Dickman Farms Greenhouses & Garden Center

What Dickman Farms Greenhouses & Garden Center does

Dickman Farms Greenhouses & Garden Center is a fifth-generation, family-owned greenhouse and garden center business headquartered at 13 Archie Street, Auburn, New York, in the Finger Lakes Region of Central New York. Founded in 1903 as a commercial truck farm, the company converted to indoor farming gradually and reached 100% greenhouse operations by the mid-1980s. It runs two divisions: a wholesale liner/finished-plant business producing over 20 million units annually of more than 1,500 varieties of specialty garden annuals, geraniums, and garden mums shipped across North America, and a destination retail garden center serving home gardeners and landscape contractors in the Finger Lakes Region. Ownership rests with Dave Dickman and Jim Dickman, supported by family members in shipping, office, production, and key-account roles, with a total headcount of 101–250 employees and no external funding or parent company.

The wholesale business has been the exclusive supplier to Ball Horticultural Company since 1979 and a member of its Rooting Station Network since 1997, producing vegetative cuttings and seed-grown liners in 102, 50, and 34-tray formats alongside MixMaster and Trixi multi-species trays. Production occurs across more than 18 acres of computer-controlled greenhouses using radiant floor heat, sophisticated irrigation, and climate control systems. Over 90% of products are delivered on the company's own temperature-controlled truck fleet, with finished plants distributed to independent garden centers within approximately a 200-mile radius and to Wegmans Food Markets. The wholesale product line includes flats of annuals, vegetative specialty annuals, geraniums, SunPatiens, Gerbera, vegetables, herbs, hanging baskets, and combination planters.

Revenue is generated from wholesale liner sales (via Ball Seed), wholesale finished-plant sales (direct and to Wegmans), retail garden center sales, custom potting, delivery, and educational workshops, supplemented by digital and physical gift cards ($5–$500) sold through shop.dickmanfarms.com and the Club Dickman loyalty program. Additional retail digital tools include a Plant Finder database and a Materials Calculator. Specific product pricing is not publicly disclosed, and overall revenue is not publicly reported. The company has no disclosed certifications, patents, or regulatory actions, and operates only within the United States with a concentration in the Northeast and Midwest.

Name

Dickman Farms Greenhouses & Garden Center

Legal name

Dickman Farms

Website

https://dickmanfarms.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1903

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Dickman Farms is a fifth-generation, family-owned greenhouse and garden center in Auburn, New York, producing over 20 million wholesale liners annually through Ball Horticultural Company and operating a destination retail garden center serving the Finger Lakes Region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Greenhouse Horticulture

NAICS

Greenhouse, Nursery, and Floriculture Production (1114), Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Retailers (444240)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100), Retail-Building Materials, Hardware, Garden Supply (5200)

akta.pro primary industry

Vegetative Propagation (Cuttings, Clonal Forestry, Tissue Culture) (AFAMADAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

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

Keywords

• Wholesale greenhouse plants
• Retail garden center
• Liner propagation
• Finished annuals
• Horticultural supplies

Headquarters

HQ city

Auburn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Liner Production: Growing and selling high-quality liners (young plants) to fellow growers. Produces over 1500 items including vegetative cuttings and seed in 102 and 50 tray formats, vegetative geraniums, MixMaster and Trixi multi-species trays. Ships throughout North America via Ball Horticultural sales force.
2. Retail Garden Center Sales: Physical garden center retail operation selling finished plants, garden materials, and supplies to home gardeners and landscape contractors. Includes custom potting services and delivery.
3. Gift Cards: Digital and physical gift cards sold online and at the Garden Center. Gift cards range from $5 to $500.
4. Finished Plants Wholesale: Growing and selling finished annuals to independent garden centers and Wegmans Food Markets. Products include flats of annuals, vegetative specialty annuals, geraniums, SunPatiens, Gerbera, vegetables, herbs, hanging baskets, and combination planters.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Dickman Farms operates two divisions: a wholesale grower division that produces over 20 million units annually of starter liners (vegetative cuttings and seed-grown plants) and finished annuals for fellow growers, independent garden centers, and Wegmans Food Markets; and a retail Garden Center in Auburn, NY that sells finished plants, gardening supplies, and related services to home gardeners and landscape contractors.

