In California, the tools for dividing peonies are not as heavy duty as those for hacking apart small tree trunk sized peony roots!

Earlier in my blog is a picture of tools used in colder climates where the clumps grow to be the size of coffee tables and those tools include an axe and hammer. In California, the tools range from a small knife and clippers to small loppers if the clumps are not older than about ten years.

Peonies clumps often seem as though they want to be separated and the dividing points are obvious. In other varieties, the clump may need to be manhandled and cut with loppers.

Peonies clumps often seem as though they want to be separated and the dividing points are obvious. In other varieties, the clump may need to be manhandled and cut with loppers.

Clippers are used also:

The idea in dividing the clumps is to give them more room to send up new shoots and more root room. At least three to five buds should be on each division. Some varieties are larger than others so the roots can be of varying sizes. The divisions in the picture above look a little larger than most, but some have very fat roots and are much bigger and others are smaller and more delicate.

Sometimes the roots need to cleaned up a little to open space for the new buds to emerge, but this is infrequent.