Epicotyl dormancy was broken in cultured peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) embryos after topical application of agarose gels containing gibberellic acid, with optimum growth at 1.5 mM gibberellic acid. Addition of 100 M abscisic acid to the medium resulted in complete inhibition of gibberellic acid-stimulated promotion of dormant epicotyls. Epicotyl dormancy was also broken in embryos by culture on media containing 1 or 10 M benzylaminopurine. A highly significant increase in leaf number occurred when embryos were both cultured on medium containing benzylaminopurine and treated topically with gibberellic acid. Anatomical and morphological studies indicated that the increase in shoot growth was due to the development and growth of 1) buds formed at the cotyledonary node, 2) axillary buds, and 3) adventitious meristems originating from subepidermal parenchymatous tissue.