History

.: History :.

August Cornelius, our founder, began production of greenhouse and field grown vegetables on this site in 1901. The original glass greenhouse covered 4,000 square feet, supporting tomato production. As the facilities expanded, the vegetable assortment also expanded to include cucumbers, lettuce, watercress, radishes, and tomatoes. The fresh produce was marketed locally. The entire family worked in the business. When a recent immigrant, J. Emil Wagner, joined the company, he developed a love for both the business and for August’s daughter, Johanna. Emil and Johanna were married and took the helm of the greenhouses in 1931.

Emil and Johanna Wagner continued the tradition of supplying fresh produce to the rapidly growing Minneapolis area. The greenhouses and fields continued to expand and their son, Rich, became involved in the business. After returning home from the service in 1955, Rich met his future wife Nola. Rich and Nola were married in 1956, and Nola joined the family business.

Emil had grown a few petunias, but Rich and Nola really introduced the business to flowers, starting with geraniums in 1957. The geraniums were initially produced from cuttings shipped in from California. For a time, Rich and Nola grew stock plants, but preferred the ease of the California-produced cuttings. Vegetable production also continued. Most of the vegetables and flowers were sold through the farmer’s markets. However, the “retail” business was also starting to emerge at this time, as neighbors approached the Wagners for both fresh produce and beautiful flowers.

Rich and Nola incorporated in 1967. By then, retail sales of bedding plants had expanded into a full-scale garden center. The garden center featured Wagners’ geraniums and bedding plants and was open only during the spring season. In addition to the garden center, flowers and vegetables were sold at the farmers’ markets and through wholesale channels. Rich and Nola’s sons, Ron and Scott, were also being introduced to the business during this time.

As Ron Wagner completed his horticulture degree at the University of Minnesota under Dr. Dick Widmer, he introduced the company to a relatively new production technique: plugs. Plugs were initially used for internal production, replacing the old open-seeded trays. As Ron perfected his growing methods, several of the brokers became interested in selling the product. Meanwhile, the garden center expanded into the winter holiday market with retail poinsettia sales in 1984.

The 1980s and 1990s were a time of great expansion to support our growth, both in retail and the emerging young plant division. We added production space on Penn Avenue to bring our total covered space to 4.5 acres in Minneapolis. We also added warehouse space and remodeled our offices. It was also during this time that we became highly automated and integrated computers and complex production software into our business. Our latest acquisition, a growing range 30 miles northeast of Minneapolis in Hugo, and expansion on that property, has resulted in 3.5 acres of additional production space.

Wagner’s joyfully celebrated our 100th anniversary in 2001 with continued growth. Our garden center on Penn is now open year round. We opened a second garden center at our Hugo location. Wholesale young plants have grown to account for approximately 75% of total revenue. Our young plants are shipped nationwide through a multitude of different brokers. Nola Wagner is still actively involved in the business. Ron continues to oversee production and our young plant business. Scott has taken on the responsibility of managing the facilities and new construction.

As our facilities and product lines continue to evolve, two things will remain the same: 1) we will remain dedicated to emphasizing clean, disease free products and greenhouses and 2) our staff will continue to be most willing to be helpful to customers, sales people, and brokers with their questions and orders.

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