News and Articles

2025 Letter – Nate Bremer – Owner – Solaris Farms

Dear Patrons,

We thank everyone who ordered plants from us in 2024 and wish everyone a fantastic gardening season in 2025!

2025 will mark our 25^th year in business and we are looking forward to providing high quality peonies and a few lilies this coming season.  The business has certainly evolved; moving from onsite sales to mail order and from offering a variety of plants to mostly peonies.  These moves over the years have allowed us to focus on better propagation practices and ultimately offer some of the best quality material in commerce.  Changes have also allowed us to spend more time on selection of new and older cultivars, plus begin new lines recognizing demand for historic and hard to find peonies.  All changes have fed our passion for peonies.

The American Peony Society has been near and dear to all of our hearts.  2024 marked the end of my term as President and I’m hoping that I’ll have more time for plants going forward – so far not the case.  We continue to work closely with APS and it will likely remain an important part of our lives.     Of note, APS will be holding its annual convention in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin this year.  This looks to be a fantastic experience and it is right in our own backyard! APS conventions are awesome and provide much peony education, social opportunities and are simply “all things peonies”.  If you’ve not attended a convention and would like to please visit the APS website at:  https://americanpeonysociety.org/.  The APS website is easily the most comprehensive and best places to get peony information – try it you’ll like it!

We continue to offer numerous collector cultivars in limited supply.  Growing a wide diversity within the genus Paeonia keeps us interested and also provides some very interesting plants for our clientele.  While stocks often do not keep up with demand, it is our hope that we are able to supply at least a few things that satisfy the “peony hunger” many gardeners have.  We will continue to supply best in class peony divisions and grafts and believe you will be most satisfied with the plant material you receive.

Last year’s growing season was certainly diverse in its own right.  Climate change is certainly a consideration all gardeners will need to deal with going forward.  Fortunately, peonies are quite resilient to the widely variable conditions we are now experiencing, given some basic care.  For us, the months of June and July (2024) produced precipitation of more than 20 inches above average (record).  After July 15, no rain fell until October 15 – placing our location in severe drought.  Peonies survive drought quite well, but digging them to fill orders and replanting in drought hardened soil is not a particularly enjoyable experience!    The excessive precipitation earlier in the year was of greater concern, since peonies are low water users and rather intolerant of wet conditions.  We did lose a few peonies to waterlogged soils during the period, but also learned a few things along the way.  Among the woody peonies, it was quite evident that Suffruticosa Group cultivars were the most likely to succumb to wet soils and almost all developed fungal infections on old carpels (seed pods).  Jordan and I spent quite a few days cutting flower stems and damaged branches from a couple of acres of Suffruticosa Group plants to lessen the probability of botrytis (fungus) dripping down on healthy foliage and stems.  While the Suffruticosa Group plants struggled with wet conditions, the Lutea Hybrid Group showed no ill effects.  In fact, Lutea Hybrid Group plants grew to huge size and often covered walkways/row spaces with luscious growth.  Bloom was easily the best we’ve seen in 25 years.  Lutea Hybrids have always performed well for us, but the “take away” is they tolerate greater amounts of water and drought doesn’t impact them greatly either – perhaps this should be the group of woody peonies more people should look to for their gardens.  Adaptability and durability are something Lutea Hybrids possess in comparison to the popular Suffruticosas.  Suffruticosa cultivars with greater concentrations of P. rockii genes also out-performed the more common Suffruticosas.  We still love our Suffruticosa cultivars, but now know they are best grown in dry conditions. The so called “Rockii hybrids” produced massive numbers of blooms and foliage was not impacted greatly by disease and did somewhat better than the Suffruticosas.  All said, the woody peonies really showed us what they can do in less-than-optimal conditions.

Herbaceous peonies were also impacted by the wet conditions, but less so.  Bloom was outstanding, even in the wet weather of bloom season.  Little pollination of flowers could be carried out by both man or insect due the constant rain, thus little seed was produced in the 2024 season.   More stem rot at soil level was noted, but no discernable negative impacts were observed on crowns or root systems at harvest.   All said the herbaceous peonies provided a big show, if you could tolerate sinking into the mud found in their growing field!

