What Centerton Nursery does

Centerton Nursery, Inc. is a third-generation, family-owned wholesale plant nursery founded in 1974-1975 in Bridgeton, New Jersey, currently operated by three of the founders' grandchildren (Donald Blew as President, Bob Blew as Vice President, and Amy Ordog (Blew) as VP of Sales). The company grows perennials, shrubs, native plants, and edible crops (vegetables, herbs, and fruits) across 3.2 million square feet of greenhouse space, supported by a 5.5-million-gallon water recycling and UV-treatment system. Production runs on a proprietary growing media blend, integrated pest management with beneficial biological controls, and custom retrofitted shipping equipment designed for damage-free plant delivery. The product portfolio spans 1,500+ unique SKUs organized around proprietary brands — BlewLabel® Plants (the flagship "blue label" brand, 1,000+ products), Trophytaker® Daylilies (50 cultivars selected from 8,000 evaluated across 140 attributes), Happy Ever Appster® reblooming daylilies, TrueBlew™ Natives, Hasslefree Roses®, Chef Jeff's® Edibles, Caterpillar Candy®, and BlewBlanket™ — supplemented by national brands (Proven Winners®, Knock Out® Roses, Endless Summer® Hydrangeas, Drift® Roses, Bloomin' Easy®) that the company distributes.

Revenue mechanics are exclusively wholesale B2B: the company sells in container sizes from 1-quart to 3-gallon to independent garden centers, farm markets, and landscape centers across approximately 30 states, through a network of 800+ dealers and a dedicated regional sales force of six in-house and two independent reps covering defined territories. Centerton deliberately excludes box stores and direct retail to protect channel relationships, and earns additional royalty income from licensing Trophytaker® genetics to growers across North America. The company also operates BlewLine Nursery as a wholly-owned sister company serving as a field producer of starter plants, verticalizing propagation supply. The company has explicitly chosen to remain family-owned with no external capital, and currently employs a peak workforce of ~115 staff and contractors including administrative, managerial, and production roles.

Name

Centerton Nursery

Legal name

Centerton Nursery, Inc.

Website

https://centertonnursery.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Centerton Nursery is a third-generation, family-owned wholesale grower of perennials, shrubs, native plants, and edibles operating 3.2M sq ft of greenhouse capacity and selling exclusively through 800+ independent garden center, farm market, and landscape center dealers across 30 states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wholesale Nursery / Ornamental Plant Production

NAICS

Nursery and Floriculture Production (11142), Flower, Nursery Stock, and Florists' Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (424930), Nursery and Tree Production (111421), Floriculture Production (111422)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Potted Flowering Plants & Bedding Plants Production (Annuals, Perennials, Plugs) (AFAGAHAE), Nursery Production (Woody Ornamentals: Trees, Shrubs, Roses) (AFAGAHAF), Nursery Stock & Propagule Production (Cuttings, Rootstocks, Grafts) (AFAGAIAO), Greenhouse Herb & Microgreens Production (Culinary Herbs, Microgreens) (AFAGAHAC)

Keywords

• Wholesale nursery plants
• Perennials and shrubs
• Garden center supply
• Container grown plants
• Licensed daylily varieties

Headquarters

HQ city

Bridgeton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Plant Sales: Wholesale B2B sales of perennials, shrubs, native plants, and edible crops (vegetables, herbs, fruits) to independent garden centers, farm markets, and landscape centers. Products sold in various container sizes from 1-quart to 3 gallons.
2. Licensing Royalties: Licensing Trophytaker® Daylilies to other growers around North America, collecting royalties on patented plant varieties.
3. Proprietary Brand Sales: Sales of branded products including BlewLabel® Plants (1000+ products), TrueBlew™ Natives, Trophytaker® Daylilies, and other branded collections through dealer network.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Centerton Nursery is a wholesale grower that propagates and ships more than 1,500 plant products — including perennials, shrubs, native plants, edibles, groundcovers, daylilies, and roses — from 3.2 million square feet of greenhouses in Bridgeton, New Jersey, to 800+ independent garden centers, farm markets, and landscape centers across approximately 30 US states. The offering is built around the company's proprietary brands (BlewLabel®, Trophytaker®, TrueBlew™, Happy Ever Appster®, Hasslefree®, Chef Jeff's®, BlewBlanket™, and others) layered with distributed national brands such as Proven Winners®, Endless Summer®, Knock Out®, and Drift® Roses.

