Weeks Roses

General Discussion
1

I just received this news release. I don’t know who wrote it:

Gardens Alive Purchases Weeks Roses in Bankruptcy Auction

In a bankruptcy auction held in Wilmington, Delaware, on May 16, IGP Acquisition, a newly formed company under common ownership and control with an affiliated group of companies that includes Gardens Alive! purchased the assets of International Garden Products, including its subsidiaries Weeks Wholesale Rose Grower and Iseli Nursery, Inc. IGP Acquisition is owned by Niles Kinerk, who allegedly started Gardens Alive! in his kitchen and garage in the early 1980

2

I notice that Gardens Alive is privately owned. I wonder where they are getting the money to gobble up all these other companies? As a former oil and gas employee I don’t like seeing the big guys swallow up the little guys because you end up with a BIG OIL type Horticulture business.

3

I had already feared that. The product side of this is already at that stage (Scotts), and they command the majority of space. Companies like Spectricide, Whitney Farms, and Lily Miller (and some others) compete to a point, but not at the level Scotts does (they umbrella a massive range of products under various names like Vigoro).

4

I wonder if Tom is looking for a new job…

5

Probably. With Keith having to live in Ohio (what a pit after living in Thousand Oaks!) and doing breeding for them, just how many breeders do they need/want?

6

Tom and Ping should get together. Kidding…

Im anxious to see how the future of roses folds out now. Oddly enough, its the Bailey roses that sell out immediately this year. I think by dropping the price point of 2G own-roots in bloom was a grand idea. Its similar to the way Knock Outs are done. I have also noticed that the price point of Knock Outs dropped too. On the other hand, Flower Carpet prices have not seemed to change, and I am noticing fewer of them for sale. I am seeing a lot of Red Carefree Delight, though, as far as landscape roses go.

7

Sometimes I think that in the United States the rose industry is headed to a future where almost all roses coming out will be breed in Europe instead.