March 2025 Grower News

Celebrating a centennial anniversary with De Vroomen Garden Products By Sophie Collins

Jacobus Theodorus De Vroomen, born into a family of bulb growers in the Netherlands, continued his family’s tradition of working in horticulture by founding De Vroomen Garden Products in 1925. Once a small family business, De Vroomen Garden Products rapidly grew when Jac’s three sons, Hugo, Ben and Dick De Vroomen, joined the company in 1949 to further its growth. By 1961, subsidiaries of De Vroomen Garden Products were established in the U.S. and Canada. 

Now, the company has an 80,000-square-foot warehouse in Gurnee, Illinois; a 12,000-square-foot warehouse in Florence, Kentucky; and a 16,000-square-foot warehouse in Niagara Falls, Ontario; along with a vast supplier business model and employees in multiple countries. 

De Vroomen Garden Products supplies Dutch bulbs, seeds and other horticulture products to landscapers, garden centers and professional growers in the U.S. and Canada. The company produces more than 15 million bare root perennials and spring-flowering bulbs annually, with tulips and peonies comprising the largest percentage. The vast majority of products are sourced and shipped from the Netherlands. 

Since the company’s inception, Darwin tulips have been De Vroomen Garden Products’ top sellers. In 2024, astilbe was the best-selling spring genus, while tulips and daffodils were strong performers for fall sales. Astilbe ‘Little Vision in Pink,’ tulip blend ‘Golden Parade’ and daffodil mix ‘All Spring’ were among the top sellers. 

100 YEARS 

Celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2025, De Vroomen Garden Products will host global festivities such as the Bloemencorso Bollenstreek Flower Parade, taking place April 12 in the Netherlands. The company is participating in this Dutch tradition by having a car in the parade, which starts in Noordwijk, Netherlands, and continues through six towns, ending in Haarlem, Netherlands. De Vroomen Garden Products also is an exhibitor of the stunning Keukenhof tulip garden in Lisse, Netherlands, and will have signage throughout the garden to celebrate its centennial anniversary. North American celebrations will include illuminating Niagara Falls in the company’s iconic purple and green colors and hosting a commemorative event at its Gurnee location for customers and representatives. 

Two special varieties have been launched in honor of the anniversary: Centennial tulip blend Marcy, a vibrant mix of lily-flowering and double tulips, and ‘Centennial Peony’ featuring large, fragrant white blooms contrasting beautifully against dark-green foliage. 

COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY AND INNOVATION 

De Vroomen Garden Products has worked closely with breeders and finishing growers over the past century to offer customers the most desirable varieties. The company differentiates itself for retail operations by offering special varieties in the largest sizes available. De Vroomen Garden Products also sources products internationally to offer a complete range of flowering bulbs and seed options, creative gardening collections and growing kits, and other options for their customers. Sustainability remains a cornerstone of De Vroomen Garden Products’ operations. The company uses biobased retail packaging made entirely from renewable and natural materials. 

“Our goal is the healthy development of the production and export of flower bulbs and perennials,” said Joris Philippo, general manager of De Vroomen Garden Products’ Holland office. “We always aim for fair and caring social and environmental policies.” 

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES 

One key issue De Vroomen Garden Products faced in 2024 was a lack of plant material availability in the Netherlands as a result of the poor weather conditions. Thanks to an extensive grower network and direct relationships with growers and farms, the company successfully navigated the shortages, yielding a positive supply chain for customers. 

Additionally, labor unrest among North American seaport workers during fall 2024 presented logistical challenges, which De Vroomen Garden Products overcame by air-freighting products typically transported by sea. 

“The top lessons we’ve learned in 2024, and throughout the past century, is the importance of staying ahead of challenges and trends, as well as valuing customer feedback,” Philippo said. The company’s sales team maintains close connections with customers to ensure the company’s product lines evolve with market demands and provide consistent inventory on time and on budget. 

LOOKING AHEAD 

Technology upgrades are part of De Vroomen Garden Products’ 2025 plan for success. The company’s leadership team will be launching a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that will continue to streamline its ability to satisfy supply and shipping demands. Its customers will also have access to a new and improved online customer purchasing site that will simplify and expedite orders. 

In 2025, De Vroomen Garden Products looks forward to continuing to serve its current customer base with programs and collections that focus on quality, price and timely delivery along with expanding within the landscape, garden center and grower markets. Additionally, the company is expanding its product range, which currently includes Miffy and Sesame Street merchandise to introduce the younger generation to gardening. 

SESAME STREET COLLECTION 

The Sesame Street Collection, developed in collaboration with Philos, De Vroomen Garden Products’ educational and creative product division, is a one-ofa-kind product line created to educate children about gardening, sustainability and nature. The collection includes products such as gardening kits, tools, games and activities for children, and the inaugural spring 2025 launch features eight Sesame Street-themed products: 

• Sunflower Plant Game, inspired by Big Bird 
• Biodegradable Pot Kit, inspired by Abby Cadabby
• Wooden Tray Gardening Kit, inspired by Abby Cadabby 
• Seed Paper Confetti Packet, inspired by Sesame Street 
• Wildflower Seed Paper Bookmark, inspired by Sesame Street characters, including Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Elmo, Grower and Oscar the Grouch 
• Seed Bomb in a Box, inspired by Sesame Street 
• Ceramic Pot Kit, inspired by Cookie Monster 
• Pumpkin Cultivating Kit, inspired by Cookie Monster 

Additional products within the collection and other new lines are set to launch, beginning this fall. Learn more at devroomen.com.

Photos courtesy of De Vroomen Garden Products.