“I know from the many stories that my grandfather acquired the company from my great-grandfather in the Thirties. Not long after, his sons – including my father – joined the business and eventually took over after my grandfather retired. I spent a lot of time at the nursery as a little boy and that’s when I developed my love for peonies. After some time I took over part of the company with my father, Wim Karsten. And that’s when Paeon B.V. was founded, on January 1st 2005. We are a true family business and we want to pass on our love and care for plants and flowers to future generations!”
With his nursery in Benningbroek, Jacob has been a trendsetter on the Dutch market since 2005 and – as from 2018 – will be active (again) in France. Soil life and peonies are inextricably linked and cultivation is done organically, in the heaviest soil. Jacob and his father Wim, who has more than 40 years of experience cultivating peonies, his mother Marry and his sister Esther have a lot of knowledge and expertise together. And the next generation is ready to get underway; Jacob’s son Nick already is cultivating his own peonies and his daughter Lois will have her very first harvest in 2018.
Paeon has a very forward-thinking assortment, in both breadth and depth. The nursery has a special garden where they develop new, innovative peony varieties; the varieties of the future are being bred here. This allows Paeon and My Peony Society to continue to lead the way in the development of new varieties. Including the cuttings, there are a lot of different peony varieties cultivated on these grounds: nearly 80 of them!
About 30 of these varieties are cultivated for their flowers on roughly 20 hectares of land. Some notable varieties include: Etched Salmon, Madame Claude Tain, Bowl of Cream, Old Faithful, Mary E. Nicholls, Lemon Chiffon, Angel Cheeks, Salmon Chiffon, Coral Sunset, Puffed Cotton, Lois Choice, Colonel Owen Cousins, Carl G. Klehm and Nick Shaylor. Paeon also cultivates a wide range of more common varieties like Sarah Bernhardt, Dr. Alexander Fleming, Coral Charm, Duchesse de Nemours, Red Charm and many more.
Only the very best is good enough for Paeon, Jacob won’t settle for anything less. When it comes to peonies, he is a true visionary and is way ahead of the curve in terms of organisation and logistics. You could compare it to a conductor and his orchestra; that’s the amount of passion Paeon has for its peonies, land and employees! Everything and everyone is completely in tune with each other. Paeon is always open to input from its employees; there’s always room for discussion, for further improvement. After all, isn’t that what makes a team strong? It’s no wonder so many employees come back every year!
We are more than proud of the collaboration between Paeon and My Peony Society. Our shared love for peonies and incredible synergy has us looking forward to a bright future!
