Chad & I had the pleasure of visiting Neve Brothers in Petaluma, California this week. I love visiting growers, pulling up to rows and rows of greenhouses and the anticipation of seeing what is growing inside. Neve Brothers is a TREAT! They have two locations in Petaluma and we visited the main area which has 400,000 square feet of greenhouses! Yes, 400,000 square feet!!!! Their other location has 100,000 square feet of greenhouses. Plus, every inch of the outside areas have plants growing. Nick showed us around the property and filled us in on the details. Nick’s grandfather started the family business in 1968. They sell from their location in Petaluma & have an space at the San Francisco Flower Mart. Plus, they do ship nationwide.
They grow roses, hydrangeas, large calla lilies, tulips, viburnum, lilac, stephanotis, ranunculus plus lots of green foliage including beautiful seeded eucalyptus.
The sign as we enter the Neve & Sons property:
Divine roses packaged and ready to go:
Roses on the work bench being processed from the greenhouses:
Rows & rows of beautiful roses:
Row of lilies with Stephanotis vine growing up the wall of the greenhouse:
An upclose shot of a beautiful spray rose. Nick told us that the spray roses are growing in popularity with the whole vintage look being popular with weddings. You may notice some of these photos look foggy. The green houses are kept very warm and humid for the roses.
Lovely peach spray rose:
I meant to ask Nick what variety this spray rose is but forgot (I had so many questions for him!). Looks to me like it’s related to a leonidas rose?
Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful! The most beautiful yellow spray rose I’ve ever seen:
Perfect dusty pink spray rose, now that’s a vintage looking rose!:
More photos from the greenhouses. They are currently prepping the crops for Valentine’s Day. Nick showed Chad & I how they work the bushes by bending over the stems of the weaker looking blooms and then they remove the blooms. This helps to gather nutrients through the remaining green leaves which goes into the plant and transfers to the stems of the stronger blooms.
The roses are grown hydroponically with a slight modification of adding in vermiculite. (Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil.)
This is how the bins look:
Rows of lilies:
Stickers ready to go on the work bench:
Roses ready to go. This walk in cooler was huge!:
The bunch of Avalanche roses I selected to buy:
Plus, a bunch of beautiful seeded eucalyptus to mix with my roses:
What I noticed last night when I processed the roses is how green the foliage is, strong stems, no strong pesticides covering my hands. I removed the guard petals and today they are opening up beautifully. I plan to keep a few of the roses in a vase and watch how they age. The other roses will be going into a centerpiece. š
Contact Information:
Neve Brothers
2645 Bodega Avenue
Petaluma, CA 94952-1602
(707) 778-2326
Space at San Francisco Flower Market
674 Brannon Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 495-6195
posted by Alicia
Why oh why don they have a web site????? I am stuck up here in Seattle without any vendor for garden roses or field grown roses
Melanie, I’m a bit surprised they don’t have a website. Looking at the search stats on flirtyfleurs.com I have a feeling a lot of people are looking for a website!
They really do have beautifully grown roses, you should call Nick or Chris for more information.
There is another garden rose grower in Petaluma, CA: http://www.gardenvalley.com/
They were closed while I was in town. Plus, it’s winter so the gardens weren’t in bloom. I will make another stop there this spring when I’m in CA again. I’ll be sure to post photos!
I love garden valley ranch roses in Petaluma. Yes their roses are field grown and have short lovely crooked stems which look so romantic in everything! I used to live near there and spent tons of time and money buying rose bushes.