Baucom’s Nursery: Diversify for success

Founded in 1947, Charlotte, N.C.-based Baucom’s Nursery is now being led by both the second and third generation of owners. The nursery is 40 percent floriculture and 60 percent woody ornamentals with sales going to big-box stores, rewholesalers, landscape contractors and independent garden centers. With the big boxes leaning more on the sales of branded products, Baucom’s made changes to satisfy that market need. Eric Baucom, the nursery’s vice president, says that it’s an investment that requires patience.

“The first year is a particularly expensive investment getting into the program,” Baucom explains. “But as you go down the road, by year three you begin to see a return. In the meantime, you have to anticipate that downtime.”

Branded material isn’t something the nursery had always anticipated doing. In fact, Baucom says that the nursery looks completely different in the last five years with the transition toward growing more branded products.

“Customer demand directed us here,” Baucom says. “But now we’re trying to maximize the revenue we can get out of our square footage. For us that has meant outsourcing more of the commodity type of products and growing more branded material in-house.”

Investing in more branded material has meant a larger upfront cost—mostly in paying for higher quality pots and liners. But as the nursery builds stock and continues to transition into this new phase, it’s beginning to see the benefits.

“We’ve recently begun seeing the benefits of growing Encore Azaleas,” Baucom says. “You just have to be willing to make that upfront investment, knowing you will see the ROI down the road.”

For more: www.baucomsnursery.com