Darwin Perennials

What Darwin Perennials does

Darwin Perennials is a U.S.-based perennial plant breeding and propagation business operating as a division of Ball Horticultural Company. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in West Chicago, Illinois, the company sells more than 600 perennial varieties to professional growers across North America through a B2B wholesale model. Its product forms include unrooted cuttings, Genesis™ callused cuttings, rooted liners, tissue culture plantlets, and (new for 2027) bare root, with primary production sourced from its wholly owned Darwin Colombia facility.

The company's core technology centers on three differentiated plant-propagation capabilities: a proprietary Genesis callused-cuttings program that reduces propagation time by approximately two weeks and cuts lavender cutting loss from ~40% to under 10%; tissue culture propagation for unique varieties such as Rudbeckia Suntacular, Echinacea Sombrero Fuchsia Fandango, and Geranium Purple Glow; and a First-Year-Flowering scheduling tool that helps growers plan production cycles. Variety development is supported by a co-development breeder network (Walters Gardens, Florensis) and a curated retail collection (Bloomables® with Star Roses and Plants), with extensive U.S. Plant Patent, EU PBR, UK PBR, and Canadian PBR protection across Lavandula, Salvia, Phlox, Veronica, Heuchera, Buddleia, Agastache, Achillea, and Brunnera lines.

Commercially, Darwin Perennials operates an enterprise field-sales go-to-market with product representatives and territory managers who help growers review and revamp perennial programs. Marketing channels include a digital catalog, photo library, YouTube channel, social media, benchcards, and the annual Darwin Perennials Day event. The company earns revenue through one-time wholesale orders of plant material to greenhouse/nursery growers (primary) and landscape professionals (secondary), with distribution via direct supply from Colombia and an external distributor/broker network. Operating geographies are limited to the United States and Canada.

Name

Darwin Perennials

Legal name

Darwin Perennials (division of Ball Horticultural Company)

Website

https://darwinperennials.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Darwin Perennials is a division of Ball Horticultural Company that breeds and propagates 600+ perennial plant varieties, selling unrooted cuttings, Genesis callused cuttings, tissue culture, and bare root to professional greenhouse and nursery growers across North America, with production in Colombia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Perennial Plant Horticulture / Wholesale Nursery Starter Material

NAICS

Nursery and Floriculture Production (11142), Greenhouse, Nursery, and Floriculture Production (1114)

akta.pro primary industry

Plant Breeding & Variety Development (Conventional) (AFAGAIAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Nursery Stock & Propagule Production (Cuttings, Rootstocks, Grafts) (AFAGAIAO), Vegetative Propagation (Cuttings, Clonal Forestry, Tissue Culture) (AFAMADAE)

Keywords

• Perennial plant genetics
• Unrooted cuttings wholesale
• Tissue culture propagation
• Greenhouse starter plants
• Ornamental nursery production

Headquarters

HQ city

West Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Perennial Plant Material: B2B wholesale of unrooted cuttings, callused cuttings, rooted liners, and tissue culture plantlets to professional growers. The company produces at Darwin Colombia and distributes through its own supply chain and logistics network.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Darwin Perennials breeds, licenses, and produces perennial plant starter material for professional greenhouse and nursery growers. Its catalog of 600+ varieties is sold primarily as unrooted cuttings, Genesis™ callused cuttings, rooted liners, and tissue-cultured plantlets produced at the Darwin Colombia facility, with bare-root forms added for 2027. The company's offering is supported by growing tools (e.g., the First-Year-Flowering scheduling tool), regional trial evaluation, and genetics from breeder partners Walters Gardens and Florensis.

