P. moutan. Dr. Lindley's directions for cultivating this are as follow: -

Propagation

It is easily increased, and in several ways, when the plants are rather large and old; but when they are small and young it is rather difficult, and should not be attempted. They should be rather encouraged by watering freely during dry weather in summer; by mulching with a little rotten dung, and covering with a hand-glass, during the winter.

"When the plants are of a sufficient size and strength, they may be increased in the following ways:

By Division

Take up one of the largest plants about the end of October, and after shaking all the soil from the roots, separate each of the stems which have got any roots attached to them with a sharp knife; then shorten the top of each, and pot them in some good rich mould, placing them afterwards in a cold pit, where they are tolerably secure from frost, and where they can be kept dry during the winter. In the spring place them where a little artificial heat is used; they will then begin to grow and make good plants, fit for planting out in the autumn.

"By Layering, which is performed in the following manner: -

"Select, either in October or February, some of the bottom shoots which are of the preceding year's growth; tongue and peg them down in the usual way, covering the layers, about three inches, with a mixture of light sandy peat, leaf-mould, and a little water in dry weather; but they must remain for two years attached to the mother-plant. There is another way of layering the tree-paeony, which is by selecting early in spring some of the bottom branches or stems, ringing them, with a sharp knife, about one inch above and below each bud, upon the stems; every bud will then occupy two inches of the stem, which is obstructed above and below. In ringing remove, in the usual way, a small ring of the bark all round the stem. The branches, so prepared, are then laid in the same way as the preceding, and the plants will be fit to separate in one year; but they will not be so strong as those raised in the preceding manner. The Chinese are said to practise budding the rarer ones, on the more common kinds, with great success; but that statement seems rather doubtful.

From Seed

This can only be done to increase the single ones, as the semi-double ones do not produce perfect seeds, or at least very seldom. When perfect seeds are obtained, shortly after they are ripe, they should be sown in pans filled with a mixture of fresh loam and a small portion of leaf-mould and sand, which should be placed in a cold pit or frame, and protected from wet until the following spring, when the seeds will begin to vegetate. If the seeds are not sown until the spring, they seldom grow before the following year; and frequently many of the seeds perish before that time arrives.

"The seedlings must be allowed to remain in the seed-pans the first season, and be transplanted the following spring, either into the open border, or singly in pots; and the time they are afterwards before they flower depends upon the treatment they receive, but generally they require two or three years.