WEST CHICAGO, IL – Ball Horticultural Company has acquired Dutch perennials company Darwin Plants. The agreement combines Darwin’s specialty expertise in perennials with Ball’s extensive capabilities in research, production, sales, marketing and customer service, giving perennial growers around the world more access to the comprehensive, creative range of perennials and shrubs for which Darwin Plants is known.

“One of our goals is for Ball to be known as a perennial company,” says Anna Ball, President & CEO of Ball Horticultural Company. “Adding Darwin Plants to our offering means our customers benefit from specialized expertise and even more innovative products. We’re looking forward to an exciting future of providing growers with the best perennials and shrubs on the market.”

Darwin Plants co-presidents Gary Vanburen and Hans Witteman see the acquisition as a very positive move forward for the industry. “This combines the strengths of both companies and allows Darwin Plants to focus on what we do best: keeping the market fresh by continually sourcing new perennial varieties from around the world,” Witteman says. “We see this as a fantastic opportunity to really keep the market stimulated by applying Ball Horticultural Company’s sales and marketing capabilities to our products.”

The company will continue to operate under the name Darwin Plants with its existing management and staff. As part of Ball Horticultural Company, Darwin Plants will maintain its focus on scouting for and promoting new and unique perennial varieties while continuing operations with its existing range of more than 1,000 perennials available as bareroot or young plants. As it does currently, Darwin will distribute all of its products from its base in Hillegom, The Netherlands.

Ball Horticultural Company is an internationally renowned breeder, producer and wholesale distributor of ornamental plants. A family-owned business since it was founded in 1905, Ball has introduced many innovative, award-winning varieties to the world of horticulture, including the Wave^® petunia family; Dazzler^® and Super Elfin^® impatiens; and Fiesta™ double impatiens. The company offers Simply Beautiful^® and Circle of Life™ programs exclusively for independent garden centers. Ball has worldwide production, sales and marketing through its many subsidiaries on six continents. For further information, log on to ballhort.com.