Nursery Focus: Bracy's Nursery

Nursery Focus: Bracy's Nursery

Bracy's Nursery is One of the Largest and Most respected Wholesale Nurseries in Louisiana

Dr. Allen Owings

Located 70 miles north of New Orleans, Bracy’s Nursery was founded in 1986 by Randy and Regina Bracy. The company has grown from a modest U-Pick fruit farm into a multi-million-dollar operation with 130 employees on 240 acres. Today, Bracy’s grows and provides plants to around 600 independent retail garden centers and 500 professional landscapers in 11 southeastern states.

Dr. Allen Owings, who has a doctorate in horticulture from Mississippi State, is Bracy’s senior horticulturist. He joined the company in 2017 after retiring from a 26-year career at LSU AgCenter.

“Bracy’s wants to be the one-stop shop for retail garden centers and landscape contractors,” says Allen. “We know our customers on a first-name basis and try to make it easy for them to do business with us, and in turn easy to sell to their customers.”

Bracy’s provides anything from one-gallon flowers to three to seven-gallon shrubs and 15 to 30-gallon trees. They sell many branded items from Proven Winners and the Southern

Living Plant Collection as well as Drift and Knockout roses, Encore azaleas, and Endless Summer hydrangeas. Other popular plants include gardenias, loropetalums, distyliums, boxwoods and camellias, including the South’s number-one seller: the ShiShi Gashira camellia. Bracy’s sells natives and non-natives but no invasive plants.

We know our customers on a first-name basis and try to make it easy for them to do business with us, and in turn easy to sell to their customers

“We also have our programs like Rhapsody in Color, which is our flowering stock; Beneficial Blooms to attract hummingbirds, bees and butterflies; Tropical Paradise plants and foliage; and Backyard Oasis drought-tolerant shrubs,” says Allen. “These special programs are not something you see at every wholesale nursery.”

Bracy’s participates in plant trials alongside university cooperatives and plant developers. The nursery is currently working on a native dogwood study with the University of Tennessee to explore reasons for the extensive habitat loss of this native plant.

“Land grant universities are great about recommending certain plants to the average home gardener and landscape industry, plants that perform and are easier to care for, and are less susceptible to disease and insects,” says Allen. “The most well-known programs in the South are LSU’s SuperPlants, Texas A&M’s SuperStars and Mississippi Medallions through Mississippi State.”

Pollinators

Allen says even if your business isn’t located in these states but shares a similar climate, the plants are likely to be successful. He also encourages landscapers to purchase plant materials from local independent garden centers rather than big-box stores.

“Usually at independent garden centers you have a more knowledgable sales staff, more locally grown plants, and the right plant sold at the right season,” says Allen. “They’re more likely to work with the university’s department of agriculture or the state’s landscaping and nursery associations. And you’re supporting small local businesses, which are really the backbone of our economy.”

In February, a rare freeze impacted areas of the Deep South. Allen predicts a plant shortage this spring due to widespread damage of plant material at nurseries in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, and the northern parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

“We took a lot of precautions, moving plants inside and using frost protection blankets,” says Allen. “But the temperature for us ended up being four degrees warmer than projected, so we fared okay.”

This wasn’t the first time severe weather has threatened Bracy’s. In 2005, the nursery was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina, but wholesale nurseries in other parts of the state pitched in to help. Last year, not just one but two Category 4 hurricanes struck southwest Louisiana, about 200 miles from New Orleans. This time it was Bracy’s which reached out to help.

In times of need, we aren't competitors. That's just how out industry is. We're going to help everyone the best we can, in Louisiana and across state lines

“Louisiana’s area of Forest Hill near Alexandria is home to about 200 wholesale nurseries and many reported damage and lost power,” says Allen. “We sent as many generators as we could during their recovery. In times of need, we aren’t competitors. That’s just how our industry is. We’re going to help everyone the best we can, in Louisiana and across state lines.”

Allen believes belonging to a state’s nursery and landscaping association is important to foster those kinds of relationships. Bracy’s is a member of multiple Nursery and Landscape Associations, including those for Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama, as well as being a member of groups such as the Southern Nursery Association, the Arkansas Green Industry Association, and the Georgia Green Industry Association.

Bracy's Planting Tips

• When designing, consider the long-term maintenance

• Prepare your beds before planting

• Ensure you have plenty of room when planting trees

• Use the right plant in the right place

• Avoid planting ornamental shrubs too close together

• Buy from independent garden centers

Contact

Bracy’s Nursery

Amite, Louisiana

Tel: (800) 899–4716

www.bracys.com