Amphibians (frogs and salamanders) in the area certainly benefited from the excessive rainfall, insects did not!  After nearly 10 years of seeing few frogs and salamanders, we were heartened to see “youth” jumping and crawling everywhere.  Unfortunately, one frog species was absent from the abundance – green frogs, which appear to be no longer common in our area for some other reason.  Pollinating insects were at a low, probably due to excessive water drowning them or preventing reproduction.  Because of the lack of pollinators, few peonies showed open pollination and seeds from their good work were few and far between.  We hope for a more gentle climate season in 2025, but this has not been the emerging pattern.

This year’s peony catalogs have numerous new offerings of older cultivars.  Many of these older cultivars are outstanding performers and are quite beautiful.   For a number of reasons these plants became scarce in commerce (not because they are not good).  Some major reasons peonies may become rare are:

• The are not grown by people who propagate them. This is a no brainer – if someone isn’t making more of a cultivar, they will be rare.
• They were not distributed widely after introduction. Some of the rarest plants may have only seen distribution to a few private gardens, which did not distribute them further or propagate them.
• Some are difficult to grow. We avoid offering these for sale, as few people want to struggle with them.  However, if we do offer these plants, we’ll make note of their deficiencies.
• The major distributors of peonies focus on the most profitable cultivars and will not offer those that require a bit more effort to propagate them. Lack of mass appeal often keeps them out of more general listings as well.
• Once a plant is out of the mainstream, it is more difficult for it to gain prominence. With today’s low-level publications and social media focus, the most common plants receive all the press, leaving little room for the really good stuff that is not widely grown.
• Peonies are expensive and rarer cultivars will demand higher prices for good reason. Cost drives availability and distribution due to personal spending habits of the general gardening public.  Lower cost peonies are often in most demand due to the budget priorities and education of the gardening public.  Low-cost peonies are often mass produced at low costs.  Propagating different kinds of peonies requires special skills.  We often think all herbaceous peonies are the same as far as propagation is concerned – incorrect!   Many different crown and root configurations exist and each cultivar must be propagated somewhat differently for best results.  The same can be said for woody peonies – some may be grafted and others divided.  Add to this, not all peonies have the same ease or timelines in which they are best propagated.  Specialty nurseries fill the void for diversity due to their skills/knowledge in propagating different peonies – price will be more due to the time involvement.  Each peony cultivar has its own timeline for reaching a saleable stage.  At minimum, three years of growing in a field is required for herbaceous peonies.  Woody peonies require additional years and generally require greater growing space.  Maintenance, taxes, land purchases and equipment are all part of the equation.  Few other plants require such space and time to achieve saleable size – GOOD REASON FOR EXPENSE.  However, peonies are a great value due to their long life.  On a side note – compare the cost of going out to eat and the cost of a peony.  You’ll find that a 45 minute meal (or a couple) exceeds the price and long term value of a peony.  I’d rather grow a good peony rather than have indigestion.

The “price we pay” for inexpensive, mass-produced peonies offered by non-specialty resellers is more than money spent!  In recent years we’ve noticed a large uptick in viral diseases in peonies (a different kind of “price we pay”) which are mass produced and resold in retail outlets.  Peonies often grow well enough with viral infections, but not all do.  Adding an infected plant to a garden can help spread disease to other plants, thus should be avoided.  In 2023-2024 we also noted many of our peonies which were brought in from resellers were incorrectly identified (we didn’t get the cultivars we paid for).   Since peonies live for such a long time, the chances of a mislabeled cultivar being propagated under the wrong name and being distributed is great.  We do our best to make sure our plants are labeled correctly for this reason.  We spend many hours during the growing/bloom season vetting plants for correct identification and have thrown away more misidentified plants than I care to count.  Misidentified peony cultivars in commerce is a growing problem we all need to be aware of and try to correct.

Cool stuff this year!  The following cultivars are some we very much enjoyed in 2024 and believe you might want to try in your garden.  Some are new, but some are often older and overlooked.  Images and descriptions can be seen in our catalogs (if not sold out).  I don’t have a favorite, but these would be in the running if I did.

‘Ghostlight’– A real beauty of the most unusual coloration yet.  Woody peony.  It’s a new registration and is pricey at this time.

