It Grows in Alaska

“Hey, you want to go to Alaska this summer?” Rudy Klaver asked Eli Brockman a couple of years ago as the two high schoolers ate lunch. Eli said yes and joined Rudy for a summer working for the Russel family at Boreal Peonies in Two Rivers, Alaska in 2023.

When the Russels decided to sell, Rudy and Eli joked that they would buy it. But that joking comment planted a seed and it grew into a plan. The Russels are not alone—many Alaska peony farms have come and gone over the past 25 years. Now 19, Rudy and Eli are the youngest owners of one of the largest peony farms in the state. 2024 was their first summer operating the farm, although due to their age and lack of experience, they’ve had difficulty securing a loan from the Farm Service Agency, so they currently have a lease.

Rudy came by growing and selling flowers naturally, as his father is Ko Klaver, president and CEO of Botanical Trading Co. and a floriculture industry expert.

Both from Maryland, Rudy and Eli make a great team. With his horticultural interests, background and immersion in the family business, Rudy Klaver brings his horticultural expertise to the table. Eli is mechanically inclined and good with motors. He says, “I make the tractor run, and he tells me what plant I just crushed with it.” Eli is also on his way to becoming a journeyman plumber, which comes in handy when maintaining a 14-mile irrigation system.

The farm is 40 acres, 15 of which are currently in production. In the future, they hope to cultivate more of their acreage as well as maximize their current space, which is laid out with a six-foot drive row after each double row.

In my mind, one of the downsides of being a peony farmer in Alaska is that harvest season coincides with some of the best times of the summer when you could be camping, hiking, backpacking, kayaking or fishing. Eli and Rudy invited six friends and Eli’s parents to work on the farm, where they are also camping, so they are having a pretty big Alaska adventure right alongside their work.

They work at the farm from the beginning of May to the end of August. In the winter, they have full-time jobs in Maryland. From January to February, they focus on finalizing contracts and marketing their peonies.

Rudy’s favorite part of peony farming is hanging out with his friends all summer. Eli likes being his own boss, planning out the work to be done, and seeing that plan executed.

I asked them what their least favorite part of peony farming was. For Eli it was pulling off a 22-hour day during the peak of the season, working in thick wildfire smoke, and to top it off, having bronchitis. Rudy said hands-down, for him it was side budding. The side buds of peony stems need to be removed to encourage straight, premium 20-inch stems and to conserve the plant’s energy. Other challenges were not showering for nine days as they were camping out, and the gnats.

Rudy and Eli are pursuing education in areas that apply directly to the farm, such as business and accounting software. Rudy is interested in pursuing a genetics engineering degree to breed his own varieties of plants with CRISPR gene-editing technology, but that plan is on hold. Both of their careers are in Maryland at this point and this venture is mostly a summer gig.

Rudy would like to experience below-zero weather and winter for the first time, but he’s not sure if he will like it. They’re thinking about building a cabin and may want to expand the farm.

Their first summer went well. They sold 68,000 of 77,000 stems. They’re generally selling stems for $2.60 to $3.75, but mostly in the low $3 range, which is solidly wholesale, but sales to florists are higher. Prices on their website range from $5.60 to $7.75, which would be for florists and the direct market. Order sizes vary quite a bit, but their largest order was 57,000 stems. Their break-even price is $1.90 to $2.15.

Eli said potential peony farmers should know that “It is a daunting task, but everybody we’ve talked to has been super friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. There’s a lot of variables and things that can go wrong. It’s hard work but it’s rewarding work.”

All photos courtesy of Boreal Peonies. Published in the Fairbanks Daily Newsminer March 2, 2025.