Abstract: The aim of this study was to explore the effect of container growing on herbaceous peony, so as to provide the theory basis for the cultivation and management of containerraised peony. The growth， development， dry matter accumulation and distribution of containerraised Paeonia lactiflora ‘Lan Hai Bi Bo were investigated in 5 different growthstages including stem and leaf growth stage， flower bud formation stage， fullbloom stage， root and bud growth stage and withering stage， and the plants in field were used as the control. The results showed that: There was a significant difference in canopy width， compound leaf number， shoot number and flower number per plant between the treatment and the control， which increased by 101%， 920%， 606% and 667%, respectively, than the control. Moreover， container growing significantly prolonged the vegetative period of peony by 35 days. The dry matter accumulation of whole plant， roots， fibrous roots， stems and flowers of containergrown seedlings were all higher than the control， which were 139 times， 137times， 163 times， 109 times and 190 times, respectively, of the control. The dry matter accumulation of leaves was slightly lower than the control， which was 9504% of control. Container growing had no significant effect on dry matter distribution rate of vegetative organs; however， it was obviously beneficial for dry matter accumulation in flowers and fruits. The dry matter distribution rate of flowers and fruits were 130 times and 163 times of the control, respectively. Therefore， the growth of Paeonia lactiflora ‘Lan Hai Bi Bo in the first year in container growing system was increased than the control. It had more dry matter accumulation， compact plants, and its flower production， ornamental time were better than the control. Container growing is helpful to get higher quality peony products， which is beneficial for the commodity development of herbaceous peony.

Key words: Paeonia lactiflora, container growing, growth and development, dry matter accumulation, dry matter distribution