Miracle-Gro usually refers to a

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

products

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create ...

licensed by OMS Investments Inc. made by

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, where O.M. Scott began selling lawn seed in 1868. The company manufactures and sells consumer lawn, garden and pest control products, an ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and Evergreen Garden Care Ltd in the UK.

History

Miracle-Gro, a water-soluble

fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

, was developed after

Horace Hagedorn Horace Hagedorn (1915 – 2005) was an advertising executive, businessman and philanthropist, who was co-founder of the Miracle-Gro brand, with Otto Stern. He eventually bought out the 50% interest of Stern. Biography Horace Hagedorn was born o ...

met nurseryman Otto Stern and learned of Stern's troubles shipping plants in 1944. They hired O. Wesley Davidson, a

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

professor, to develop the fertilizer. In 1950, the company was formed after Hagedorn's wife Peggy named the product. Hagedorn is largely credited with the company's success due to his effective marketing employing advertisements in various media and working with emerging hardware chains. However, he maintained the company was "in the right place at the right time". In 1963, he became the company's first full-time salesman. He bought out Stern in the 1980s. In 1995, the company merged with

Scotts Scotts or Scott's may refer to: Businesses and brands *Scott's (restaurant), in London *Scott's Food & Pharmacy, an American supermarket chain *Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, an American multinational corporation *Scott's Porage Oats, a Scottish bre ...

for $200 million in stock, creating the world's largest maker of lawn and garden products, and making Hagedorn the majority investor with 42% of the company and 3 of 11 board seats. Hagedorn's son Jim became CEO and chairman of the merged company. His father retired from Miracle-Gro in 1997. Co-founder Otto Stern was the uncle of noted historian

Fritz Stern Fritz Richard Stern (February 2, 1926 – May 18, 2016) was a German-born American historian of German history, Jewish history and historiography. He was a University Professor and a provost at New York's Columbia University. His work focused ...

. In ''The Five Germanys I Have Known,'' Fritz Stern mentions his "very rich cousin Otto, who invented Miracle-Gro".

References

External links

Miracle-Gro website
Gardening {{horticulture-stub

History

See also

References

External links