Features

Some changes were hard. For example, while the sales volume for bedding plants was soaring in the 1980s, the demand for foliage plants dropped off, and the Huntingtons reluctantly decided to give them up. "Foliage was taking up valuable space we needed, so we made the decision to get out of it," Jeff explains. But Jon observes, somewhat wistfully, "I enjoyed the foliage. We used to do a trailer and a half a week in foliage from Florida."

The Huntingtons were always looking for exciting plants to add to the Pleasant View catalog, and in the mid-1980s they came across some new introductions that were really special. They were hybrid varieties of New Guinea impatiens, developed primarily by German plant breeder Ludwig Kientzler. His patented selections came from cuttings rather than seeds, and only growers licensed by Kientzler could propagate them. They were the first patented plants to be widely distributed by the nursery industry, and they were an immediate hit with gardeners.

In 1992, Henry got together with Kientzler and the owners of two other nurseries, one in California and one in Michigan, to create a partnership that would seek out and develop other new patented plants for U.S. gardens. The partnership was launched under the name Proven Winners. "The idea was to introduce exceptional new plants that are easy to grow, that would be successful for both the growers and the homeowners, and that would grow almost anywhere in the U.S.," Henry says. "We started out with four varieties, and from there it just exploded."

Today Proven Winners is the biggest brand in the nursery industry and a name familiar to every dedicated gardener. The company has introduced some 400 plant selections over the past 17 years, of which 250 are currently available at garden centers throughout the country. A complementary brand, Proven Selections, includes some 400 regional-favorite flower varieties. At the retail level, sales of Proven Winners and Proven Selections total more than a half-billion dollars a year.

In retrospect, Henry thinks that becoming part of Proven Winners was the single most important business decision he and his family have made. "It has become the crux of our business, but that wasn't something we could foresee at the time. We just realized that it was an opportunity, and we took it," he says.

Proven Winners plants are exceptional in a number of ways. Not only are they specifically selected for superior flowering, growth habit and disease resistance, but they are rigorously tested at trial stations around the country to make certain they will perform well under a wide range of conditions. Of some 3,200 plants tested for introduction next year, Jeff says, only about 20 will be good enough to make it into the catalog.

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