A John Deere Publication

Two people working on a peony farm in front of a wide view of a coast with snowy mountains across the water topped with clouds

Kurt Weichhand and Beth Van Sandt harvest peony buds on their Homer, Alaska, farm. They met for the first time more than 40 years ago on the Homer Spit, the tiny strip of land jutting out into the Kachemak Bay in the background far below their mountaintop farm. The 2024 harvest was their last harvest before retiring.

Agriculture, Specialty/Niche March 01, 2025

The Place of Peonies

Homer, Alaska, farmers nurture a niche industry into full bloom.

by Martha Mintz

Standing amidst thousands of peony plants, Beth Van Sandt recounts asking a friend what a peony even was. Van Sandt had no way of knowing that simple question would launch her and her husband Kurt Weichhand into the peony chapter of their life.

When she heard about them, peonies grown for the cut flower industry were being touted as the next Alaskan gold rush.

"When it was realized peonies bloom in Alaska when they're not blooming in the rest of the world, everyone got excited," says Rita Jo Shoultz, owner of Alaska Perfect Peony farm near Homer.

In the lower 48 states, peonies are early-season show stoppers with blooms taking their final bow as spring yields to summer. Alaska's peony season starts heating up in July and runs through August. If a summer bride wants peonies at her wedding, her florist can look to Alaska's peony farmers to make that dream a reality.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Agricultural and Forestry Research Station planted the first peony trials in 2001. In 2006, Shoultz was among the first farmers in the state to trial the new niche crop and go on to grow peonies commercially.

Shoultz now has more than 10,000 plants and 30 varieties.

"Twelve varieties is what you should have," she says. It's one of many lessons Shoultz learned over the years as a pioneer in the industry. "I couldn't ask anyone what to do because nobody had ever raised peonies commercially in Alaska. I made every mistake known to mankind and spent a lot of money making those mistakes."

She traveled the world learning the ins and outs of the industry. The experience she gained on her farm and beyond she happily shared with other Alaskan farmers.

Homer proved one of the epicenters of Alaska peony production and has fully embraced the flower as its own.

Homer didn't settle for a peony festival. The City of Peonies as it's now known, dedicates the entire month of July to celebrating the flower grown by 25 area farmers.

The Homer Girl Scouts hand out peonies to those arriving at the Homer airport. A dedicated Facebook page gives weekly bloom reports for various varieties and farms. There are farm tours, workshops for floral designers, floral art installations, and even peony-inspired beers.

Above. Kurt and Beth grew 14 peony varieties and an array of other cut flowers on two farms. They enjoyed sharing their knowledge with interns from the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF). While they shared about flowers, they also took in the cultures of the WWOOFers they hosted making for a rich experience.

Peony pioneer. Though Van Sandt initially had to ask what a peony was, she went on to be a driving force in Alaska peony production and the Homer peony culture. She and her husband first learned of peonies when they ran into friends buying supplies to start their own peony farm.

While their husbands—both commercial fishermen at the time—talked fishing, the girls talked flowers. Van Sandt's friend shared the excitement building around peony production in the state. The potential seemed significant as peonies were growing in popularity as a cut flower and commanded high prices.

A 2019 University of Alaska article reported Alaska farmers earn $1 per stem and up to $7 per stem for unique colors like coral.

"I had always loved to garden," Van Sandt says. She'd never grown anything on a commercial scale, but was interested. She was running a carpet cleaning company at the time. "I was tired of carpet cleaning and figured it was time to give my back a rest.

"I turned to Kurt and said, 'What do you think? Do you want to be a peony farmer?' He responded, 'Like we need one more thing to do.'"

In the end, he came around to the idea. In 2010 they bought a few acres adjacent to their mountaintop home overlooking Kachemak Bay. Cottonwood trees were removed, clearing an area with southern exposure where they planted 2,800 roots giving life to Scenic Place Peonies farm.

With the help of mentors like Shoultz and NRCS programs to help with infrastructure and improvements like irrigation, they navigated the three-year journey to their first of many harvests.

