How to Transplant a Sea Shell Peony

Test the soil in the planting area to ensure that it is well-drained by digging a 2-foot deep, 1-foot wide hole and filling it with water. After it drains, fill it again and time how long it takes for the water to drain. Drainage in 12 hours or less is ideal. If it takes longer than that, find another place to plant the Sea Shell peony or amend the soil.

Remove the top 6 inches of soil in the planting area if you need to amend it to aid drainage. Shovel it onto a tarp or into a wheelbarrow. Remove half of it to another area of the garden. Mix in a 3-inch layer of a coarse organic material such as small chunks of bark or compost. Use a garden fork to mix the material into the excavated soil and then shovel it back into the planting area.

Dig holes deep enough so that the peonys' growing points -- the pink nubs on the top of the root -- are buried 2 inches beneath the surface of the soil. If you live in a warm climate, plant the peony root with a 1-inch covering of soil. Unlike other plants, planting depth is vitally important to the peony, so don't plant it any deeper than this.

Lay the root so that the eyes point up, and cover it with soil. Water the bed until the soil is saturated to a depth of 10 inches. Water again if there is no rain for two weeks.