How did Homer become such a peony hub? The story begins a few miles up East End Road, on Rita Jo Shoultz’s farm.
At the time, there were no other commercial peony growers in Alaska. Shoultz said there was a big learning curve.
She said the task force first started meeting in 2016 to beautify Pioneer Avenue by planting peonies up and down the street. In 2017, then-mayor Bryan Zak designated Homer the City of Peonies. “And so I picked up the phone and I called Rita Jo, and I said, ‘Is this a good time to start having some farm tours?’ And she said, ‘Absolutely,’” she said.
And she said it honors an industry that has become significant in Homer — both because of peony exports and tourism. “It is no fun to call a bride and say, ‘Guess what, we don’t have any peonies for you,” she said. “All their life, they want to have a peony for their wedding, and now they can’t get it.’ Every time we take a reservation, or order, earlier in the season, we always tell them it’s always subject to Mother Nature.”She said this year, her flowers will be ready later in the season. That’s not a problem when it comes to demand from buyers— she said the later the flowers are, the rarer they’ll be.
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