Armstrong Growers Acquires Do Right’s Plant Growers

Chris Beytes

Armstrong Growers, a division of Armstrong Garden Centers Inc., has acquired the business assets of Do Right’s Plant Growers in Santa Paula, California. Do Right’s staff will now become part of the employee-owned, 126-year old Armstrong Garden Centers brand. The deal took effect June 1.

Why make the acquisition? And why Do Right’s? According to James Russell, vice president of Armstrong Growers, they’d outgrown their site in San Juan Capistrano and needed room for further growth.

“I knew we needed to be in a climate similar to what we have in San Juan Capistrano, so Ventura County was where I started the search,” he said.

Faced with the option of building from the ground up or acquiring an operating nursery, he contacted the owners of Do Right’s Nursery as a possible solution.

“Knowing the owners through friendly competition, I respectfully asked if they were interested in selling the business,” he said.

In the California market, Do Right’s and Armstrong Growers are two companies known as leaders that provide high quality and dedicated service to specialty retailers. Armstrong has a solid presence in Southern California, Arizona and Nevada. Do Right’s has a strong presence in both Northern and Southern California.

The two companies reached a deal that accomplished Armstrong’s need to expand and satisfied the desire of the Do Right’s owners to transition the business over to its employees. For Do Right’s owners, it allows them to retire after 44 successful years in business.

“The business has been a labor of love,” said Dudley Davis, owner and president of Do Right’s Plant Growers. “It will be great to see Armstrong Growers continue to operate on our property.”

Added his wife, Dianne, “James and the Armstrong team have been a pleasure to work with as we part with the business that has been our life for so many years. They were able to help us keep our wish to pass the business on to the great people that helped us build it.”

Armstrong Growers operates three growing facilities in California and one in Georgia. These sites will coordinate with the new site in Santa Paula. They’ll vacate its San Juan Capistrano site by the end of this summer and expand its Fallbrook facility to accommodate the move. GT