It wasn't the break for Van Sandt's back she thought it would be. Peony farming is a lot of hard work. During harvest they take full advantage of nearly every minute of the 18-hour Alaska summer days. Cutting, processing, and packing flowers starts at 4 a.m.

Each stem is selected and hand picked. Different varieties have different requirements. Peonies are picked while still in the bud stage. Some varieties need picked when the buds are still very tight. Others will never open if they're picked too soon.

Freshly picked buds are rushed from the field to coolers that rapidly purge heat the plants soaked up in the field. Once cooled, leaves are stripped from the lower halves of the stems. Buds are graded by size with a AAA being the largest at 45 mm in diameter. Various bud sizes and stem lengths are needed to meet each market.

A grocery store bouquet might call for the largest flower, while a wedding florist seeks a daintier bloom for a bouquet or boutonniere. Stems are bunched and packed into boxes to be shipped to the lower 48 states and international markets. The harvest is a 4-week daily grind.

Initially, Van Sandt managed Scenic Place Peonies on her own while Weichhand was still fishing. They had a friendly competition.

"I'd call in the afternoon after she was done shipping to ask how much she made in peony sales that day. Once I had the number I'd stay out and fish until I made that much or more. We were very competitive," he says.

Peonies proved more profitable, so Weichhand eventually sold his permits and invested the profits in more acres of peonies, joining Van Sandt on the farm full time.

Above. Each day thousands of peony stems are carefully hand selected, cut, graded and shipped from the farm, often under the supervision of Loki. Beth and Kurt closed their final season raising peonies with a family wedding on the farm featuring floral arrangements they grew, harvested, and created themselves. Peonies join other cut flowers and greenery grown at Scenic Place Peonies in a bouquet. The farm hosted many multi-day intensive floral design workshops and retreats attracting florists from around the world.

Gathering experience. Peony farming wasn't easy, but it proved rewarding for Van Sandt and Weichhand. He liked the ‘big boy toys' like tractors that were needed to farm. Van Sandt found gratification in the experiences.

"I'm a perfectionist and we worked hard to put out a premium product," she says. While she loved farming and growing flowers, her pride bloomed when her efforts were recognized.

"I loved having a client call or text about the flowers, send photos of their special day, or tag us on social media. It was very gratifying that all the love, effort, and money that went into cultivating the flowers showed in the end."

Van Sandt jumped into the Alaska peony industry with both feet. She was on committees with the Alaska Peony Association before she even had roots in the ground. She worked alongside other farmers with the Homer Chamber of Commerce to make peony production an economic driver for the whole community.

Her Alaska Peony Retreat drew floral designers from the world over to Homer and Scenic Place Peonies for intensive workshops with high-end floral designers.

"During this time I discovered I love teaching and being a WWOOFer host. Being a host is all about teaching the next generation about running a farm and creating something that's beautiful, sustainable, and of good quality," Van Sandt says.

Years of WWOOFer visitors painted murals on the walls of the packing shed. An eclectic mix of cultures and interests preserved for the perusal of those that followed. Weichhand's contribution to the packing shed art installation includes photos of the most expensive farm mistakes and those who perpetrated them. Mistakes like dents in the delivery van and rototillers careened off hillsides. It's all in good fun.

There have been highs like twice being invited to the annual First Ladies Luncheon in Washington D.C., and lows such as battles with weather and disease. After 14 years in the industry, the pair followed through with their plan to retire in 2024.

Sunny Alaska summer days in the fields have their joys, but they wanted to spend more of those days at their cabin across the bay or riding Kurt's motorcycle.

Ever the peony champion, Van Sandt was able to convince the couple buying part of their farm to stick with flowers in addition to their plans for vegetable production.

"We had many conversations and I showed them our financials. They decided since the flowers were already established it made sense to continue. I'm excited about that," she says.

The new farmers will be in good company as Van Sandt's own mentor and many other farmers in the area are still going strong and are a tight-knit community. It's bitter sweet for Van Sandt.

"We've had a lot of good seasons and flowers will always be where my heart lies," she says. ‡