Dan and Denise Carey have been avid vegetable and flower gardeners for 40 years. They are retired teachers who decided to start a peony farm in their retirement. They have owned and operated Funny River Peonies for the past 8 years.

This presentation will touch on everything “peony.” Dan and Denise will discuss location considerations when planting peonies. They will also discuss the best time to plant peonies and move peonies (if you must). They will talk about when and how to correctly plant peony roots. Dan and Denise will show what it took to turn a forest into their beautiful peony farm. They will discuss peony stem storage for the farmer and home gardener. They will talk about peony diseases and insect damage and what you can do about them. If you already have peonies in your garden, they will suggest some beautiful and unusual varieties you might want to add. They will also talk about the importance of adding mulch to your peonies in the winter and discuss why the winter of 2024-2025 was so devastating to many peonies in southcentral Alaska.