Arbor Valley

What Arbor Valley does

Arbor Valley Nursery is a wholesale grower and distributor of landscape plant material serving the Colorado Front Range and broader Mountain West region. Founded in 1980 by Roy and Dave Edmundson and now led by third-generation owner Matt Edmundson as President and CEO, the company operates three physical nursery locations in Brighton (headquarters), Franktown, and Fort Collins, Colorado, alongside an e-commerce ordering platform at store.arborvalleynursery.com. The core product line encompasses trees, shrubs, ornamental grasses, perennials, and branded plant collections including Proven Winners, First Editions, and Plant Select; the company also distributes Unilock pavers. Its primary customer segments are professional landscapers and landscape contractors, with secondary segments including garden centers and landscape architects or municipal foresters.

The company operates a hybrid product-and-service business model. Beyond wholesale plant sales, it offers three integrated service modules: Rapid Response Delivery (a proprietary fleet of 12 dedicated vehicles plus 4-5 pickup trucks enabling 24-36 hour delivery across three Front Range locations), Labor Force Multiplier (an on-site staff training program claiming a 75% improvement in plant survival and 2x faster plant establishment), and Plant Purchasing Simplified (an end-to-end procurement and sourcing service drawing from hundreds of vendors across the US and Canada). Ancillary revenue comes from an annual NetWorkshop educational event series priced at $30 per attendee and a content-driven marketing program built around a 50+ article blog and weekly email newsletter targeted at professional landscapers.

The business is privately held under continuous family ownership across three generations, with no institutional investment or parent company. Matt Edmundson assumed leadership in 2010 following the death of his father Dave, who had nearly lost the business during 2006-2010 due to the Great Recession's impact on construction demand. Since 2010, the company has expanded to three locations, formalized the delivery and procurement services that distinguish it from generic wholesale nurseries, and entered partnerships with Colorado State University, the City of Denver's climate and forestry offices, and Proven Winners ColorChoice. The company received the 2018 Colorado Company to Watch award from the State of Colorado.

Name

Arbor Valley

Legal name

Arbor Valley Nursery

Website

https://arborvalleynursery.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Arbor Valley Nursery is a third-generation, family-owned wholesale grower and distributor of landscape plants, branded plant collections, and Unilock pavers serving professional landscapers, landscape contractors, garden centers, and municipal foresters across Colorado and the Mountain West, with three Front Range nursery locations, an e-commerce ordering platform, and a proprietary rapid-delivery fleet.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wholesale Nursery and Landscape Plant Supply

NAICS

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

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Nursery Production (Woody Ornamentals: Trees, Shrubs, Roses) (AFAGAHAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Landscape Plant & Nursery Stock Wholesalers (Grower-Wholesalers) (AFAGAHAM), Gardening, Lawn & Outdoor Living Distribution (CRAOAFAH), Seasonal Color, Planting & Horticultural Services (BPABADAL)

Keywords

• Wholesale nursery plants
• Landscape plant supply
• Nursery delivery service
• Commercial landscaping plants
• Ornamental trees shrubs

Headquarters

HQ city

Brighton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Plant Sales: B2B wholesale of trees, shrubs, grasses, perennials, and ornamental plants to professional landscapers and landscape contractors. Products include balled and burlapped shade trees, container-grown woody shrubs, western natives, perennials, and ornamental grasses.
2. Rapid Response Delivery: Delivery service with guaranteed deliveries fulfilled on customer schedule with 24-36 hours notice. Fleet of 12 vehicles devoted to delivering material across 3 locations.
3. Labor Force Multiplier Training: On-site training services for landscaper staff including basic certification training, management training, and professional development programs.
4. Plant Purchasing Simplified: Procurement and sourcing service providing estimation, plant sourcing from hundreds of vendors, and fulfillment services for landscaping projects.
5. NetWorkshop Events: Educational networking events for industry professionals, featuring ISA CEU credits and industry speakers. Admission fee of $30 per person.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Arbor Valley Nursery grows, sources, and distributes wholesale landscape plant material—including trees, shrubs, ornamental grasses, perennials, and evergreens—under premium brands such as Proven Winners, First Editions, and Plant Select. It complements plant sales with three service modules: Rapid Response Delivery (24-hour fleet delivery), Labor Force Multiplier (on-site staff training), and Plant Purchasing Simplified (end-to-end estimation, sourcing, and fulfillment across hundreds of vendors).

