How to Propagate Peonies from Seed and by Division

12.06.2023 - 01:10 / gardenerspath.com / Kristine Lofgren

If you’ve ever eyeballed your neighbor’s perfect peony bush and wished for one of your own, you’re in luck.

Provided you have a generous neighbor, you can take a small division from their plant and have your own to show off in no time.

Or perhaps you’re yearning to propagate a peony from seed. It’s a time-consuming process, but an incredibly satisfying one.

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Whatever the reason, peonies can be propagated in a few ways, saving you a bucket load of cash and allowing you to reproduce a plant that you particularly love.

My neighbor has populated an entire garden with peonies that she propagated from divisions taken from people across the city – with permission, of course. It’s a stunning sight and it didn’t cost her a thing, except for a few thank-you cupcakes.

To be clear, in this guide, we’re talking about herbaceous peonies.

There are two different types of peonies: herbaceous and woody. Woody, or tree peonies can be grown from seed as described below, but dividing and grafting are also options that require a different process than what’s described here.

With that cleared up, let’s jump right in.

First up, let’s talk about timing. Deciding when you should start propagating depends on which method you use.

For simple root division, autumn is best. Though you can divide any time during the growing season, that’s when peonies start to go dormant, and all the trauma of digging them up and cutting them apart has less of an impact on them.

Note that if you ever decide to dig up a peony to transplant it, you should divide it at the same time.

If you dig up a