Young's Plant Farm

What Young's Plant Farm does

Young's Plant Farm is a third-generation, family-owned wholesale plant nursery headquartered in Auburn, Alabama. Founded in 1961 by Gene Young, the company operates more than 1.5 million square feet of greenhouse space and 35 acres of outdoor growing area, producing annual bedding plants, edibles, mums, pansies, and poinsettias. Its primary commercial customers are large-scale retailers — notably 87 Lowe's stores served through a customized weekly replenishment system — alongside independent garden centers across the Southeastern United States.

The company's technology stack centers on operational systems rather than proprietary software products. Its most distinctive technical asset is Whole Tree Substrate, a sustainable peat-moss alternative produced on-site from pine shoots and developed in partnership with Auburn University and the USDA. Supporting this is a replenishment software integration built with Demand Link and Practical Software, a logistics stack including Truckmate TMS, Peoplenet onboard computers, GPS-equipped trailers, and Roadnet routing software, and a closed-loop plastics recycling program that processes 150+ tons of plastic annually. The company also operates a 26,400+ square-foot trial garden evaluating 750+ plant varieties for Southeastern US climate performance.

Young's makes money through B2B wholesale plant sales under quote-based, privately negotiated pricing with retail and distribution partners. Revenue is concentrated in one major enterprise relationship (Lowe's) supplemented by independent garden center sales. The business holds an MPS-A sustainability certification, supports reverse-logistics through its recycling program, and is led by Owner/CEO Greg Young and the Young family. The company remains privately held with no disclosed outside investors, funding rounds, or M&A activity.

Name

Young's Plant Farm

Legal name

Young's Plant Farm

Website

https://youngsplantfarm.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1961

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Young's Plant Farm is a third-generation, family-owned wholesale nursery in Auburn, Alabama that produces annual bedding plants across 1.5+ million square feet of greenhouses for large retailers (87 Lowe's stores) and independent garden centers in the Southeastern United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wholesale Nursery & Greenhouse Plant Production

NAICS

Greenhouse, Nursery, and Floriculture Production (1114), Nursery and Tree Production (111421)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100)

akta.pro primary industry

Landscape Plant & Nursery Stock Wholesalers (Grower-Wholesalers) (AFAGAHAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Nursery Stock & Propagule Production (Cuttings, Rootstocks, Grafts) (AFAGAIAO), Tree Nursery Stock Production (Seedlings, Saplings, Clonal Material) (AFAMACAA)

Keywords

• Wholesale plant nursery
• Greenhouse plant production
• Bedding plant grower
• Sustainable growing media
• Plant variety trials

Headquarters

HQ city

Auburn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Plant Sales: Young's Plant Farm generates revenue through wholesale sales of flowering plants and annuals to large-scale retail partners (87 Lowe's stores) and independent garden centers. The company operates as a commercial grower producing plants across 1.5+ million square feet of greenhouse space and 35 acres of outdoor growing area.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Young's Plant Farm is a third-generation wholesale grower producing annual bedding plants, edibles, mums, pansies, and poinsettias across 1.5+ million square feet of greenhouse space and 35 acres of outdoor growing area in Auburn, Alabama. The company supplies large-scale retailers, including 87 Lowe's stores, and independent garden centers with consistent, high-volume flowering plant inventory supported by customized replenishment and logistics technology.

