First why did you plant them in a pot and how long are you planning on keeping them in the pot. Unless you live in the southern hemisphere now is the time to plant them in the ground. After you answer that can provide answers to rest of your questions.

This might be a helpful link https://www.brooksgardens.com/pages/peony-planting-care

Peonies like cold winters, so I don't think you'll need to put them in an enclosed container. Not sure how cold it gets where your are, but if it gets below 10 degrees, you will need to get them in a shed. If you plan on putting them in the ground, now is a good time to plant. If you plan to keep in containers, maybe a strong guy and a dolly could do the job?

It can drop below 10 degrees at times during winter. It doesn’t consistently stay that cold. But it can/has. And I planned to put them in the ground when I move (Within the next couple years). I really wanted to be able to put them where I wanted them after they have been established (for landscaping etc when I build a home). It’s possible for the container to be moved By a strong guy. It is round, around 2 feet deep and 2 feet wide. Would it be better to just put it in the ground (even though I plan to move them later?)

Better to put them in the ground then dig them up if and when you move. One thing about plans they can change. While you may want to build a house now there is no guarantee that if there is a HOA that any plant will be allowed. Seeing several in this area with a list of allowed plants and peonies are not on them.

I agree that the peonies will do about 100% better in the ground than in some container. It may be the difference in life or death for them.

we have peonies in the garden in Ottawa Canada where it drops to -25 C through the winter. No prep other than to cut back in fall. They always come back in the spring.

Peonies like and even need need a cold freeze in winter. Put them in the ground. If you’re putting them in containers they need a very large one.

If you don't allow the eye of them to get touched by the sun, you will just get leaves and no blossoms. That is what I would be concerned about. Make sure not to plant too deep, leaving the hard eye of them allowed to grab sunlight.

Mike

Except in Alaska and Canada they plant them so that the whole root is under the surface. Colder areas the suggestion is 2 inches below the surface. In warmer areas closer to the surface but not for sunlight but because that way the roots can be chilled to the recommended 40F and below. Think about it myermike. If only the eyes that were above the ground none of the stems from the outer portion of a mature root would ever have a bloom as they are seldom above ground.

Miafleur,name is Mike)

Thanks for that. I never thought of that.

Mike)

THe peony does not need sun in the winter. It only needs sun when it is actively growing. When you see the eyes (pips) starting to poke through the soil, you can move the pot to a sunnier area. During the winter, it is best to have the pot away or sheltered from the sun. What you want to do is to protect the root from the constant thawing and freezing. The freezing and thawing cycle is very harsh for a young root. When the pot is exposed to the sun, it can heat the pot and soil up very quickly. Your goal is to keep the soil at a constant temp (30-40F) as much as possible.

Best for the peony would be to plant in the ground and then dig and replant when you move. Second best would be to bury the pot up to the rim for the winter to keep temperature more even. (The mass of the ground changes only very slowly, unlike the air, so it will stay a steady temperature all winter this way.)

I agree with Karen. I cannot keep a peony in a pot here in my zone 4b garden but have several forum friends who have had them growing that way for years in warmer zones. All of us here speak from our personal experiences but with such a variety of growing conditions no one process will work for all. With your zone though I wouldn't worry about the freezing temps, try to keep the moisture in the pot fairly dry and keep it from thawing/freezing/thawing and you should be fine. During the summer too--you'll want to keep the roots cool so shade the pot if you can or add insulating mulch. Sunny for the plant but the pot needs to stay cool!