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Paeonia ludlowii is a deciduous tree peony shrub of 2 to 3.5 m, native to high altitude thickets in southeast Tibet, prized for its pure yellow flowers. It is hard to keep in cultivation, so success depends on deep planting, well-drained neutral to alkaline soil and avoiding waterlogging.
Paeonia ludlowii is a deciduous shrub of medium height, belonging to the tree peony section Moutan of the genus Paeonia, and endemic to southeast Tibet. In Tibet it is known as ≠'lumaidao' meaning "God's flower". The vernacular name in Chinese is 大花黄牡丹 (da hua huang mu dan) meaning "big yellow-flowered peony". In English it is sometimes called Tibetan tree peony or Ludlow's tree peony. It has pure yellow, slightly nodding, bowl-shaped flowers, and large, twice compounded, light green leaves.
Paeonia ludlowii is sometimes grown as an ornamental for its delicate foliage and beautiful (although short-lived) flowers. In cultivation, it does best in fertile, neutral to slightly alkaline, well-drained soil. Specimens prefer to be planted deep and dislike too much water. In early spring and during summer high-potash liquid feed stimulates richer flowering. When growing the species from seed, these can best first be soaked, mixed with damp vermiculite, and kept at room temperature until root emerges after one to three months. If kept cool afterwards, the shoot appears after a further two to three months. When these are planted into separate pots immediately and grown in daylight results are generally good.
The shoot only appears when a root length of at least 6 cm (2.4 in) has developed. The epicotyl remains dormant until the GA3/ABA ratio is sufficiently different.
Paeonia ludlowii is an endemic that is restricted to the Nyingchi, Mainling and Lhünzê counties of South-East Tibet. It grows in open forests, and thickets on dry rocky slopes at elevations of 3,000–3,500 m (9,800–11,500 ft). Individual populations are small in area but have a large number of individuals. Because the seeds are quite large, almost all seeds germinate close to the parent, and are often found in a large density. Perhaps rats are the most effective mains of seed dispersal to somewhat distanced new locations.
The species is used as a traditional medicine, and local people dig it up for its root bark. Exploitation by people from other parts of China is a serious threat to the survival of this species. The large seeds are ground into a flour used to prepare a type of tsampa and also to prepare seed oils and hair dye by the Lhoba people. The shrub is sometimes cultivated as an ornamental for the sake of its handsome, yellow flowers and ferny foliage in botanical gardens and by plant collectors.
Anomalous Peony · California peony · Paeonia cambessedesii · Paeonia corsica · Paeonia daurica subsp. mlokosewitschii · Tree Peony · Dian mu dan · Himalayan Peony · Chinese peony · Peony · Chinese Peony · Common peony
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Paeonia ludlowii by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
