What Saunders Brothers does

Saunders Brothers Inc is a fourth-generation, family-owned wholesale nursery, orchard, and farm market business headquartered in Piney River, Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, founded in 1915. The company operates approximately 100 acres of container production, 150 acres of field production, and a 160-acre orchard, producing over 1,113 ornamental plant varieties (including its proprietary NewGen Boxwood line of patented, disease-resistant varieties developed with sister company Saunders Genetics) and 59 fruit varieties spanning apples, peaches, nectarines, and Asian pears. Its core technology stack combines plant genetics (boxwood breeding and multiple patented apple variety licenses), a one-year bench graft propagation method, and an evapotranspiration-based irrigation system co-developed with the University of Florida that has reduced water consumption by over 100 million gallons annually.

The business runs four revenue streams: wholesale ornamental plants to garden centers, landscapers, and re-wholesalers across the Mid-Atlantic (VA, MD, WV, NY metro, PA, NJ, DE, NC, TN, and into New England); fresh fruit sold wholesale and at the on-site Farm Market; bench-grafted apple tree liners to orchard operators (started 2015); and a retail Farm Market with online mail-order offering plants, ciders, jams, and specialty foods. The go-to-market is sales-led: five regional sales representatives cover named territories, walk nursery houses weekly with buyers, and push weekly availability updates through a wholesale customer portal. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; wholesale customers must apply for portal access, and the model excludes direct-to-consumer ornamental sales, channeling retail demand to the Farm Market or to partner garden centers.

The company has no external investors, private equity, or venture capital involvement. Leadership spans third-generation brothers Tom, Bennett, Jim, and Robert, with father Paul as company patriarch, and a fourth generation of five family members now in specialized operational roles. The Boxwood Guide (7th edition, 2024) and active patenting of NewGen varieties position the company as a recognized authority in boxwood selection, particularly for disease resistance, while the apple genetics portfolio (Evercrisp, Ludacrisp, Summerset, Rosalee, Sweet Zinger, Sweet Maia, and proprietary Gala and Honeycrisp strains) anchors a growing fruit tree nursery business.

Name

Saunders Brothers

Legal name

Saunders Brothers Inc

Website

https://saundersbrothers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1915

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Saunders Brothers is a fourth-generation, family-owned wholesale nursery and orchard in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, supplying 1,113+ plant varieties and patented NewGen Boxwood genetics to garden centers, landscapers, and re-wholesalers across the Mid-Atlantic.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wholesale Nursery and Orchard

NAICS

Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Retailers (444240), Fruit and Tree Nut Combination Farming (111336)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Farmers’ Markets & Farm Stands (Fresh Food) (CRAHAHAE)

Keywords

• Wholesale nursery
• Ornamental plants
• Boxwood varieties
• Fruit tree nursery
• Retail farm market

Headquarters

HQ city

Piney River

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Nursery Plants: Wholesale nursery sales of ornamental plants including boxwood, annuals, perennials, shrubs, and trees to garden centers, landscapers, and re-wholesalers throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Ships over 1,100 products to customers.
2. Fruit Production and Sales: Fresh fruit production from 160-acre orchard including apples, peaches, nectarines, Asian pears. Fruit sold wholesale and through company Farm Market. Season runs June through October.
3. Fruit Tree Nursery (Bareroot): Growing and selling bench-grafted apple tree liners to wholesale customers since 2015. Trees propagated using one-year bench graft method for orchard establishment.
4. Retail Farm Market: On-site farm market selling plants, fruit, vegetables, ciders, jams, relishes, salsas, wreaths and other items. Also operates online for year-round sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Saunders Brothers operates a wholesale nursery, orchard, and farm market in Piney River, Virginia. The company grows and ships more than 1,100 ornamental plant varieties (including proprietary NewGen boxwood, annuals, perennials, shrubs, and trees) to garden centers, landscapers, and re-wholesalers throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. It also runs a 160-acre orchard producing tree-ripened peaches, nectarines, apples, and Asian pears; a fruit tree nursery selling bench-grafted apple liners; and an on-site retail Farm Market.

Product overview

Saunders Brothers is a wholesale nursery and orchard business operating approximately 100 acres of container production, 150 acres of field production, and a 160-acre orchard in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. The company offers over 1,100 plant varieties including its signature NewGen™ Boxwood line (NewGen Independence®, NewGen Freedom®, and NewGen Liberty Belle™), along with annuals, perennials, shrubs, trees, groundcovers, and edibles. The orchard produces tree-ripened peaches, nectarines, apples, and Asian pears. A fruit tree nursery provides bench-grafted apple liners. The company operates a retail Farm Market and publishes the Boxwood Guide resource. Products ship to garden centers, landscapers, and re-wholesalers throughout the mid-Atlantic region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NewGen Boxwood: A family of boxwood developed by Saunders Brothers and Saunders Genetics offering greater resistance to diseases and pests, debuted in 2020.
• Saunders Brothers Farm Market

