Ball Rebuilds California Breeding Station

Chris Beytes

Remember Waller Flowerseed Company out in Guadalupe, California? Great little seed company, owned for a while by Colegrave Seeds. When Ball bought Colegrave in 2001, with it came Waller and Waller’s genetics (Sorbet violas, Mediterranean vinca, Vintage stock, among others).

With it also came the Guadalupe offices and greenhouses, which Ball has been using for seed breeding and production support. But the office facilities were … well, let’s just say the crusty old building was harboring a fair bit of wildlife.

No longer. Ball has bulldozed the old and in its place erected a state-of-the-art breeding and seed storage facility rivaling any anywhere, giving the breeders, technicians and staff based there a much better work environment.

Best of all, the architecture is described as “where farming meets science.” In the lobby is a bit of a museum to display some of the artifacts of Waller’s long history in the seed industry.

Guadalupe will continue to work in conjunction with all of Ball’s other breeding locations around the U.S. and the world.

As for the greenhouses, they’ve been maintained and upgraded, but aren’t yet slated for replacement. GT