630 Miles 
Of Hardy Plants 
Grown on Soil 
Millions of Years Old 
A MILLION or so years ago, Lake Erie’s Ohio banks 
were not where they are now, but miles farther in¬ 
land. Two recessions occurring a long time ago exposed 
the seven different soils of that section, so eminently 
suited for nursery products. 
It is in these seven distinctly different soils, of the old 
lake bottom, that Wayside Gardens are producing yearly 
such quantities of plants that, if set 6 inches apart, would 
make a continuous row 630 miles long. 
It’s by far the largest hardy plant nursery in the world. 
Great care is taken in growing the plants in the particular 
one of the seven soils in which they best thrive. 
Each soil has been carefully analyzed by scientific experts. 
Nothing is left to guesswork. No needless time and money 
are spent by this great firm in soil experimenting. They 
started with definite proven facts, which you at once 
sense is one of the reasons for Wayside Gardens’ out¬ 
standing reputation for highest-quality stock. 
Another reason is their absolute ruthlessness in plough¬ 
ing under or totally discarding any and all plants that 
do not come up to their high pedigree standards. They 
select and breed plants with the same care that is taken 
with dogs, horses and cattle. 
Not so long ago, 30 acres in all were entirely stripped 
and replanted, just because for reasons beyond their con¬ 
trol the plants were not up to standard. 
You get some idea of the magnitude of this firm’s opera¬ 
tions, on learning that they have an annual production 
of over six million plants, in two thousand different vari¬ 
eties. It’s a regular thing for them to have 300,000 Phlox, 
125,000 Oriental Poppies, 200,000 Delphiniums and so on. 
They have recently increased their propagating depart¬ 
ment by adding five Lord &C Burnham greenhouses, 
equipped with Richmond concrete benches. Each of these 
houses is connected to a brick head house, which is the 
last tvord in up-to-date arrangement and equipment. 
In their thirteen houses, are grown each year over three 
million young plants, which during spring and fall are 
moved into fields for further development. Some three 
and one-quarter million are grown from divisions or seed 
not receiving preliminary greenhouse treatment while in 
their juvenile stage. In addition to all their plant busi¬ 
ness, Wayside is known as the largest single importer of 
top-quality tulips and rare and unusual bulbs. They have 
been the introducer of many of the finest things in 
bulbdom. 
Getting back again to plants, new varieties are constantly 
being developed. Two outstanding recent ones are Phlox 
Columbia and Barberry Mentorensis. 
They are working hand and glove with M. H. Horvath, 
in connection with his new hardy roses, which have great 
sturdiness and resistance to unusually low temperatures. 
Six of these hybrid roses will be introduced extensively 
next spring. Several more are under observation and 
expected to be ready in the next two years. 
Wayside was the first nursery to ship its plants by air¬ 
plane to Hawaii on the Clipper ship. Extensive shipments 
are made to India, China and many of the European 
countries. One of their good buyers, believe it or not, is 
the chief of an African tribe. 
Take time off and visit this great Wayside Gardens con¬ 
cern at Mentor, Ohio, as I just have. You will come 
away with a new conception of the nursery business, and 
a new stimulation for your own. 
The above article is a reprint from 
The Florists' Review, August 18, 1938. 
