Island Tropical Foliage

What Island Tropical Foliage does

Island Tropical Foliage is a 45-acre wholesale tropical plant nursery operating near Homestead, Florida. The company cultivates and distributes a broad assortment of tropical and subtropical plants — including Agave, Echeveria, ferns, shrubs, flowering trees, spring-flowering varieties, native plants, and a higher-value tropical fruiting line (grafted Avocado, Banana, Mango, Guava, Papaya, Jackfruit, Dragonfruit) — and a full line of nursery hardscape supplies. Its core technology is horticultural: nursery production on 45 acres supplemented by a network of partner nurseries used to source and consolidate orders beyond its own capacity. It holds phytosanitary certification capability for Caribbean export and produces in compliance with state and federal agricultural regulations.

The company sells exclusively on a wholesale basis to retail garden centers, landscapers, landscape architects, residential and commercial builders and developers, hotel groups and resorts, and plant brokers. Distribution covers the United States, Canada, and nearly every Caribbean island including Grand Cayman. A dedicated Export Manager and a sister company, Tropical Trading Inc., enable bundled shipments of plants and hardscape supplies to the Caribbean, reducing customer freight costs. The go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven: customers request quotes via phone, email, WhatsApp, or an online Availability/Plant Finder system, with quotes typically returned within 1-2 business days.

The business is privately held and family-owned, founded by Larry Barr (formerly of Margo Farms and Foremostco/Ready Plants). The Barr family holds key operating roles — Ali Barr as Chief Operating Officer and Matthew Barr as Director of Operations — supported by a general manager, CFO, export manager, domestic sales manager, purchasing, shipping, and marketing staff. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; transactions are predominantly one-time wholesale purchases with no subscription or recurring revenue component. The company has not raised institutional capital.

Name

Island Tropical Foliage

Legal name

Island Tropical Foliage Wholesale Nursery

Website

https://islandtropicalfoliage.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Island Tropical Foliage is a 45-acre wholesale tropical plant nursery near Homestead, Florida, supplying agaves, ferns, fruiting trees, and hardscape to retail garden centers, landscapers, developers, resorts, and brokers across the US, Canada, and the Caribbean.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Miami

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Plant Sales: Island Tropical Foliage generates revenue through wholesale sales of tropical plants, trees, and nursery supplies to retailers, landscapers, developers, and other wholesale buyers. The company ships throughout the United States, Canada and the Caribbean, fulfilling large orders by tapping into a vast network of local nurseries to source and consolidate orders beyond their own 45 acres of production.
2. Nursery Supplies: The company carries a full selection of hard line products including mulch, decorative bagged rock, fertilizer, chemicals, soils, ground cover, stakes, and conditioners. They also export these supplies to the Caribbean through their sister company Tropical Trading.
3. Export Services: The company provides export services to the Caribbean market, handling phytosanitary certification, consolidation of shipments, and sourcing additional plants or supplies needed to complete customer projects. They ship to almost every island in the Caribbean, including Grand Cayman.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Island Tropical Foliage is a 45-acre wholesale tropical plant nursery near Homestead, Florida that grows and sells Agave, Echeveria, ferns, shrubs, flowering trees, spring flowering plants, native plants, salt-tolerant palms, and tropical fruiting trees to retail garden centers, landscapers, developers, hotels, resorts, and plant brokers. The company ships throughout the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean, fulfilling large orders by consolidating stock from a partner nursery network and providing Caribbean export services including phytosanitary certification through its sister company Tropical Trading Inc.

