Ambrosia Nurseries Limited

What Ambrosia Nurseries Limited does

Ambrosia Nurseries Limited, doing business as Gardening Solutionz, is a family-owned and operated New Zealand plant nursery founded in 1982 (one source records 1984) and headquartered in Rolleston. The company grows and supplies ornamental plants and branded plant collections to garden centres and home gardeners across New Zealand, operating exclusively within the domestic market. Its core product is a curated portfolio of plants organized through a proprietary "Solutionz" categorization system spanning eight need-based categories (Colour, Gap Filler, Ground Cover, Hedging, Hot n Dry, Privacy, Scented, and Structured Solutionz) and 15+ exclusive branded "Collections" sourced from licensed international breeders including Kiwiflora, Tesselaar, Plant Marketing NZ, and Sakata.

The underlying technology is horticultural rather than digital: licensed propagation of branded plant varieties, supported by a content-driven WordPress website, an annual printed catalogue (2026 edition available), and active social media presence on Instagram and Facebook. Notable included varieties include Rudbeckia Sunbeckia, Rembrandts Hydrangea, the award-winning Runaway Bride Hydrangea (RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year 2018), Flower Carpet Roses, SunPatiens, and Daphne Perfume Princess, among others.

The business model is wholesale-led B2B distribution through a network of independent garden centre stockists across New Zealand, with revenue derived from licensing royalties and wholesale plant sales. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company does not sell direct-to-consumer; end consumers acquire plants through stockist partners. Customer segments span home gardeners (primary), landscape professionals, and stockists/retailers. The company is privately held with no external funding, no subsidiaries, and a headcount of 1-10 employees.

Name

Ambrosia Nurseries Limited

Legal name

Gardening Solutionz

Website

https://gardeningsolutionz.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ambrosia Nurseries Limited (DBA Gardening Solutionz) is a family-owned New Zealand plant nursery that grows and supplies licensed, branded ornamental plant collections to garden centres and home gardeners through a wholesale stockist network across New Zealand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Ornamental Plant Nursery

NAICS

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

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100), Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Forest Nurseries, Seed Orchards & Genetic Improvement (AFAMAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Vegetative Propagation (Cuttings, Clonal Forestry, Tissue Culture) (AFAMADAE), Seedling & Sapling Production (Containerized) (AFAMADAD), Forest Nurseries & Tree Seedling Production (IMAMAAAC)

Keywords

• Ornamental plants
• Plant nursery
• Wholesale gardening
• Licensed plant varieties
• Garden centre supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Rolleston

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Plant Sales: Wholesale distribution of ornamental plants and garden varieties to independent garden centers, nurseries, and stockists throughout New Zealand. Plants are sold under license with proprietary branding and marketing support.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Ambrosia Nurseries Limited, operating as Gardening Solutionz, is a family-owned New Zealand plant nursery that grows and supplies ornamental plants and branded plant collections through licensed propagation. The company organizes its plant portfolio around a proprietary 'Plant Solutionz' categorization system that helps gardeners select plants by garden need (e.g., colour, privacy, hedging, drought-tolerance). Plants are grown under licence in New Zealand and distributed wholesale to a network of independent garden centre stockists nationwide, complemented by a consumer-facing website and annual printed catalogue.

