World Class Peony Growers

World Class Peony Growers CROPS Miscellaneous If you love peonies check out Swenson Gardens in Howard Lake Minn These world class growers specialize in the “old fashioned” fragrant blooms with eye-catching new colors like yellow coral lavender and fire engine red along with the traditional red pink and white blooms “We market 125 different varieties each year and it changes These aren’t your grandma’s peonies ” says Keith Swenson of the more than 15 000 plants at the business he and his wife Becky started in 2002 Besides coming in an array of colors and bloom shapes the new hybrid varieties stand tall and strong without staking When they aren’t blooming many varieties with shrub-like bushes add landscaping beauty The Swenson family grows peonies the old-fashioned way in rich chemical-free soil And instead of selling less developed tissue cultured plants they sell bare rootstock from divided mature plants “This means you get a more developed plant and impressive results in your garden faster ” Swenson notes Growing the plants in Zone 4 offers a big advantage as the plants survive to 40 degrees below zero but they’re suitable for Zones 2 to 8 anywhere that winter is cold enough for the plants to go dormant The Swensons hold open houses a couple of weekends in early June when the peonies bloom so customers can see them before ordering them for fall shipment Photos of the varieties are also on the website “We have blooms for seven weeks ” Swenson says “We encourage gardeners to plant different varieties with different bloom times ” He emphasizes the importance of properly preparing the soil with composted manure bone meal Milorganite and other amendments to create a well-drained fertilized site in a location that gets at least 8 hrs of sun a day “If you do you never have to fertilize again ” Swenson says and like grandma’s peonies they will bloom for decades “The less attention you pay to them the better they grow Peonies are also drought and deer-resistant and very disease-free as long as the site is not wet all the time ” The Swensons sell four classifications of peonies: Garden varieties Distinctive peonies Intersectional peonies tree and herbaceous peony cross and Collector peonies that range from $20 to $250 He credits his mentor Roger Anderson of Ft Atkinson Wis who spent years developing peony varieties “Roger retired and we are trying to carry on his hybrids It’s imperative for me to pass them on to our children ” Swenson says The Swensons’ children have already started sideline businesses Britta sells new blooms as cut flowers and Luke cares for honeybees Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Swenson Gardens P O Box 209 Howard Lake Minn 55349 ph 763 350-2051; www swensongardens com

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