Holloway, a University of Alaska Fairbanks horticulture professor, was growing the flowers at the Georgeson Botanical Garden. The broker said she could simply toss a few boxes aboard one of the cargo jets that supplied the world with fresh Alaska fish, and he’d be happy to buy them.
“With that tantalizing detail, we thought there might be something there,” Holloway said.
Today, Holloway and other Alaska agriculture leaders believe the state might be ready to make its mark on the world peony market. International demand and the unique northern growing season could be a combination that makes the classic flower Alaska’s next cash crop.
UAF hosted dozens of growers, researchers and marketers during a four-day conference last week to boost the young industry. According to UAF, there are 41 peony producers from Fairbanks to Homer, with more adding to that number each year.
Alaska’s potential as a peony producer is based on its late-summer growing season. The state’s peonies bloom from late June to September, when the flowers are dormant in the rest of the world.
Since the slow-growing perennials don’t do well in greenhouses, climate is a crucial factor. If someone wants a bouquet of mid-summer peonies, it needs to come from Alaska.
“What’s unique is that Alaska’s growing season is so late,” said Red Kennicott, whose Chicago-based Kennicott Brothers Company is among the biggest distributors of peonies. “This was the hole in the growing season.”
During the past six years, a network between growers and marketers has slowly developed. The next step is finding a way to introduce Alaska’s peony pipeline to the rest of the world. Experts from around the U.S. discussed breeding, pest management, marketing and more during the conference.
Attendees spent Friday working together to draft a proposal for a research grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Their goals are to discover what techniques are needed to market peonies and extend their growing season.
While peonies aren’t as common as roses or carnations, they’re in high demand by florists. They’re also lucrative, frequently selling for $5 or more to the public.
John Dole, a North Carolina State University flower researcher who spoke at the conference, said peonies have an old-fashioned aura that other flowers can’t duplicate.
“When grandma would come to visit, she’d bring a big bouquet of peonies,” Dole said. “It’s a special flower to a lot of people.”
Lilyvale Farms outside North Pole has been growing peonies for the past six years, and co-owner Ronald Illingsworth said they’re got most of the process down. High latitudes, colder temperatures and prolific sunlight all add their own nuances.
With an acre of peonies planted, Lilyvale sold the flowers commercially for the first time a year ago, and it offered a glimpse of the market’s potential. They delivered across the U.S., and there were even inquiries from flower sellers in the Far East.
“We had to turn people away,” said Marjorie Illingsworth.
Big flower producers have also moved into Alaska. Kennicott and his son own 11 peony farms in the Lower 48 and Chile, and they recently formed a partnership with growers on the Kenai Peninsula.
But getting the flowers to market has proved to be a challenge — one that the conference attendees shared.
It takes five years for the flowers to mature, and proper refrigeration techniques after they’ve been cut can add weeks to their lifespan. The Illingsworths shared their experiences with other Alaska growers.
“Everyone has questions, and they’re great questions,” Illingsworth said. “I wish we had answers to all of them.”
Contact staff writer Jeff Richardson at 459-7518.
The information shared at this conference could have [and should have - I'm all for that] been made available without the expense and promotion. And if the prospect has any reasonable expectation of being profitable, it should be able to support itself, no?
Welfare families reproduce faster than weeds or flowers!
There are only 2 successful crops grown in Alaska.
Pot and Subdivisions.
Therefore, I doubt any government loans will make a difference especially since the banks have turned down their business plans.
-- yuoth
It's interesting that they do so well up here, and that AK growers could supply an international off-season market, as opposed to most of our agricultural production. If it is economically feasible or profitable, peonie growers will get together and finance a cold-storage capability for themselves, or perhaps an entreprenier will see opportunity for profit and build one, with space for other agricultural products as well. Isn't that how capitolism and the free market is supposed to work? No need for public monies to be used subsidizing it, or FedCo.
LadyNYC - good comment, and right on the money. Not only would such action save taxpayers' expense in LE, prisons, etc, and also bring in tax revenue, but that agricultural endeavor would not need the expense of gov't subsidy to encourage people to develope capacity, or become profitable.
Peonies are a beautiful and wonderfully fragrant flower.
But then again, so are marijuana buds. Legalize marijuana, and tax the hell out of it. The revenue that could be generated would be orders of magnitude greater than from peonies, and at a fraction of production costs. Once properly cured, no special storage facilities would be required, and getting the product to market in a timely manner would be a complete non-issue. I.e., minimal transportation costs.
Then, think about the enormous SAVINGS of tax payer dollars in terms of law enforcement, judicial and corrections systems if pot-related offenses could be avoided altogether.
Peonies are nice, but let's face it, marijuana is the real cash crop here.
Having never seen a paycheck that was not from either UAF of the taxpayers I can understand why he believes that government is the answer to everything. The rest of us are more interested in how expensive it is going to be to keep the lights on and our houses warm this winter than to worry about spending our tax dollars on a bunch of flowers.