‘Tom Cat’ – Often overlooked Lactiflora cultivar.  Heavy flowering and great looking blooms and super plants.

‘Dreamtime’ – Awarded the Gold Medal by APS.  High performance and superior plant habit/bloom. Herbaceous Hybrid.

‘Avis Varner’ – Superior red double Lactiflora cultivar.  Gorgeous blooms and easy to grow plant.

‘Viking Valor’ – An Herbaceous Hybrid which is double and stands straight up.  Awesome and a favorite.  My wife likes it as a cut flower.

‘Selene’ – A Lutea Hybrid (woody).  Awesome flower form and display.  One of the best and is an exceptional landscape plant out of bloom.  Often overlooked in favor of other more common cultivars (name recognition).

‘Wisteria Reflection’ – Perhaps the finest Lutea Hybrid (woody) we grow of thousands.  Tons of elegant flowers on shorter plants.

‘Carl G. Klehm’ – A white lactiflora cultivar.  Great for the garden or cutting and a real showpiece.

‘Age of Gold’ – A yellow Lutea Hybrid with superior vigor.  A longtime standout which is of easy culture.

‘Cora Stubbs’ – Performer supreme!  Pink guard petals with a scoop of ice cream.  Easy, showy and overlooked.

Paeonia daurica sbsps. mlokosewitschii  or Paeonia anomala sbsps. veitchii – Try these species for a semi-shady location.    Real stunners and interesting plants in the early season.  Not difficult to grow and make awesome clumps.

‘Smoky Mountain’ – Suffruticosa/Rockii cultivar.  Big plants and big flower production.  A stunner in the landscape.

‘Aquila’ – Lutea Hybrid.  Shorter plants that have big ornate flowers.  A favorite for flower power!

And there are many more, just too many to name!

I’d like to encourage our patrons (or anyone) to use our Culture & Care recommendations or those from the American Peony Society (APS). We have grown peonies and lilies for a very long time in our rigorous climate, and have much experience with these plants.   The American Peony Society has been around since 1903 and its members (past & present) represent some of the most knowledgeable people to have ever grown these plants.  With this in mind, avoid using information found in Social Media and that found in searches online.  The amount of “BAD” information and recommendations is astounding, even from sources we might think are respectable.  Some of the most egregious information involves watering, amending soils, siting and fertilizing peonies.  Most peonies are generally easy to grow and do not require special care, given some basic care.  Please avoid amending native soils, planting in shade, watering on a schedule and fertilizing.  Generally, peonies do not require this “high culture” treatment.  More often than not, the plants actually suffer from our cultural interference.  Thus, only water, fertilize or amend if there is proof that it needs to be done!

As more people grow peonies (a good thing) we are seeing attempts to grow them in containers, using commercial soil mixes or planting them in places which are detrimental to their health.

• Containers… Peonies have big root systems which do best in stable soil conditions. Rapid warming, cooling, drying and wetting of containers does not support long-term peony growth.  PEAT is the major component of nearly all potting mixes used for containers and peonies cannot tolerate the wet conditions it creates at root level.  Get your peonies into the ground if at all possible.
• Sites… Avoid planting in low areas that become wet at anytime of the year (winter is especially problematic and may cause peony death if wet). Never near downspouts or automatic sprinklers.  Sand is infertile and should be avoided. Do not plant them in the middle of the lawn (too many reasons to list here – just believe me).
• Soil amendments… Consider that adding compost or peat to a planting hole may cause it to become wet. Peony roots do not naturally grow in peat or compost and these components hold water.  Numerous sources recommend compost to be used in the planting hole – a bad idea which is repeated by inexperienced sources.  If compost or peat is to be used, mix it with native soils broadly and minimally.  To much will cause root issues and resulting plant growth problems or death.  Test your soil before adding anything to it.

Thanks for reading my wondering letter!  All said, I wish I had discovered peonies earlier in life.  They are one of the most diverse groups of perennial plants for the garden and occupy much of my time (year-round).  Admittedly, I’m hooked and will never value another plant group more.  I also hope that you to can become “hooked” on this wonderful plant group and find all the joy and interest I have!

Happy Gardening!

Nate Bremer – Owner – Solaris Farms