Manual of the American Peony Society
EDITED BY JAMES BOYD
Copyright 1928 by American Peony Society

PEONY DON'TS

1. don't buy from dealers who are not careful in their garden methods and their catalogue lists.

2. don't buy anything smaller than the standard three- to five-eye division.

3. don't divide plants less than two years old.

4. don't plant big clumps or big roots.

5. don't permit manure to come in contact with the roots.

6. don't plant too deep or you will have no bloom—two or three inches to the topmost bud is deep enough.

7. don't try to divide the plant immediately after digging it up. Let it stand in the air an hour or two.

8. don't split roots when dividing if you can possibly avoid it.

9. don't plant where peonies have grown before, without changing the soil.

10. don't fail to disbud if you want exhibition bloom.

FWIW the only place that I've seen #7 echoed was by Martha Stewart and she said that it was much easier to divide the peonies when you allowed them to rest for 2 hours.

Those area great tips! Though I know some, it is good to be refreshed on some of these "don'ts".