Many people think that you can't move Paeonias once planted, this is a fallacy!
Peonies always come into their own in any garden at this time of year with their showy flowers. They are a must in any cottage garden or herbaceous border even though they are not exceptionally long flowering plants. They can also be cut when just starting to show colour. If you have a deer problems then Peonies are a must for your garden as they seem to be resistant to deer.
They are generally divided into three flowering groups called early, middle and later flowering and so can be planted to form a succession of colour over the summer. Paeonia 'Buckeye Belle' is one of the earlier flowering varieties as is Paeonia 'Red Charm'. Paeonia 'Buckeye Belle' is a semi-double flowered variety with red petals set among golden yellow stamens and emerald green foliage. Paeonia 'Blaze' is another single red flowered variety with golden yellow stamens. Whereas Paeonia 'Red Charm' is a doble flowered variety with large heads of rich
crimson-red over green foliage. All look stunning in sunshine.
Middle flowering varieties are Paeonia 'Immaculee' with a beautiful double white flower, Paeonia 'Gay Paree', one of my favourites, with two-tone pink flowers, 'Sorbet' with soft pastel pink and pale
creamy-yellow fragrant flowers and 'Doreen' a rich pink flowered variety.
Later flowerers are Paeonia 'Primevere' a fragrant, anemone cented variety with creamy outer petals and smaller
creamy-yellow petals in the centre. Paeonia 'Nippon Beauty' producing red single flowers, 'Do Tell' a Japanese anemone flowered type with perfumed shell-pink flowers with rose-pink centres and 'Bowl of Beauty'.
Peonies like good soil and a sunny position in your garden. When planting out of a pot the plant should be planted at the same depth in the ground as it has been in the pot eg. the surface of the plant in the pot should be level with the soil surface. Peonies do not like to be planted deeply. If they are planted too deeply then they grow foliage wonderfully but do not flower.
If planting bare rooted in October then the nodules or shoots that can just be seen should be planted about an one to two inches under the soil surface.
If you have plants in your garden that no longer flower then they could now be too deep under the soil surface. With the fashion of mulching borders with bark etc. these days the plants can get buried deeper and deeper. If this has happened to your plant then wait until October and carefully dig up your Paeonia. Replant it with the nodules (buds/shoots) just under the soil surface. Once it has settled in it should start to flower again. You could always give it a helping hand with some Tomorite in spring.