Product overview

Centerton Nursery is a family-owned plant nursery operating since 1975, now in its 3rd generation of family ownership. The company operates as a wholesale grower rather than a direct retailer, supplying independent garden centers across 30 states through a network of 800+ dealers. Their product portfolio is organized into two tiers: proprietary brands including BlewLabel® Plants (their core perennials and shrubs), TrueBlew™ Natives, BlewBlanket™ Groundcovers, BlewLabel® Patio Living, and specialty daylily collections (Trophytaker® and Happy Ever Appster®), rose lines (Hasslefree®), and ecological brands (Caterpillar Candy®, Bring Back the Butterflies™); and national brands they distribute including Proven Winners®, Endless Summer® Hydrangeas, Knock Out® Roses, Chef Jeff's® Edibles (300+ varieties), and Drift® Roses. The company grows over 1,500 unique products across 1,000+ BlewLabel® SKUs in their 3.2 million square feet of greenhouse space, offering plants ranging from 1-quart to 3-gallon containers in categories of perennials, shrubs, native plants, edibles, groundcovers, and roses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BlewLabel® Plants: Home-grown brand encompassing perennials and shrubs in container sizes from 1-Quart to nearly three gallons, featuring over 1000 products grown in signature blue containers.
• TrueBlew™ Natives
• BlewBlanket™ Groundcovers
• BlewLabel® Patio Living
• Autumn Additions™
• Caterpillar Candy®
• Bring Back the Butterflies™
• Hasslefree Roses®
• Happy Ever Appster® Daylilies
• Trophytaker® Daylilies
• Stone Cottage Farm™ Lavender

