Applewood Seed

What Applewood Seed does

Applewood Seed Company is a wholesale B2B and B2G supplier of bulk wildflower, garden flower, native grass, and herb seeds, founded in 1965 and headquartered in Arvada, Colorado. The company was established by founders who hand-collected wildflower seeds in the Colorado Mountains and has since developed a decentralized network of contract seed growers maintaining production fields across multiple U.S. regions. Applewood sells exclusively on a wholesale basis to commercial buyers, including seed companies, landscapers, highway and park departments, other government agencies, golf courses, nursery and garden markets, farms and ranches, professional growers, and pollinator habitat growers, with a catalog of more than 450 individual species and pre-formulated mixes.

The company's underlying technology is agronomic rather than software-based. Applewood operates an in-house seed testing laboratory supervised by a Registered Seed Technologist, performing seed identification, germination testing, purity analysis, and noxious weed examinations. It maintains trial gardens used for quality control, new-species evaluation, production-protocol development, pollinator preference research, and variety improvement via isolation cages and hand pollination. The product portfolio spans bulk flower seeds, regional and application-specific seed mixes, pollinator and monarch/milkweed mixes, native grass mixes, drought-tolerant xeriscape mixes, Firewise formulations, alternative-lawn mixes, and specialty herb seeds. Proprietary pollinator research has been conducted since 2009 by Staff Ecologist Diane Wilson, who has also developed multiple regional pollinator-friendly mixes and authored A Guide to Colorado Bees.

Applewood's commercial model is sales-led and relationship-driven. Distribution is through a registered commercial e-commerce storefront (applewoodseed.com) and direct sales supported by professional staff providing free consultation on seed selection, planting times, soil preparation, and seeding techniques. Pricing is opaque to the public and disclosed only to registered commercial account holders. Revenue is generated through one-time wholesale unit sales of bulk seed with no disclosed subscription or recurring component. Applewood is an employee-owned private company with no outside venture or private equity ownership, and in February 2026 it announced a coordinated leadership succession promoting Norm Poppe to Executive Chairman, Ryan Guilford to CEO, and Mary Gomane to President.

Name

Applewood Seed

Legal name

Applewood Seed Company

Website

https://applewoodseed.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Applewood Seed Company is an employee-owned, wholesale B2B/B2G supplier of bulk wildflower, garden flower, grass, and herb seeds founded in 1965 in Arvada, Colorado. It serves seed companies, commercial landscapers, government agencies, golf courses, farms, and pollinator habitat growers via a 450+ SKU catalog and direct sales with expert consultation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wholesale Seeds

NAICS

Greenhouse, Nursery, and Floriculture Production (1114), Nursery and Floriculture Production (11142), Nursery and Tree Production (111421)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Turf & Ornamental Seeds (Lawn, Golf, Landscaping) (AFABAFAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Specialty Seed & Flavoring Crop Farming (Vanilla, Sesame, Mustard) (AFAGAGAN), Forest Nurseries, Seed Orchards & Genetic Improvement (AFAMAAAD), Seed Collection, Processing & Storage (Provenance/Genetics) (AFAMACAB)

Keywords

• Wholesale bulk seeds
• Wildflower seed mixes
• Pollinator conservation seeds
• Native grass seeds
• Commercial landscaping seeds

Headquarters

HQ city

Arvada

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Bulk Seed Sales: Wholesale bulk seed sales to commercial customers including seed companies, landscapers, government agencies, golf courses, farms, and other commercial entities. Seeds are sold in bulk quantities with commercial pricing requiring account registration to view.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Applewood Seed Company produces and wholesales bulk wildflower, garden flower, native grass, and herb seeds to commercial buyers including seed companies, landscapers, government agencies, golf courses, farms, and nurseries. Its catalog of 450+ products spans individual species, heirloom varieties, regionally-adapted mixes, and specialty applications such as pollinator conservation, monarch butterfly, deer-resistant, xeriscape, and firewise plantings, supported by an in-house seed testing lab and trial gardens.

