FIRST STEP GREENHOUSES, INC.

What FIRST STEP GREENHOUSES, INC. does

First Step Greenhouses, Inc. is a privately held wholesale young-plant propagator founded in 2000 and headquartered at 43315 Calle Rocinante, Temecula, California. The company specializes in the greenhouse cultivation of plugs and rooted liners — young plant material — across a broad taxonomic range: annual and perennials, cacti and succulents, herbs, houseplants, ornamental and California native grasses, landscape plants, roses (including Brindabella series), tropical plants, vegetables, and vines. Production leverages Southern California's climate (cool nights and warm sunny days) and the company operates a 52-week-per-year shipping capability with a live availability system on its website. Contract grow services extend the offering to custom sow, custom tissue culture propagation, and custom unrooted cutting propagation across multiple cell sizes and growing environments.

The business model is B2B wholesale, selling direct to professional growers and landscape professionals in the United States and Canada. Go-to-market is sales-led: customers order online or contact the sales team (toll-free 1-866 MYPLUGS) for quotes and custom orders. Pricing is unit-based on tray size (128, 144, 288, 50, 51 strip, 512, 72, 78 Oasis formats), publicly disclosed via a downloadable 2026 Plug & Liner Pricing PDF, with separate streams for one-time plant sales and professional contract-grow services.

A key element of the company's positioning is its portfolio of branded licensee and supplier partnerships: Suntory Flowers (Sun Parasol Mandevilla and related ornamentals, with First Step as dedicated licensee/liner producer), Dummen (complete Poinsettia genetics line across early, mid, and late season varieties), and Dig Plant Co (Tuffy Plant Collection of drought-tolerant ornamentals). These anchor programs — alongside a Cyclamen program and the broader product catalog — supply differentiated genetics to the wholesale channel. Marketing is conducted through the company website (plant search, featured varieties, availability), an email newsletter, and direct customer contact. The company has 11–50 employees and does not publicly disclose revenue, funding, or ownership structure; it appears to be independent and likely founder-owned.

Name

FIRST STEP GREENHOUSES, INC.

Legal name

First Step Greenhouses

Website

https://firststepgreenhouses.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

First Step Greenhouses is a Temecula, California wholesale propagator of plugs and rooted liners serving professional growers and landscape professionals across the US and Canada with year-round shipping and branded genetics partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wholesale Ornamental Plant Nursery

NAICS

Nursery and Floriculture Production (11142), Greenhouse, Nursery, and Floriculture Production (1114), Food Crops Grown Under Cover (11141), Other Food Crops Grown Under Cover (111419)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Propagation & Seedling/Plug Production (Vegetable Transplants, Tissue-Culture Liners) (AFAGAHAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Landscape Plant & Nursery Stock Wholesalers (Grower-Wholesalers) (AFAGAHAM), Greenhouse Floriculture (Cut Flowers) (AFAGAHAD)

Keywords

• Wholesale plant nursery
• Plugs and liners
• Greenhouse propagation
• Contract grow services
• Ornamental young plants

Headquarters

HQ city

Temecula

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Plant Plugs and Liners Sales: Wholesale production and sale of young plants including annual and perennial plugs and rooted liners to professional growers and landscape companies. Operates year-round with 52-week shipping capability.
2. Contract Growing Services: Custom sow, custom tissue culture propagation, and custom unrooted cutting propagation services for customers with specific growing needs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

First Step Greenhouses is a wholesale young-plant nursery specializing in the greenhouse propagation and sale of plugs and rooted liners across diverse categories including annuals, perennials, cacti and succulents, herbs, houseplants, landscape plants, ornamental and California native grasses, roses, tropical plants, vegetables, and vines. The company also operates contract grow services for custom sow, tissue culture propagation, and unrooted cutting propagation, with year-round 52-week shipping capability to professional growers and landscape companies.

