<b>Trees, Ornamental & Bedding Plant:</b> Contractor's Choice

Editors’ note: Lawn & Landscape readers spend more than $3 billion every year on plant materials – everything from seasonal color change-outs to giant tropical trees. Each month, we catch up with some of the biggest companies in the industry to ask them what plants they like to buy, what producers they work with and what makes them go back to those same suppliers year after year.

Getting Plants Fast
Buyer, Complete Landsculpture, Dallas

Business split: 75 percent design-build/install, 25 percent maintenance; 40 percent residential, 60 percent commercial

Employees: Peaks around 100

Revenue: $14 million

Typical annual spend on plant materials: $1.5 million

Which three plants do you most commonly recommend for installations?
Our designers use a lot of Flower Carpet roses. Mainly because people like them. The designers do a lot of Southwesterny designs, and the Flower Carpets tend to fit into those designs well. We also use a lot of big Nellies (‘Nellie R. Stevens’ holly), 65 gallons and bigger as both screens and focal points. And, of course, Knock Out roses. We use tons of them, just like everybody else.

Where do you buy your plants?
Distribution centers and direct from growers.

Why do you buy them there?
“We tend to go to Louisiana (growers) for full loads of stock plants, and we try to pick up everything else as we need it. Our designers don’t often give me a lot of time to source material out. We buy all our color from local growers, and I’d guess we spend around $100,000 on annuals every color change-out season.