Product overview

Gardening Solutionz™ is a family-owned and operated New Zealand plant nursery and online gardening platform offering a curated portfolio of ornamental plants and garden advisory services for over 40 years. The offering consists of a core online platform at gardeningsolutionz.co.nz, underpinned by eight branded 'Solutionz' solution categories (Colour Solutionz™, Gap Filler Solutionz™, Ground Cover Solutionz™, Hedging Solutionz™, Hot n Dry Solutionz™, Privacy Solutionz™, Scented Solutionz™, and Structured Solutionz™) that help gardeners select plants by garden need rather than botanical classification. These eight categories are populated with individual named plant varieties and sub-series sourced from licensed breeders globally. A parallel branded layer of 'Collections' offers exclusive, licenced plant series including Rudbeckia Sunbeckia, Rembrandts Hydrangea, Runaway Bride Hydrangea (award-winning), The Gift Hydrangeas, Pacific Coprosma, Hebe Chocolate Box, Fairy Magnolias, Tuxedo Hydrangeas, Flower Carpet Rose, Daphne Perfume Princess, Showpiece Roses, Ruffles Lavender, SunPatiens, and the Petunias Cupcake Series, many of which are explicitly noted as grown under licence in New Zealand. The business distributes its products through an annual 2026 Catalogue and a network of physical stockists across New Zealand.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Gardening Solutionz™: Primary commercial brand for nursery and plant products with unique 'Solutionz' categorization system

Products and services

• Rudbeckia Sunbeckia Series A new series of Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) bred for exceptionally large, long-lasting flowers in unique colours, blooming continuously from early summer through autumn. Includes a Graffiti sub-series with bold bicolour patterns. Grown under licence in New Zealand and distributed via the company's stockist network.
• Rembrandts Hydrangea Series Compact perennial Hydrangea series with colour-changing flowers across five varieties: Bella Pesche, Dolce Chic, Elegant Rosa, Rosso Glory, and Vibrant Verde. Flowers transform through multiple colour stages from early summer through autumn. Grown under licence in New Zealand.
• Runaway Bride Hydrangea Award-winning Hydrangea variety (RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year 2018, Japan's Flower of the Year 2019–2020, Australia's Plant of the Year 2025) with unique garland-like stems producing masses of white blooms along every leaf pair for over four months. Grown under licence in New Zealand.
• The Gift Hydrangea Series Lacecap Hydrangea series including Strawberries & Cream and Blueberries & Cream varieties, positioned as living flower arrangements suitable as gifts or home décor. Grown under licence in New Zealand.
• Pacific Coprosma Series European-bred Coprosma series including Sunrise (chocolate brown with hot pink highlights) and Sunset (vivid red centre with burgundy-chocolate margin), positioned as quick-growing, bushy, and low-maintenance shrubs. Grown under licence in New Zealand.
• Hebe Chocolate Box Series Compact rounded Hebe series featuring Strawberry Truffle variety with jet-black leaves that deepen in cooler months, selected for disease resistance and robust garden performance. Grown under licence in New Zealand.
• Fairy Magnolias Series Compact bushy Magnolias with fragrant blooms (6cm across) at every leaf axil, flowering early to late spring with spot flowers year-round. Available in Blush, Cream, and White. Suitable for quick-growing privacy hedges and wind breaks. Grown under licence in New Zealand.
• Tuxedo Hydrangea Series Hydrangea series with standout deep purple/black flushed foliage and big lush flowers. Available in Red and Pink. Grown under licence in New Zealand.
• Flower Carpet Rose Ground cover rose series positioned as tough, disease-resistant, and bursting with colour from spring to autumn. Requires no deadheading. Grown under licence in New Zealand.
• Daphne Perfume Princess Series Earliest and longest-flowering Daphne series including Perfume Princess and Princess White, noted for one of the sweetest fragrances with large blooms progressing along stems. Grown under licence in New Zealand.
• Showpiece Rose Series Rose series bred by the same breeders as Flower Carpet Roses, featuring lush mid-green foliage and blooms from early spring through to first frosts. Grown under licence in New Zealand.
• Ruffles Lavender Series Lavender series featuring compact neat habit with flower colours from late winter through early summer. Includes Blueberry, Blushberry, Pinkberry, Plumberry, Purpleberry, Razzleberry, and Vanillaberry varieties. Grown under licence in New Zealand.
• SunPatiens Series Impatiens series positioned as the first to tolerate heat, humidity, rain, sun, and shade. Provides colour from spring through hottest summer to first frosts. Grown under licence in New Zealand.
• Petunias Cupcake Series Cupcake series of petunias bred for tolerance to weather extremes, offering long-lasting perennial performance from late spring through autumn. Includes Blueberry Crush and Mayan Sunset varieties. Grown under licence in New Zealand.
• 2026 Gardening Solutionz Catalogue Annual printed and digital plant catalogue featuring the full range of plants, solution categories, and collections available for the 2026 season. Distributed to customers and stockists as a marketing and reference publication.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• KiwifloracoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerLicensed propagation partner for Rudbeckia Sunbeckia series and other varieties. Kiwiflora is a New Zealand plant breeding company providing exclusive plant varieties for propagation and distribution.
• TesselaarcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerLicensed propagation partner for various plant varieties including Showpiece Roses and Ruffles Lavender series. Tesselaar is a wholesale nursery providing exclusive plant varieties.
• Plant Marketing NZ (PMNZ)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerLicensed propagation partner for Rembrandts Hydrangea varieties. Plant Marketing NZ is a plant marketing and distribution company representing breeders in New Zealand.
• Various International Plant BreederscoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerLicensed propagation of internationally bred plant varieties including SunPatiens (from Sakata), Flower Carpet Roses, and various Daphne, Hydrangea, and other ornamental plant varieties for the New Zealand market.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Sakata Seed Corporation: Large Japanese seed and plant breeding company that developed SunPatiens, one of the licensed series Ambrosia propagates. Broad incumbent because Sakata operates globally across many crops at a vastly larger scale and licences down to propagators like Ambrosia.
• Proven Winners: North American plant brand network marketing branded ornamental genetics through a licensee grower network. Broad incumbent because Proven Winners operates the same branded-licensing playbook at much larger scale, setting the template Ambrosia's Solutionz approach mirrors.
• Monrovia Nursery Company: Large US wholesale ornamental nursery that grows and distributes branded plants to retail garden centers. Broad incumbent because of the same wholesale-to-garden-center distribution model and ornamental plant focus, but at significantly larger scale and US geography.
• Ball Horticultural Company: Global horticultural breeding and distribution company with extensive ornamental plant portfolio. Broad incumbent because of overlapping ornamental genetics and global licensing model, but at far larger scale and broader crop breadth than Ambrosia.
• Walters Gardens: Major US wholesale perennial plant grower supplying branded genetics to garden centers across North America. Broad incumbent because of overlapping wholesale-ornamental-perennial business model and branded genetics marketing, but at far larger US-focused scale.