Product overview

Young's Plant Farm operates as a third-generation family-owned wholesale plant nursery and greenhouse operation founded in 1961. The company offers a core portfolio of flowering plants and annuals produced across more than 1.5 million square feet of greenhouse space and 35 acres of outdoor growing facilities in Auburn, Alabama. The product portfolio includes the Whole Tree Substrate (a proprietary sustainable soil medium alternative to peat moss) and a Recycled Plastics Process for container recycling. Supporting these offerings is an extensive Trial Garden Program and R&D service that evaluates over 750 plant varieties annually from numerous breeders to determine garden performance in the Southeastern U.S. climate.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Flowering Plants and Annuals
• Whole Tree Substrate
• Recycled Plastics Process
• Trial Garden Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 50%+ reduction in man hours for order processing through replenishment system
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Demand LinkcoreTechnology or IntegrationDemand Link specializes in demand planning and replenishment for seasonal and intermittent goods. They created a customized replenishment module for Young's that contains current sales data including units sold, margins, weeks on hand, turn rates and sell through. This enables optimized inventory replenishment across 87 Lowe's stores.
• Practical SoftwarecoreTechnology or IntegrationPractical Software manages Young's Sage business management software for daily activities. They worked with Demand Link to provide daily shipping reports and farm inventory data, which is incorporated into replenishment planning. Once orders are complete, they are exported back into business management software to automatically generate purchase orders.
• Auburn UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership in conjunction with USDA to develop the Whole Tree Substrate - a sustainable soil medium transforming entire pine shoots including needles into a growing substrate alternative to peat moss.
• United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership with Auburn University to develop Whole Tree Substrate technology - a sustainable, renewable peat moss alternative produced from pine timber on company-owned land in Central Alabama.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Costa Farms: One of the largest ornamental plant growers in North America with greenhouse operations across multiple states, supplying major retailers including The Home Depot and Walmart. Closely comparable to Young's in B2B wholesale model, big-box retail relationships, and scale of greenhouse production.
• Pleasant View Gardens: Wholesale greenhouse operation based in New Hampshire that produces Proven Winners-branded plants for independent garden centers and retailers. Comparable in grower-wholesaler model, branded plant production, and direct retail supply chain focus.
• Greenleaf Nursery Company: Wholesale nursery producing container-grown ornamental shrubs, trees, and perennials for retailers and landscape contractors across the Eastern US. Comparable in grower-wholesaler model serving large retail accounts, though focused on woody ornamentals rather than annuals.
• Monrovia Nursery Company: Premium wholesale nursery producing container-grown plants for independent garden centers, with strong brand recognition. Comparable in B2B wholesale nursery model and brand-driven differentiation, though focused on premium woody ornamentals and perennials.
• Bailey Nurseries: Family-owned wholesale nursery headquartered in Minnesota with operations across multiple states, producing shrubs, perennials, and roses for retailers and landscapers. Comparable in multi-generational family ownership, B2B wholesale model, and broad geographic distribution.

Broad incumbents

• Ball Horticultural Company: Major global horticultural breeder and producer serving growers and retailers with seed, vegetative, and finished plant products. Comparable as a wholesale ornamental producer with broad product portfolio and industry-wide distribution, though operating at much larger scale and scope than Young's.
• Proven Winners: Plant brand cooperative that markets branded annuals, perennials, and shrubs through garden centers and retailers globally. Comparable as a wholesale-oriented plant brand with strong retail and consumer marketing, though Proven Winners operates as a marketing cooperative rather than a single grower.
• Dümmen Orange: Global leader in floricultural breeding and propagation, supplying vegetative starting material to growers worldwide. Comparable as a wholesale plant breeder-producer serving the ornamentals supply chain, though operating at much larger international scale than Young's.

Emerging players

• Suntory Flowers: Plant breeding division of Suntory that develops and licenses innovative flower varieties (e.g., SunPatiens, Surfinia) for global wholesale production. Comparable as a producer of branded bedding plants including SunPatiens—a flagship variety in Young's product portfolio.

Regional players

• Hoffman Nursery: Wholesale nursery in North Carolina specializing in ornamental and native grasses for landscape and ecological restoration markets. Comparable as a wholesale nursery serving landscape professionals, though focused on a narrower product category and regional geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/youngsplantfarm
• Facebookfacebook.com/youngsplantfarm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/1532790
• Pinterestpinterest.com/youngsplantfarm

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Young's Plant Farm