Experts ponder peonies at national conference

From left, Professor Pat Holloway (UAF), Professor Meriam Karlsson (UAF), Red Kennicott of Kennicott Brothers Ltd., and Professor Thomas Davis (UNH) gather to talk about peonies at a Fairbanks conference.

Peony growers and want-to-be growers listened attentively Thursday to nationally-recognized horticultural experts about how to grow peonies in Alaska. The Peony Conference, sponsored by the Georgeson Botanical Garden (a program of the School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences) and the Alaska Peony Growers Association, attracted nearly seventy participants.

Beth Ann Van Sandt of Homer came to the meeting because she wants to start growing the big beautiful flowers. “I’m doing a lot of networking,” she said. “I am living vicariously through these experts and gaining knowledge that other people didn’t have when they started growing peonies. I’m getting my feet wet.”

Speaker Red Kennicott of Kennicott Brothers Ltd. told his perspective as an industry representative. He has already contracted with two peony growers on the Kenai Peninsula to buy their flowers. “I’m very fascinated with what is going on in Alaska,” he said.

Because Alaskans can produce blossoms later in the season than most growers there is a market for the blossoms, Kennicott indicated. “There is potential or I wouldn’t be here.” He noted that peonies are in demand for weddings but that the popularity of certain colors and shapes changes over time. “Networking is really important,” he said, urging growers to join peony associations. “Keep up the enthusiasm and the passion,” he said. “Learn all you can about growing and marketing.”

Kennicott pledged his support to the success of growing peonies in Alaska and said it was an honor to be a part of the state’s peony industry.

Cooperative Extension Service Agent Michele Hebert attended because she wanted to learn about weeds and pest management. She often gets calls from the public needing advice and she wants to be prepared. “I want to know about thrips” (a tiny bug), she said.

Professor Thomas M. Davis from the University of New Hampshire participated in the conference because he has the same passion for peony research that UAF Horticulture Professor Pat Holloway has. “By partnering we can enhance our mutual chance of success,” Davis said, referring to USDA grant funding that the conference attendees will be seeking.

Davis’s specialty is studying the breeding and genetics of peonies. “In the long term that is going to be crucial,” he said. “If Alaska is going to have a long-term, sustainable peony industry you want to have a breeding program here to breed peonies to meet specific opportunities and solve problems that will inevitably arise.”

Alaskans are currently “operating in a state of Eden,” due to lack of diseases in peonies and the fact that there is not much competition. “That’s gong to change if the industry is successful,” Davis said. “Alaskans could definitely benefit from the development of more knowledge and resources for peonies related to breeding and genetics.

“Peonies have not yet been well studied from the genetic perspective.”

He said the future for growing peonies in Alaska seems promising. “Obviously it has appeal as a potentially profitable horticulture product.”

The conference began Wednesday with a tour hosted by the Alaska Peony Growers Association. Attendees visited plots on the UAF campus and at private farms, including Polar Peonies, Basically Basil, Spinach Creek Farm, and Lilyvale Farm. Thursday was dedicated to the seminar and Friday and Saturday will be used for planning an approach to request funding through a USDA specialty crop grant.

Further reading:

UAF hosts peony conference for farmers and brokers to discuss Alaska's peony crop, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, July 25, 2010, by Jeff Richardson