Product overview

Darwin Perennials is a division of Ball Horticultural Company specializing in perennial plant genetics, breeding, and unrooted/rooted cutting production. The company offers more than 600 popular perennial varieties through its main brand and sub-brand Bloomables® (a curated collection of 300+ easy-to-grow varieties in partnership with Star Roses and Plants). Key product lines include Echinacea Sombrero® (Better Versions® program), Hemerocallis DayScape™ (new 2027), Lavender Butterfly Garden™ and Anouk series, Salvia Mirage® and Lyrical™, Veronica Skyward™ and Moody Blues®, Phlox Ka-Pow® and Super Ka-Pow™, Heuchera Carnival, and ornamental grasses (Free Spirit®, Dream Catcher®). Products are available as unrooted cuttings, Genesis™ callused cuttings, rooted liners, tissue culture, and bare root (new for 2027). The company provides growing support through First-Year-Flowering Tool, culture guides, bench cards, and regional performance trials.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Bloomables®: A collection of over 300 flowering perennials that are easy-to-grow for growers and consumers, focusing on blooms that bloom all season long.
• Better Versions®
• Genesis™
• Must Have Perennials®

Products and services

• Unrooted Perennial Cuttings Wholesale unrooted cuttings of 600+ perennial varieties including Achillea, Agastache, Buddleia, Echinacea, Hemerocallis, Heuchera, Lavandula, Phlox, Salvia, and Veronica; produced at Darwin Colombia and supplied to professional greenhouse and nursery growers for finishing.
• Genesis™ Callused Cuttings Pre-rooted callused cuttings that reduce propagation time by two weeks, deliver more uniform rooting, and cut shrink (e.g., lavender loss reduced from ~40% to under 10%). Available for Achillea, Artemisia, Erysimum, Gaillardia, Helianthemum, Iberis, Lavandula, Perovskia, Phlox, Salvia, and other varieties.
• Tissue-Cultured Perennial Plantlets Tissue-cultured perennial plantlets delivering unique and high-performing varieties that cannot be produced by cuttings, including Rudbeckia Suntacular, Echinacea Sombrero Fuchsia Fandango, and Geranium Purple Glow.
• Rooted Liners Finished rooted liners produced through Darwin's liner supply partner network, enabling growers to receive fully rooted starter plants for finishing.
• Bare Root Perennials Bare-root perennial starter plants — a new product form introduced by Darwin Perennials for 2027, used to expand into ornamental grasses (Panicum Dream Catcher Lightning Bolt, Schizachyrium Free Spirit Blue Arrow) and daylilies (Hemerocallis DayScape series).
• Bloomables® Collection Curated collection of over 300 easy-to-grow flowering perennial varieties, designed to bloom all season, focused on standout garden performance, bright colors, unique textures, and interesting foliage. Curated by Star Roses and Plants product managers.
• Better Versions® Perennials Top-performing perennial varieties evaluated for landscape performance across North America, with up to five years of market sales and improved habit, winter hardiness, and flower counts. Current Better Versions include Echinacea Sombrero, Salvia 'Blue by You', Lavender 'SuperBlue', and Nepeta Junior Walker.
• First-Year-Flowering Tool Online scheduling tool for growers to plan perennial production for Spring. Customizes growing schedules for first-year-flowering varieties, helping growers optimize production timing.
• Must Have Perennials® Genetics Top-performing perennial genetics available exclusively as unrooted cuttings through Darwin Colombia under the Must Have Perennials brand.
• Hemerocallis DayScape™ Daylilies First daylily series introduced by Darwin Perennials (2027), featuring continuous blooming and rust resistant varieties in the DayScape line, available as bare root.
• Schizachyrium Free Spirit® and Panicum Dream Catcher® Ornamental Grasses Two new ornamental grass series for the landscape — Schizachyrium Free Spirit Blue Arrow and Panicum Dream Catcher Lightning Bolt — available as bare root in the 2027 catalog.
• Lavender Butterfly Garden™ Series Easy-to-grow Spanish Lavender (Lavandula stoechas) varieties including Poppin' Pink and Plum Perfect, targeted at early-Spring retail sales.
• Helianthemum SunBurst™ Series Rock Rose (Helianthemum) series bringing bright color to Spring benches with larger flowers and more of them, including Rose, Pink, and White varieties.
• Sedum Lemon Sparkle New Sedum variety (Balsedlark) with US Plant Patent, introduced as part of new 2027 perennial additions and offered as bare root.

