Stark Bro's Nurseries & Orchards Co. is a

horticultural Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

company based in

Louisiana, Missouri Louisiana is a city in Pike County, Missouri, United States. The population was 3,364 at the 2010 census. Louisiana is located in northeast Missouri, on the Mississippi River, south of Hannibal. Louisiana is located at the junction of State Ro ...

, that specializes in growing and selling fruit trees to home gardeners and orchardists. The company was the original marketer of the

Red Delicious Red Delicious is a variety of apple with a red exterior and sweet taste. Known as "the Reds" in the industry, this variety is the result of a chance seedling. It was first recognized in Madison County, Iowa, in 1872. Despite its name, it is not r ...

and

Golden Delicious Golden Delicious is a cultivar of apple. It is one of the 15 most popular apple cultivars in the United States. It is not closely related to Red Delicious. History Golden Delicious arose from a chance seedling, possibly a hybrid of Grimes ...

apples.

History

In 1816, James Hart Stark moved from Kentucky to

. He brought with him a bundle of apple scions. He started a nursery business from his bundle, officially incorporated in 1889. In 1893, Stark Bro's held their first International New Fruit Fair. Jesse Hiatt, who owned an orchard in Peru, Iowa, sent samples of his fruit to compete in the contest for the best new fruit. Hiatt's apples won the judging, but his nametag could not be found. He submitted samples of the same apple the following year and won again. This time there was a nametag, and the apples could be identified. The Stark brothers traveled to the Hiatt farm and bought the rights to the

apple in 1894. In 1914, the Stark

apple was discovered and developed. The original tree was found on the Mullins' family farm in

Clay County, West Virginia Clay County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,051. Its county seat is Clay. The county was founded in 1858 and named in honor of Henry Clay, famous American statesman, member of the Uni ...

and was locally known as Mullin's Yellow Seedling and Annit apple. Anderson Mullins sold the tree and propagation rights to Stark Bro's Nurseries & Orchards Co., which first marketed it as a companion to their

apple in 1914. They collaborated with

Luther Burbank Luther Burbank (March 7, 1849 – April 11, 1926) was an American botanist, horticulturist, and pioneer in agricultural science who developed more than 800 strains and varieties of plants over his 55-year career. Burbank primarily worked with ...

who willed over 750 of his varieties to the company. In June 2001, the possibility of closure to Stark Brothers Nurseries,

's oldest and largest employer, famous worldwide for the fruit trees it grew and sold, was a reality. However, the alarm was short-lived. By the fall of that year, Stark Bro's was back as two separate business Stark Bro's Fulfillment Services and Stark Brothers Nurseries and Orchards.

Presidents

*James Hart Stark *William Watts Stark *Clarence McDowell Stark *Edgar Winfred Stark *Clay Hamilton Stark *Edwin Jackson Stark *John Stark Logan *Clay Stark Logan *Cameron G. Brown

Current Operation

Stark Bro's has three main business areas: e-Commerce/Mail-Order, Wholesale, and the retail Garden Center. The operations include: *250 growing acres in Louisiana *427 growing acres in Atlas, IL *1 million cubic feet of climate-controlled warehouse space *1 million cubic feet of non-refrigerated work/storage area *1.7 million cubic feet of cold storage *5 acres of greenhouses *30,000 square feet of office space One million trees per year are shipped from Stark Bro's facilities.

References

Bibliography

External links

{{Commons category, Stark Brothers Nurseries and Orchards
Official WebsitePlants Nursery
Plant nurseries Pike County, Missouri