Product overview

First Step Greenhouses is a plant propagation nursery offering a comprehensive portfolio of young plants as a single unified product line. The company's core offering consists of plugs and liners across diverse plant categories including annuals, perennials, cacti and succulents, herbs, houseplants, landscape plants, ornamental and California native grasses, roses, tropical plants, vegetables, and vines. These are complemented by specialized programs such as the Poinsettia Program (featuring Dummen genetics), Tuffy Plant Collection (drought-tolerant ornamentals), and Suntory Flowers (licensed Mandevilla and other ornamental varieties). The company also offers Contract Grow Services for custom propagation needs. All products are available through a live 52-week availability system with online ordering capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Annual & Perennial Plugs and Liners Young plant liners spanning annual and perennial varieties produced for professional growers who finish and resell them; supplied in multiple tray sizes for landscape and garden use.
• Cacti & Succulent Liners Drought-tolerant succulent and cactus young plants including Echeveria, Sedum, Sempervivum, and Crassula varieties sold wholesale to growers and landscapers.
• Herb Liners Culinary and ornamental herb young plants including basil, lavender, rosemary, thyme, mint, oregano, and parsley produced for commercial finishing.
• Houseplant Liners Indoor-growing young plants suited for production including Philodendron varieties and other houseplant starts.
• Landscape Plants Young landscape plants for commercial and residential landscaping applications supplied to landscape professionals.
• Ornamental & California Native Grass Liners Ornamental and California native grass varieties including Carex, Festuca, Muhlenbergia, Pennisetum, and Miscanthus produced as young liners.
• Rose Liners Rose young plants including Brindabella series varieties supplied to wholesale growers.
• Vegetable Liners Vegetable young plants including tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, and kale for produce growers.
• Vine Liners Vining plant young plants including Thunbergia varieties supplied to growers.
• Container Combination Plants Pre-configured container combination plant liners intended for patio and landscape finishing.
• Poinsettia Program Complete Poinsettia program including early, mid, and late season varieties in a full color range, sourced via partnership with Dummen for poinsettia genetics.
• Tuffy Plant Collection Drought-tolerant, low-maintenance ornamental varieties bred to address common landscape challenges for landscape professionals and homeowners.
• Suntory Flowers Program Licensed Suntory Flowers lineup including Sun Parasol Mandevilla and related ornamental varieties, propagated as liners under a dedicated licensee agreement.
• Contract Grow Services Custom propagation services including custom sow, tissue culture propagation, and unrooted cutting propagation across multiple cell sizes and growing environments for customer-specific needs.
• Plug & Liner Availability Service 52-week-per-year live availability system enabling customers to view and order current plug and liner inventory online.

Quantifiable outcome

• Ships 52 weeks per year with live availability tracking

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Suntory FlowerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDedicated licensee and liner producer for Suntory Flowers, including Sun Parasol Mandevilla Program and related ornamental flower varieties.
• DummencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupplier of complete Poinsettia line including early, mid, and late season varieties in full range of colors. Links to Dummen Poinsettia catalog for customer reference.
• Dig Plant Co (Tuffy Collection)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLicensed producer of Tuffy Plant Collection - tough, low-maintenance plant varieties specifically selected for landscape professionals and homeowners to solve common landscape challenges.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Ball Seed: North America's largest wholesale distributor of seed and plug/liner young plants to professional growers. Direct competitor in plug/liner supply with overlapping customer base of greenhouse finishers and landscape professionals.
• Syngenta Flowers: Global breeder and producer of flower seeds and cuttings serving greenhouse growers. Overlaps with First Step in supplying young plant inputs to professional finishers, with shared genetics programs across ornamentals.
• Pacific Plug & Liner: California-based wholesale producer of plugs and liners serving professional growers. Most direct geographic and product peer, competing on similar young plant categories to West Coast finishers.
• Pleasant View Gardens: New Hampshire-based wholesale grower producing Proven Winners liners and finished plants. Directly comparable wholesale young plant supplier serving growers and landscape professionals.
• Proven Winners: Branded ornamental plant network supplying liners to wholesale growers and finished plants to retail garden centers. Comparable in the wholesale plug/liner channel serving landscape and retail growers.
• Suntory Flowers: Breeder and licensor of ornamental varieties including Mandevilla — directly comparable as a young plant genetics and liner producer while also being a First Step partner.
• Gro 'n Sell: Pennsylvania-based wholesale plug and liner producer serving professional growers. Comparable mid-sized B2B young plant supplier with similar product breadth and grower customer base.
• Dummen Orange: Global ornamental breeder and producer of young plants including Poinsettias — directly competing with First Step in the wholesale liner space while also being a genetics partner.
• Four Star Greenhouse: Michigan-based liner producer and exclusive grower for select Proven Winners genetics. Direct competitor in wholesale liner supply to growers and landscapers across North America.
• Wagner Greenhouses: Midwest wholesale young plant producer specializing in plugs and rooted liners for growers and landscapers. Comparable scale and B2B wholesale model to First Step.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/first-step-greenhouses-inc.

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 FIRST STEP GREENHOUSES, INC.