The following article was written by to Jordan Kabat, the Operations Manager at Solaris Farms in Reedsville.
Certainly, most people associate cows and corn with farming in Wisconsin. And, rightly so. Many, however, may not realize that there are a wide array of other types of farms with rather unique crops tucked-in beside the cornfields and grazing cattle.
Solaris Farms—located just north of Reedsville—was originally opened by Nate and Kim Bremer as a daylily nursery. Some in our area may remember traveling to the farm and purchasing unique hybrid daylily clumps, freshly dug from the fields. With shifting interests, offerings gradually incorporated other perennials, and over time, peonies became the primary crop.
Now sold exclusively via mail order, peonies are harvested en masse in late August through September and shipped bare-root across the United States, Canada and Europe. Even with several thousand cultivars grown and roughly ten acres planted, it is still a small operation by comparison, but certainly distinct.
I work as the operations manager of Solaris, and as an adjacent program to the “American Farmer” Exhibition—which is being featured at Manitowoc Public Library through Sunday, October 20—I’ll be offering a presentation in which I share what this type of farming is like, as well as some more in-depth aspects of peony culture. We’re calling it “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Peonies, But Were Afraid to Ask” and we’ll convene on Wednesday, October 9, in the Balkansky Community Room from 6-7:30 PM to explore the topic. And remember: no peony questions are off-limits!
In addition, to my work at Solaris, I also serve the American Peony Society and more broadly the International Society of Horticultural Sciences as the Cultivar Registration Authority for the genus (Paeonia)—in more succinct terms, this means I oversee nomenclature (names) for peonies across the globe. To say the least, I have my finger on the pulse as far as what is at the fore of peony breeding today.
Peonies are an exceptionally well-suited perennial for our climate here in Wisconsin that display an incredible amount of diversity in form and habit. Even if you aren’t hoping to operate a peony farm yourself one day, you won’t want to miss out on “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Peonies, But Were Afraid to Ask” if you are interested in adding some incredible beauty to your own home garden.