Quantifiable outcome

• Lavender cutting loss reduced from 40% to less than 10%
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Walters GardenscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWalters Gardens is a trusted breeder partner providing high-quality perennial plant genetics. Darwin Perennials offers genetics from Walters Gardens through Darwin Colombia, including varieties such as Delosperma FLASHMOB series, Heliopsis Sundial, Sedum Wineberry Delight, and Veronica Jedi Gem.
• FlorensiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlorensis is a global partner breeder and young plant producer based in The Netherlands, providing professional growers with excellent plant propagation materials and solutions since 1941. Their varieties include Achillea Milly Rock series, Eupatorium Euphoria Ruby, Gaillardia Guapa series, Salvia Sensation Compact series, Saxifraga Marto series, and Veronica Venice Blue.
• Star Roses and PlantscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStar Roses and Plants curates the Bloomables collection of over 300 easy-to-grow perennial varieties. The collection is carefully selected by Product Managers and includes Darwin Perennials varieties such as Echinacea Double Scoop, Monarda Balmy, Leucanthemum Whitecap, and Salvia Marvel.
• Ball Horticultural CompanyflagshipOthersDarwin Perennials is a division of Ball Horticultural Company, a major horticultural company. Ball provides corporate services including privacy policy, terms of use, and Great Place to Work certification.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Monrovia Nursery Company: Large US wholesale nursery selling branded perennials and shrubs to garden centers; a downstream customer-adjacent incumbent competing for the same end-retail perennial shelf space as Bloomables.
• Sakata Ornamentals: Global ornamentals breeder with strong seed and cutting programs; an incumbent alternative for perennial growers seeking diversified suppliers beyond Darwin's unrooted cutting focus.
• Dümmen Orange: Global ornamentals breeder and young-plant producer with extensive perennial and potted crop portfolio; competes with Darwin for professional grower accounts across North America and offers a broader international footprint.
• Syngenta Flowers (now part of Ball Horticultural): Global ornamentals seed and cutting brand (Goldfish, Sensation genetics overlap Darwin's catalog); sits inside the broader Ball Horticultural family that owns Darwin Perennials, making it a sibling/incumbent.

Direct peers

• Proven Winners: Leading North American branded ornamental plant network selling perennials and shrubs to growers and retailers; competes directly with Darwin/Bloomables for grower mindshare and shelf space at retail.
• Florensis: Dutch-based young-plant producer and breeder operating since 1941; a Core strategic genetics partner to Darwin supplying Achillea Milly Rock, Gaillardia Guapa, Salvia Sensation Compact, and Saxifraga Marto series.
• Walters Gardens: Major US perennial bare-root and liner producer and breeder; a Core strategic genetics partner to Darwin Perennials, supplying many of the same Buddleia, Achillea, and Aster varieties Darwin offers through its catalog.
• Star Roses and Plants: US wholesale nursery supplying woody ornamentals and perennials; co-curates Darwin's Bloomables® collection of 300+ varieties and directly competes for grower customers in the landscape perennial category.
• Pacific Plug & Liner: California-based young-plant producer specializing in vegetative annual and perennial liners; competes with Darwin's rooted liner and callused cutting offerings to West Coast and national growers.

Emerging players

• Green Fuse Botanicals: US-based breeder and young-plant producer focused on first-year-flowering perennial genetics; competes in overlapping categories (Lavandula, Salvia, Phlox) where Darwin markets its Genesis and First-Year-Flowering programs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/darwinperennials
• Facebookfacebook.com/darwinperennials
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/darwin-perennials
• Instagraminstagram.com/darwinperennials

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Darwin Perennials