Products and services

• Wholesale Nursery Plants Wholesale offering of more than 1,100 ornamental plant varieties including boxwood, annuals, perennials, shrubs, trees, groundcovers, and edibles, grown on approximately 100 acres of container production and 150 acres of field production, and shipped to garden centers, landscapers, and re-wholesalers across the Mid-Atlantic region.
• NewGen Boxwood (NewGen Independence, NewGen Freedom, NewGen Liberty Belle) Patented, disease- and pest-resistant boxwood varieties (Buxus 'SB 300' PP32421 NewGen Freedom, Buxus 'SB 108' PP28888 NewGen Independence, and Buxus sinica var. insularis NewGen Liberty Belle PP24443) bred in partnership with sister company Saunders Genetics for resistance to boxwood blight and leafminers and superior landscape performance.
• Fruit Tree Nursery (Bench-grafted Apple Liners) Wholesale apple tree liners produced using a one-year bench graft method on the "Sunny Side" of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Central Virginia, sold to orchard operators and fruit tree distributors for orchard establishment.
• Orchard Fruit (Tree-ripened Peaches, Nectarines, Apples, Asian Pears) Tree-ripened fruit including peaches, nectarines, apples, and Asian pears grown on a 160-acre orchard, sold wholesale and through the company Farm Market from June through October, including patented apple varieties such as Evercrisp, Summerset, Rosalee, Sweet Zinger, Ludacrisp, and Sweet Maia.
• Farm Market (Retail Store and Online Shop) On-site retail farm market in Piney River, Virginia, and online year-round shop offering plants, peaches, nectarines, Asian pears, apples, vegetables, ciders, jams, relishes, salsas, wreaths, and other specialty items to walk-in and mail-order consumers.
• Wholesale Availability and Ordering Portal Online portal available to registered wholesale customers for viewing weekly plant availability and placing orders, with login credentials issued after applying for wholesale access.

Quantifiable outcome

• Cut water usage by over 100 million gallons annually through ET-based irrigation technology
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Saunders GeneticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Saunders Genetics is the sister company of Saunders Brothers Inc, working alongside the nursery to constantly evaluate boxwood varieties. Together they developed the NewGen Boxwood brand, debuting in spring 2020 after many years of testing. The partnership aims to provide the market with superior boxwood genetics that are aesthetically appealing, grower friendly, and perform well in landscapes.
• University of Florida Department of Environmental HorticulturesupportingTechnology or IntegrationCollaborated with professors from the University of Florida's Department of Environmental Horticulture to develop new irrigation technology for container crops. This ET-based irrigation system was a first for container nurseries in the United States, helping cut water usage by over 100 million gallons annually.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Proven Winners: Cooperative plant brand (Spring Meadow Nursery, Four Star Greenhouse, Proven Winners North America) selling patented annuals, perennials, and shrubs to garden centers. Comparable as a wholesale branded plant program; however, Proven Winners is a marketing cooperative rather than a single grower-wholesaler like Saunders.
• Monrovia Nursery Company: One of the largest wholesale nurseries in the U.S. with branded container plants, patented genetics, and a national distribution network. Directly comparable as a grower-wholesaler with branded plant lines, though Monrovia's catalog and geography are far broader than Saunders' Mid-Atlantic focus.

Direct peers

• Bailey Nurseries: Family-owned wholesale nursery headquartered in Minnesota with Endless Summer hydrangeas and other branded genetics programs. Directly comparable grower-wholesaler model serving garden centers and landscapers, with patented plant introductions analogous to Saunders' NewGen Boxwood program.
• Dave Wilson Nursery: Largest wholesale grower of deciduous fruit, nut, and shade trees in the U.S., based in California. Comparable as a wholesale fruit tree nursery serving commercial orchardists, though geographically distant and broader in crop mix than Saunders.
• Overdevest Nurseries: Wholesale nursery in New Jersey producing woody ornamentals, perennials, and small fruits for garden centers in the Mid-Atlantic. Direct comparable as a Mid-Atlantic wholesale nursery competitor with overlapping customer base and product categories.
• Star Roses and Plants: Wholesale nursery introducing branded genetics (Knock Out roses, Drift roses, Bushel and Berry edibles) to garden centers. Comparable as a wholesale nursery with patented branded plant lines, though Star focuses more on roses and small fruits than woody ornamentals like boxwood.
• Stark Bro's Nurseries & Orchards Co. Long-established U.S. fruit tree nursery (founded 1816) selling bench-grafted fruit trees wholesale and via direct-to-consumer channels. Comparable as a fruit tree nursery with proprietary apple and stone fruit varieties, though Stark leans more direct-to-consumer than Saunders' wholesale bench-graft model.
• Adams County Nursery: Wholesale fruit tree nursery in Pennsylvania propagating apple, peach, pear, cherry, and other tree fruit varieties. Most directly comparable to Saunders' bench-graft apple liner business and a peer in the Mid-Atlantic fruit tree nursery segment.
• Greenleaf Nursery Company: Wholesale container nursery serving independent garden centers across the eastern and central U.S. Direct comparable as a wholesale nursery grower operating in adjacent geographies with a similar garden center / landscaper customer base.

Regional players

• Prides Corner Farms: Wholesale nursery in Connecticut serving garden centers and landscapers across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Comparable as a regional wholesale nursery competitor with a similar woody ornamental and perennial mix, overlapping with Saunders' northeastern territories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/saunders_bros
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/saunders-brothers-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries2 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 Saunders Brothers