What Hortech does

Hortech, Inc. is a wholesale perennial plant nursery and product developer founded in June 1983 by Dave MacKenzie in West Michigan (headquartered at 14109 Cleveland St, Nunica, MI, with mailing address in Spring Lake, MI). The company grows and sells perennials, ground covers, climbing vines, ferns, ornamental grasses, and succulents — together with proprietary branded varieties under the Hortech Originals® mark — to independent garden centers, landscape contractors, and other horticulture businesses in the Great Lakes and broader Midwest region. Production is anchored on approximately 60 acres of facilities using biological growing methods with minimal chemical input, branded as Grown Earth Friendly®, and the operation is MAEAP-certified by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Hortech also operates two adjacent divisions, LiveRoof® (modular vegetative roof systems) and LiveWall® (vertical garden systems), extending the core nursery into green infrastructure.

The business model is wholesale B2B only — no direct-to-consumer sales — with pricing conducted via quote through an internal sales team rather than independent brokers. Customers place orders with a 30-flat minimum for truck delivery (60 flats for Wisconsin and Toledo, Ohio), with custom pricing available for orders of 300+ flat equivalents and fuel surcharges applied at ship time. Distribution is handled through a zone-based truck delivery network across 5 Great Lakes zones with regular weekly delivery days and real-time truck tracking, supplemented by year-round UPS shipping for smaller orders (with restrictions on ferns and 5-gallon containers). The company is staffed by approximately 100 seasonal and non-seasonal associates and supports customers with sales training, on-site staff training, and merchandising assistance.

Marketing and customer engagement rely on a content-rich website (plant catalog, Plant Selector, and Plant Lookup tools), a weekly Hortech Availability and Status Report email newsletter, an annual printed and digital catalog (2026 edition), and annual Open House events co-hosted with the LiveRoof and LiveWall divisions featuring educational sessions for architects and green-industry professionals. Hortech remains privately held under founder Dave MacKenzie's leadership, with no disclosed external institutional investment or parent company.

Name

Hortech

Legal name

Hortech, Inc.

Website

https://hortech.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Hortech, Inc. is a wholesale perennial plant nursery in West Michigan that grows and supplies perennials, ground covers, vines, ferns, ornamental grasses, and succulents — including proprietary Hortech Originals® varieties — to independent garden centers and landscape contractors in the Great Lakes region via zone-based truck delivery.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wholesale Plant Nursery

NAICS

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

akta.pro primary industry

Organic Greenhouse & Protected Crop Farming (High Tunnels, Greenhouses) (AFAGAKAD)

Keywords

• Wholesale plant nursery
• Perennial plant supply
• Ornamental grass production
• Green roof systems
• Landscape plant wholesale

Headquarters

HQ city

Spring Lake

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, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Perennial Plant Sales: Revenue generated from selling wholesale perennial plants, ground covers, vines, ferns, ornamental grasses, and succulents to garden centers, landscape contractors, and horticulture businesses in the Great Lakes region. Products sold in various container sizes including #1 Pot, #2 Pot, and #5 containers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Hortech is a wholesale perennial plant nursery that grows and supplies containerized perennials, ground covers, ornamental grasses, climbing vines, ferns, and succulents to independent garden centers, landscape contractors, and other horticulture businesses in the Great Lakes/Midwest region. It complements its core nursery production with the proprietary Hortech Originals® branded plant line and two green-architecture divisions, LiveRoof® and LiveWall®, selling exclusively wholesale (no direct-to-consumer sales) under the Grown Earth Friendly® biological growing program.

Product overview

Hortech is a wholesale perennial plant nursery offering a comprehensive portfolio of plants across six core categories: Perennials & Ground Covers, Ornamental Grasses, Climbing Vines, Ferns, and Sexy Succulents. The company also operates proprietary plant development programs through its Hortech Originals brand, featuring exclusive cultivars like the Diervilla Mountaineer series and Panicum Dream Catcher series. Additionally, Hortech has two related divisions—LiveRoof (living roof systems) and LiveWall (living wall systems)—offering green architecture solutions. Digital tools include a Plant Selector and Plant Lookup for customer use. The company serves wholesale customers including garden centers and landscape contractors in the Great Lakes region, with delivery services across five zones plus UPS shipping.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LiveRoof®: Living roof system division providing green roof solutions.
• LiveWall®
• Hortech Originals®
• Hoya Heart Art®

Quantifiable outcome

• Plants adapt and establish quickly into landscape settings due to minimal chemical exposure

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• LiveRoofcoreOthersLiving roof system - modular vegetative roof system that provides sustainable green roofing solutions. Hortech operates LiveRoof as a division alongside its core wholesale nursery business.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Proven Winners: National branded plant program marketed through a network of partner growers. Comparable through its branded ornamental plant lines, marketing infrastructure, and industry-wide retail presence, though it operates at significantly larger scale via licensee growers.
• Everde Growers: Large-scale wholesale nursery producing trees, shrubs, and ornamentals for retail and landscape markets across the western and southern U.S. Comparable wholesale grower business model with national footprint.
• Bailey Nurseries: Multi-generation wholesale nursery producing container and field-grown ornamentals for independent garden centers, landscape contractors, and re-wholesalers across the U.S. Comparable wholesale nursery model with broader geographic reach and Endless Summer® branded hydrangeas.
• Monrovia Nursery Company: One of the largest wholesale nursery growers in North America, selling branded container plants to garden centers and landscape professionals nationwide. Comparable in wholesale nursery business model but operates at substantially larger scale and broader geography.
• Greenleaf Nursery Company: Wholesale grower of container and field-grown ornamental plants serving garden centers, re-wholesalers, and landscape contractors nationally. Comparable wholesale nursery operations, though larger and broader in scope.
• Star Roses and Plants: Wholesale producer of branded roses, woody ornamentals, and perennials sold through garden centers and landscape distributors. Comparable in branded plant development and wholesale-to-garden-center channel.

Direct peers

• Midwest Groundcovers: Illinois-based wholesale nursery producing perennials, ground covers, vines, ornamental grasses, and native plants for landscape professionals in the Midwest. Highly comparable in customer base, product mix, and regional distribution model.
• Loma Vista Nursery: Midwest wholesale container nursery growing trees, shrubs, and perennials for garden centers and landscape contractors. Comparable in regional wholesale model, customer segments, and product breadth.
• Walter Gardens: Michigan-based wholesale perennial and ornamental grass grower of similar scale and regional focus. Directly comparable as a Midwest specialist nursery serving landscape contractors and independent garden centers with proprietary Proven Winners® collaborations.

Regional players

• Swift Greenhouses: Iowa-based wholesale greenhouse grower producing annuals, perennials, and hanging baskets for garden centers in the Upper Midwest. Comparable wholesale grower serving similar independent garden center customers in a neighboring region.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Hortech