Direct peers

• Kiwiflora: New Zealand plant breeding and marketing company that licenses varieties such as Rudbeckia Sunbeckia to Ambrosia. Direct peer because both operate in NZ ornamental plant development and marketing, even though Kiwiflora sits one step upstream in the value chain.
• Twyford Plant Laboratories: New Zealand-based tissue culture and plant propagation specialist. Direct peer because of overlapping propagation technology and ornamental plant supply activity into the NZ market.
• Anthony Tesselaar Plants: International plant marketing company behind Flower Carpet Roses and other branded collections that Ambrosia licenses from. Direct peer because Tesselaar operates a comparable model of branding, marketing, and licensing proprietary genetics globally, and intersects with Ambrosia on multiple shared collections.
• Lyndale Nurseries: One of New Zealand's largest wholesale ornamental plant nurseries supplying independent garden centers nationwide. Direct peer because it competes for the same stockist relationships and serves the same end-gardener market via wholesale.
• PlantHaven International: Plant brand management and licensing company that manages proprietary plant collections globally, very similar business model to Ambrosia's licensed-propagation-plus-branded-marketing approach. Direct peer because both wrap marketing IP around breeder-licensed genetics for retail channels.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/people/Gardening-Solutionz/100088521346809/?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Instagraminstagram.com/gardening_solutionz
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ambrosia-nurseries-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Ambrosia Nurseries Limited