Products and services

• BlewLabel® Plants The company's flagship proprietary brand, encompassing more than 1,000 perennials and shrubs produced in distinctive bright-blue containers and sold wholesale to independent garden centers across about 30 states.
• TrueBlew™ Natives Species-form native perennials and shrubs adapted to local ecology, offered to garden centers to help consumers find native plants that are both beautiful and ecosystem-beneficial.
• Trophytaker® Premium Daylilies Premium daylily collection of 50 rigorously trialed varieties chosen from 8,000 evaluated for bloom duration, hardiness, pest resistance, foliage, and growth. Sold wholesale to independent dealers and licensed to growers across North America.
• Happy Ever Appster® Reblooming Daylilies Reblooming daylilies in zones 5+ from Dr. Darrel Apps' bloodline, producing months of color with minimal gardener input; grown and distributed wholesale under the Happy Ever Appster® brand.
• Hasslefree® Roses Garden roses spanning shrubs, climbers, floribundas, and hybrid teas, trialed for real-world garden performance in Mid-Atlantic regions and offered wholesale to independent garden centers.
• BlewBlanket™ Groundcovers Low-growing, low-maintenance groundcover plants sold wholesale to independent garden centers to fill garden space with color and texture while reducing mulching needs.
• Caterpillar Candy® Host plants for caterpillars, carefully selected to attract specific butterfly species and grown without chemical pesticides, sold wholesale to garden centers serving pollinator-conscious consumers.
• Bring Back the Butterflies™ Milkweed and nectar source plants designed for butterfly conservation efforts and habitat restoration, distributed wholesale to independent garden centers.
• Chef Jeff's® Edibles Edible plant collection of 300+ vegetables, herbs, and fruits in pint to patio-ready containers, mixing new genetics with heirloom varieties for wholesale supply to independent garden centers.
• BlewLabel® Patio Living Seasonal color plants targeted at summer patio, mixed container, and landscape use, providing heat-tolerant color through summer and distributed wholesale under the BlewLabel® Patio Living sub-brand.
• Autumn Additions™ Hardy perennials collected for fall planting with strong off-season performance, distributed wholesale to independent garden centers.
• Stone Cottage Farm™ Lavender Assorted lavender selections sourced globally, including garden-hardy and tender varieties, suitable for landscape and patio use and offered wholesale to garden centers.
• Proven Winners® Perennials & Shrubs Perennials and shrubs from the nationally recognized Proven Winners® breeding brand, produced for Centerton's wholesale dealer network through close breeder partnerships and rigorous trials.
• Endless Summer® Reblooming Hydrangeas Hardy reblooming mophead hydrangeas from the Endless Summer® brand, including classic blue varieties and newer unique selections, distributed wholesale to independent garden centers.
• The Knock Out® Family of Roses The Knock Out® family of highly disease-resistant garden roses, produced for wholesale supply to independent garden centers as an industry-standard low-care, high-impact category.
• Drift® Groundcover Roses Low-profile, groundcover-habit Drift® roses with bold color and disease resistance, offered wholesale to garden centers for low-growing sunny color.
• Bloomin' Easy® Perennials & Shrubs Cutting-edge perennials and shrubs designed for maximum garden impact with minimum gardener care, offered as part of the wholesale assortment to independent dealers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1 million Trophytaker Daylilies sold since program inception
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BlewLine NurserycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister company operating as field producer of starter plants. Provides propagation services and starter plant supply for Centerton Nursery's production needs.
• Dr. Darrel AppscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDaylily breeder and horticulturist who developed the Trophytaker assessment program with Centerton Nursery. Evaluated 8,000 cultivars to identify 40 that met strict criteria for the Trophytaker brand. Provided the bloodline for Happy Ever Appster reblooming daylilies.
• Licensed Trophytaker GrowersminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerIndependent growers licensed across North America to produce and sell Trophytaker Daylilies under brand guidelines, extending geographic availability of the product line.
• New Jersey Nursery & Landscape AssociationminorOthersTrade association membership for New Jersey nursery and landscape industry professionals.
• AmericanHortminorOthersNational trade association (formerly ANLA/OFA) representing horticulture industry growers, retailers, and landscapers.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Bailey Nurseries: Large multi-brand wholesale nursery producing shrubs, perennials, and branded lines such as Endless Summer® and First Editions®. Comparable B2B grower supplying garden centers at materially larger scale and broader geographic reach than Centerton.
• Greenleaf Nursery Company: Large wholesale container nursery producing annuals, perennials, shrubs, and trees for garden center and landscape customers. Comparable wholesale grower with broader product mix and national distribution.
• Monrovia Nursery Company: Premium branded wholesale grower of shrubs, perennials, and trees sold to independent garden centers and landscape professionals. Directly comparable channel and brand-driven wholesale strategy at significantly larger scale.

Direct peers

• Star Roses and Plants (Conard-Pyle): Wholesale grower and breeder of roses, perennials, and shrubs distributed primarily to independent garden centers under branded programs (Knock Out®, Drift®). Direct peer with similar independent-channel strategy and branded genetics.
• Proven Winners (Spring Meadow Nursery): Branded wholesale shrub and perennial marketer that propagates and licenses genetics to a network of growers selling to independent garden centers. Comparable brand-led wholesale model and overlapping dealer channel.
• Pacific Plug & Liner: Wholesale producer of starter plants and liners sold to other growers and finished-plant producers. Adjacent comparable to Centerton's sister company BlewLine Nursery and Centerton's own propagation operations.
• Walters Gardens: One of the largest wholesale perennial growers in North America, supplying finished perennials to independent garden centers and landscape professionals. Closest direct comparable to Centerton's wholesale perennial model with comparable branded perennial programs.

Emerging players

• High Country Gardens: Specialty grower and online retailer focused on native, drought-tolerant, and pollinator-friendly perennials. Comparable in the emerging native plants category that Centerton is targeting with its TrueBlew™ Natives launch.

Regional players

• McKay Nursery Company: Midwest-based wholesale and retail nursery producing perennials, shrubs, and trees for garden centers and landscape professionals. Comparable wholesale grower with overlapping product categories but a different core geographic footprint.

Others

• AmericanHort: National trade association representing horticulture growers, retailers, and landscapers. Centerton is an active member; comparable as the industry-association context and standards body shaping the wholesale nursery market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CentertonNursery
• Instagraminstagram.com/centertonnursery
• Xx.com/CentertonNsy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 Centerton Nursery