Product overview

Island Tropical Foliage is a 45-acre wholesale nursery located near Homestead, Florida, operating as a single-product nursery business offering wholesale tropical plants and related services. The core offerings include wholesale tropical plants (Agave, Echeveria, ferns, shrubs, flowering trees, native plants), tropical fruiting plants/trees, landscape plants, spring flowering selection, and nursery supplies. The company also provides export services to the Caribbean and operates through a sister company, Tropical Trading Inc, for hardscape goods. Products are sold to retail garden centers, landscapers, landscape architects, commercial builders, hotels, resorts, and plant brokers across the US, Canada, and Caribbean.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wholesale Tropical Plants Wholesale assortment of tropical plants grown on the company's 45-acre Homestead, Florida nursery, including Agave, Echeveria, ferns, shrubs, flowering trees, spring flowering plants, and native plants, sold to retail garden centers, landscapers, and developers.
• Tropical Fruiting Plants Wholesale tropical edible fruiting plants including grafted Avocado, Banana, Mango, Guava, Papaya, Jackfruit, and Dragonfruit trees, sold to wholesale buyers in the US, Canada, and the Caribbean.
• Landscape Plants (Interior and Exterior) Interior and exterior landscape plants including salt-tolerant species, palms, native plants, Clusia, Agave, Aloe, Kalanchoe, Bougainvillea, and Crotons, intended for commercial and residential landscape installations.
• Spring Flowering Plant Selection Seasonal spring flowering assortment including Ferns, Mandevillea, Hibiscus, Duranta, Jasmine, Oleander, Gardenia, fruit trees, and Braids and Bushes.
• Nursery Supplies Full selection of hard line nursery products including mulch, decorative bagged rock, fertilizer, chemicals, soils, ground cover, stakes, and conditioners, sold to wholesale buyers and exported through sister company Tropical Trading.
• Caribbean Export Services Export services to Caribbean islands including plant sourcing, multi-nursery order consolidation, phytosanitary certification, and shipping logistics, supported by a dedicated Export Manager and sister company Tropical Trading Inc.

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Tropical Trading InccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTropical Trading Inc is a dedicated sister company that specializes in the export of premium landscape goods and supplies to the Caribbean market. They offer a wide range of hardscape goods including mulch, decorative bagged rock, fertilizer, chemicals, soils, ground cover, stakes, and conditioners. By consolidating plant and tree shipments with Tropical Trading, customers can efficiently save on freight charges. Ali Barr serves as the contact for Tropical Trading services.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• ForemostCo: Florida-based wholesale tropical plant grower and exporter where ITF founder Larry Barr previously worked. Operates a substantially larger finished-plant operation serving similar retail, landscape, and international customers with comparable tropical and foliage assortments.
• Margo Farms: Homestead, Florida-based foliage and tropical plant grower where ITF's founder previously worked in shipping and sales management. Operates in the same geography and product categories, making it one of ITF's closest direct comparables.

Broad incumbents

• Costa Farms: One of the largest ornamental and tropical plant growers in the U.S., headquartered in South Florida. Competes broadly with ITF across tropical foliage, landscape plants, and indoor categories and serves national retail and landscape accounts at significantly greater scale.
• Hines Horticulture: National wholesale nursery producing landscape and ornamental plants for big-box retail, independent garden centers, and landscape professionals. Same wholesale-to-landscape channel structure as ITF but at much greater scale and broader product mix.
• Monrovia Nursery Company: Large California-based wholesale nursery producing a broad catalog of ornamental and landscape plants for national distribution. Comparable business model (grower-to-wholesale) at significantly greater scale and geographic reach than ITF.
• Greenleaf Nursery Company: Multi-location wholesale nursery producing ornamental shrubs, trees, and landscape plants for garden centers and landscape customers nationwide. Comparable grower-wholesale business model with broader catalog and multi-region production footprint.
• Ball Horticultural Company: Major horticultural producer and distributor operating across seeds, vegetative inputs, and finished plants globally. Adjacent but far larger scale; competes for some landscape and ornamental plant demand at the wholesale level.
• Star Roses and Plants: Wholesale producer of roses, woody ornamentals, and landscape plants sold through garden centers and landscape distributors. Comparable wholesale-to-landscape channel and customer base, with broader national distribution.

Regional players

• Tropical Plant International (TPIE / FNGLA members): Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association and its member tropical plant growers represent a broader set of South Florida wholesale tropical plant competitors in adjacent product categories, several of which also export to the Caribbean.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/IslandTropicalFoliageInc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 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 Island Tropical Foliage