Product overview

Dickman Farms is a fifth-generation, family-owned greenhouse and garden center business in Auburn, NY. The company operates two distinct divisions: Wholesale Growers (producing over 20 million units annually of specialty garden annuals, geraniums, and garden mums shipped throughout North America) and Retail (Dickman Farms Garden Center). Wholesale operations center on Starter Plants (liner production through Ball Horticultural partnership since 1979) and Finished Plants for regional garden centers and Wegmans. Retail offerings include the Garden Center, Club Dickman loyalty program, Digital Gift Cards, Plant Finder tool, Materials Calculator, and Gardening Services (Custom Potting, Garden Sketches, Delivery, Workshops). The company ships over 90% of products via its own temperature-controlled fleet and serves customers throughout North America.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Club Dickman: Loyalty program offering weekly email newsletters, smart gardening tip videos, Club Points for purchases, birthday discounts, and workshop registration discounts

Products and services

• Wholesale Starter Plants (Liners)

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 20 million units shipped throughout North America annually
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Ball Horticultural CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1979Exclusive supplier relationship since 1979. Member of Ball's Rooting Station Network since 1997. Produces over 1500 items for Ball from vegetative cuttings and seed. Plants shipped to all 50 states through Ball's North American sales force. Many cuttings sourced from Ball operations in U.S., Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Uganda, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Israel.
• Wegmans Food MarketscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDickman Farms supplies finished annuals to Wegmans Food Markets, a major regional grocery chain.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Ball Horticultural Company: Ball is Dickman's exclusive distribution partner and customer, not a direct competitor, but is the dominant North American horticulture breeder and supplier operating the Rooting Station Network. It is the most strategically relevant counterparty given the 1979 exclusive supplier relationship and is the channel through which Dickman's liners reach all 50 states.

Direct peers

• Monrovia Nursery Company: One of the largest wholesale nursery growers in North America, producing ornamental and landscape plants sold to independent garden centers and landscape contractors. Highly comparable to Dickman's wholesale finished-plant business in customer base, channel model, and product category, though at significantly larger national scale.
• Bailey Nurseries: Fifth-generation, family-owned wholesale nursery producing trees, shrubs, and annuals for independent garden centers and landscapers across North America. Directly comparable to Dickman on family-ownership heritage, multi-channel wholesale/retail model, and grower-to-garden-center distribution.
• Cavicchio Greenhouses: Northeast U.S. wholesale greenhouse grower producing annuals, perennials, and finished plants for landscapers and garden centers. Comparable regional scale, greenhouse production model, and direct-to-customer delivery using company trucks, making it a close operational peer to Dickman's wholesale division.
• Greenleaf Nursery Company: Major wholesale nursery producing container-grown ornamental shrubs, trees, and perennials for independent garden centers and landscape professionals. Comparable to Dickman in B2B horticulture distribution, SKU breadth, and customer base, though at substantially larger national scale.
• Star Roses and Plants: Wholesale producer of roses, woody ornamentals, and perennial plants distributing to independent garden centers and landscape professionals. Overlaps with Dickman's wholesale finished-plant portfolio and channel to garden centers, particularly in branded genetics.
• Kurt Weiss Greenhouses: Large-scale wholesale greenhouse producing annuals, perennials, and finished plants for national retail and grocery chains. Comparable to Dickman's finished-plant wholesale arm and Wegmans-style grocery channel exposure, with similar controlled-environment production.
• Kester's Nursery: Mid-sized wholesale nursery producing grafted liners and starter plants for the broader nursery industry. Directly comparable to Dickman's liner/starter-plant wholesale business and Ball Horticultural-style rooting station model.
• Hicks Nurseries: Long-standing, family-owned destination garden center and nursery in Westbury, NY, serving Long Island homeowners and landscape contractors. Closely comparable to Dickman's Garden Center retail division on family heritage, destination-store positioning, and regional customer base in the New York metro area.
• Meadows Farms Nurseries: Multi-location Mid-Atlantic garden center and nursery chain offering plants, landscaping services, and contractor supply. Comparable to Dickman's Garden Center retail and landscape-contractor customer segment, with a broader multi-store footprint versus Dickman's single destination location.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/DickmanFarmsGardenCenter

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Dickman Farms Greenhouses & Garden Center