Product overview

Applewood Seed Company is a wholesale B2B/B2G supplier of bulk wildflower seeds, garden flower seeds, grass seeds, and herb seeds founded in 1965. The company operates an online seed store with over 450 products and offers professional seed consultation services. Their core product portfolio includes Flower Seeds (individual species and heirloom varieties), Flower Seed Mixes (regional and special-use formulations), Pollinator Seed Mixes (including monarch butterfly and bee mixes), Grass Seeds, Native Grass Seed Mixes, and Herb Seeds. Notable specialty products include the Butterfly Flower Seed Mixture (BFMX), Hummingbird Flower Seed Mixture (HBMX), various Monarch Butterfly seed mixes, Deer Resistant Seed Mix, Cut Flower Seed Mix, Xeriscape seed mixes for Western and Eastern USA, EcoEase lawn alternatives, and Firewise seed mixtures. The company also operates internal trial gardens for quality control and variety improvement, and provides seed testing laboratory services supervised by a Registered Seed Technologist. Applewood serves diverse customer types including seed companies, landscapers, highway and park departments, government agencies, golf courses, nursery and garden markets, farms and ranches, professional growers, and pollinator habitat growers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Flower Seeds Bulk wildflower and garden flower seeds including individual species and heirloom flower varieties sold wholesale to commercial buyers.
• Flower Seed Mixes Pre-formulated wildflower seed mixes designed for various geographic regions and specific applications.
• Pollinator Seed Mixes

Quantifiable outcome

• Pollinator monitoring research conducted since 2009

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Denver Botanic GardenscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2018Applewood Seed Company partnered with Denver Botanic Gardens for a bee identification seminar in June 2018. The training was led by Applewood's staff Ecologist Diane Wilson and helped Denver Botanic Gardens volunteers gain additional experience with bee identification to enhance pollinator observations. The collaboration supports pollinator conservation research and education efforts.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Roundstone Native Seed: Kentucky-based grower and wholesale supplier of native warm-season grasses, wildflowers, and forbs. Closely comparable in B2B focus, contract grower network, and core customer overlap with conservation agencies and reclamation contractors.
• Prairie Moon Nursery: Minnesota-based native plant nursery and seed producer specializing in prairie restoration and pollinator habitat. Comparable in native seed expertise, regional adaptation, and conservation/restoration customer base, though with stronger retail plant sales alongside seed.
• Ernst Conservation Seeds: Pennsylvania-based wholesale producer of native grass and wildflower seeds for conservation, reclamation, and pollinator habitat. Directly comparable to Applewood in product mix (native grasses, wildflower mixes, custom blends), B2B/B2G distribution model, and emphasis on regional/site-specific seed solutions.
• Outsidepride: Oregon-based online wholesale seed supplier offering wildflower, grass, clover, and ground cover seeds. Comparable in online wholesale distribution, broad SKU portfolio, and customer overlap with landscapers and conservation buyers.
• American Meadows: Vermont-based wildflower and native grass seed company selling to landscapers, homeowners, and conservation customers. Comparable in product mix (wildflower mixes, regional blends, pollinator habitat) and seed category expertise, though more retail-oriented than Applewood's wholesale focus.
• Hancock Seed Company: Florida-based wholesale seed distributor offering grass, wildflower, forage, and pasture seed mixes via e-commerce. Comparable in wholesale B2B model, online catalog breadth, and product overlap in wildflower and turf grass categories.

Broad incumbents

• Pennington Seed: Subsidiary of Central Garden & Pet offering grass, lawn, and wildflower seeds at mass retail. Comparable in grass seed category and broader landscaping customer base, though operates at much larger scale with broad retail distribution rather than specialty B2B.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro: Largest U.S. lawn and garden consumer products company offering grass seed, wildflower mixes, and gardening supplies. Comparable in adjacent turf and wildflower categories, though far broader portfolio, retail-focused, and orders of magnitude larger than Applewood.

Emerging players

• Sustainable Seed Company: California-based heirloom and open-pollinated seed supplier with pollinator and wildflower offerings. Comparable in heirloom/open-pollinated seed focus and pollinator mix development, though smaller scale and primarily direct-to-consumer.
• Botanical Interests: Colorado-based family-owned seed company offering heirloom flower, herb, and vegetable seeds. Comparable in product expertise, regional U.S. base, and high-quality specialty positioning, though more retail/gardener-focused than Applewood's wholesale B2B model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/applewoodseed
• Xtwitter.com/applewoodseed
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/applewood-seed-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Applewood Seed