I'm in zone 5 - northern Illinois. I was at my favorite garden center this afternoon. This is a quality place where they take care of their plants and sell only quality product. Anyway, I couldn't resist purchasing a potted Kansas peony plant. It's a very good looking pot. There are 10 stems probably about 18-24 inches each. Plenty of leaves and small buds on many. I'm very excited about my purchase. However, now I'm stressed about how to plant it. Everything I've read is that peonies don't take kindly to being planted or transplanted this time of year. Also I'm concerned about getting the planting depth right.

It's been cool today (saturday). Yesterday it rained and the ground is still quite wet. Tomorrow is more rain. The next 7 days are forecasted to be pretty cool. Should I plant now or later next week when the ground has dried some?

Any tips that can be provided as to planting and onward would be greatly appreciated. I'm not an inexperienced gardeners but have no experience with peonies. I would very much like to make this plant work.