Our History

The nursery has had a long history as a stable and successful family business. Founded in 1911 by Frederick Aichele, Carolina Floral Nurseries blossomed into a diverse operation, including a 400-acre farm in Moncks Corner, SC. The Aicheles originally grew B&B shrubs but eventually converted to container shrub production, with azaleas and hollies as the primary crops. The nursery grossed nearly $1 million annually when the family sold it in 1978.

The purchaser, American Garden Cole Inc., already owned large nurseries in Ohio and Mississippi. Cole boasted strong sales, numerous plant patents and considerable assets. Its parent company, the Boston-based American Garden Products Inc., was an early proponent of vertical integration - not only growing ornamentals, bedding plants and turf but also running a horticultural distribution business.

The nursery industry had come roaring out of the mid 70’s recession. Major public corporations were taking a closer look. With American Garden Products presented as a tempting takeover target; Amfac Inc. of Honolulu, acquired it in 1980.

This corporate giant had founded its own horticulture group three years earlier by purchasing an Oregon B&B nursery. The Cole nurseries, including the one in Moncks Corner, were an important part of Amfac's national marketing plan.

Amfac pumped capital into the nurseries. The Moncks Corner facility, which had expanded to 572 acres, got a $4 million facelift. Most of the money went for grading, piping and filling acres of new gravel container beds. Some materials, like steel for 3 acres of shade frames, came from the Cole Mississippi nursery, which Amfac had closed.

The corporation was producing tremendous quantities of plants in the early '80s when a deep recession set in. Building starts and landscape jobs dried up. Price slashing and plant dumping were rampant. An unexpected freeze devastated the inventory in 1983. The following February, after several reorganizations, Amfac announced its planned divestiture of the money-losing horticulture group.

Myron Du Bain, Amfac's president at the time, concluded, "Horticulture has proven to be ... a series of small businesses that we do not believe to be conducive to effective corporate management."

The Carolina property went up for sale. Amfac had publicly stated its commitment to "selling nurseries as ongoing businesses and preserving jobs." Some parts of the horticulture group had already been sold to its employees.

Eight current employees at the Moncks Corner facility ultimately agreed to invest in the new company, putting up personal resources for proportional amounts of stock. All under the age of 40, none of whom had ever owned businesses before, were betting that they could turn the operation around. They would be responsible for a huge facility and a labor force peaking at 240.

With the help of an outside attorney, the team set up a new corporate charter and submitted a successful bid for the nursery. They closed the deal with Amfac on Aug. 31, 1984 -- and Carolina Nurseries, as we know it today, was born and began operations the following day.


The Early Years...

The first year of operation was a challenging one, as the nursery was still recovering from the devastating freeze in the winter of 1983. But the determined group of new owner-operators persevered and Carolina Nurseries became a viable and profitable business.

At the inception, the plant pallet was somewhat limited, but typical of most Southern nurseries; Azaleas, Camellias, Ilex, Junipers, and Liriope. Over the years the plant selection has grown tremendously, and the facility has enlarged and developed to accomodate this growth.

As with any growing operation, Mother Nature can provide the biggest challenges to overcome. Ice Storms, freezing temperatures, and heavy rains have all been dealt with over the years. Without a doubt, the most significant event encountered was a direct hit from Hurricane Hugo in September of 1989. The resulting aftermath of the Category 4 hurricane took several months to repair. However, Carolina Nurseries emerged from this potentially devastating blow an even stronger organization.

Today Carolina Nurseries has established itself as a leader in the Horticulture Industry. The focus on new products has been a distinguishing feature of the nursery and has resulted in one of the most diverse product mixes available anywhere.