Product overview

Arbor Valley Nursery operates as a wholesale nursery and landscaping supplier with a hybrid product-service model. The core offering consists of wholesale plants—trees, shrubs, ornamental grasses, perennials, and evergreen shrubs—sourced from branded collections including Proven Winners®, First Editions®, and Plant Select® brands. These are complemented by three service modules: Rapid Response Delivery (24-hour delivery with dedicated fleet), Labor Force Multiplier (staff training program), and Plant Purchasing Simplified (end-to-end procurement support). An online ordering platform enables e-commerce transactions and inventory browsing. The company serves landscape contractors and garden centers across Colorado's Front Range through three physical nursery locations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rapid Response Delivery
• Labor Force Multiplier
• Plant Purchasing Simplified
• Trees
• Shrubs
• Grasses
• Proven Winners Flowering Plants
• First Editions Plants
• Plant Select Plants
• Online Ordering

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Colorado State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 December 2024CSU Spur Terra Building rooftop demonstration garden and greenhouse tour during NetWorkshop events. Partnership includes collaboration on urban forestry education and Community Forestry initiatives. Also connected to naming gift from Arbor Valley to CSU College of Agricultural Sciences marking 20 years of giving.
• City of Denver - Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and ResiliencyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 December 2024Representatives from Denver's Office of the City Forester and Office of Climate Action discuss municipal specifications and urban canopy diversity priorities during NetWorkshop events.
• Proven Winners ColorChoicecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 12 December 2024Proven Winners flowering shrubs are bred, tested, and selected for easy-care gardens. Arbor Valley is an authorized retailer of Proven Winners plants, offering their distinctive white pot products.
• PlantRightminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRick Spurgeon, COO of PlantRight, speaks at NetWorkshop events about how PlantRight products help grow healthier trees, shrubs, and plants. PlantRight provides education on proper planting products and techniques.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Monrovia Nursery Company: One of the largest wholesale nursery growers in North America, growing and shipping container-grown ornamental plants, shrubs, and trees via a network of regional distribution centers. Closely comparable hybrid grower-plus-distributor model serving landscape trade buyers.
• Bailey Nurseries: Large, multi-generation wholesale nursery grower headquartered in Minnesota, propagating and distributing woody ornamentals, perennials, and shrubs across the U.S. and Canada. Comparable scale, grower-distributor model, and B2B landscape contractor focus.
• Greenleaf Nursery Company: Wholesale grower of container-grown ornamental plants and shrubs operating multiple nursery locations across the U.S. Highly comparable grower-plus-distributor model serving landscape professionals with branded ornamental lines.
• Star Roses and Plants: Wholesale ornamental plant brand and grower offering woody shrubs, roses, perennials, and the Knock Out and Drift branded lines to landscape professionals. Comparable branded-product + grower-distributor model serving the trade channel.
• Loma Vista Nursery: Regional wholesale nursery grower based in Kansas producing container-grown ornamental shrubs, trees, and perennials for landscape contractors and retailers across the Midwest. Comparable scale and B2B trade-grower model.
• BWI Companies: Wholesale distributor of nursery, greenhouse, and landscape supplies serving professional growers, landscapers, and garden centers across multiple U.S. regions. Comparable distributor-to-trade model with logistics and broad SKU breadth.

Emerging players

• J. Berry Nursery: Boutique ornamental plant brand and grower introducing branded flowering shrubs and perennials (e.g., Black Diamond crape myrtles) through licensed grower networks. Overlap with Arbor Valley's premium-branded plant strategy.

Regional players

• Windmill Nursery: Regional wholesale nursery in Northern California growing ornamentals and edibles for landscape contractors in the Bay Area and beyond. Comparable trade-grower model but serving a different Western geography.
• Pacific Nurseries: Large wholesale landscape nursery in Northern California supplying trees, shrubs, and ornamental plants to commercial and residential landscape professionals. Comparable wholesale grower-trade model in a different Western region.

Broad incumbents

• SiteOne Landscape Supply: Largest publicly traded wholesale distributor of landscape supplies in North America, serving professional landscapers with plants, hardscapes, irrigation, and lighting. Operates far more broadly than Arbor Valley but competes for the same landscape contractor wallet.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCSLM70YdrD7enSLkOdeYHLw
• Facebookfacebook.com/ArborValley
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arbor-valley
• Instagraminstagram.com/arborvalleynursery
• Xx.com/arborvalley

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 Arbor Valley