Petitti-owned Willowbend Nurseries acquires Herman Losely & Son

Willowbend Nurseries, LLC, owned by Angelo Petitti of Petitti Garden Centers (no. 2 on Garden Center magazine's Top 100 list), has purchased the assets of Herman Losely & Son, Inc. with the intent to continue their legacy under the Losely Nursery name. Willowbend now represents 2,000 acres of field production, 500 acres of container production, and 300 employees, all located in Lake County, Ohio and geographically positioned within a 500-mile radius of 75% of the North American market.

Losely Nursery's Facebook page shows the company's new name and logo.

Losely is a third-generation, family-owned business encompassing 1,200 acres of field production growing a diverse selection of more than 1,000 varieties of mostly woody ornamentals. Second-generation Willowbend provides a common thread of family ownership and specializes in bare-root trees and shrubs. Willowbend also owns and operates Ridge Manor Nurseries, recognized industrywide for its high-quality container plant production.

The aggregate of nurseries under the Willowbend umbrella is expected to deliver immediate benefits for landscape contractors, garden centers, and wholesale customers.

“With the combination of Losely to our family of companies, we are now a 2,500-acre, one-stop shop for bare-root, container, and balled-and-burlapped (B&B) trees and shrubs,” said Petitti. “Our quality bare-root plants from Willowbend and container plants from Ridge Manor, combined with the industry’s most well-respected and diverse, B&B varieties from Losely, greatly increases the selection available to all customers.”

Willowbend President Joe Allio, who is also son-in-law to Petitti, affirms additional benefits expected to be achieved through greater infrastructure at Losely.

“We’re committed to invest in new technology at Losely that’s consistent with what we’ve implemented at Willowbend and Ridge Manor over the past several years, and it will have an incredibly positive impact,” said Allio. “Adding that technology will enhance the quality of Losely’s product offerings and achieve efficiencies that are expected to result in consistent inventory, reliable supply, and an overall better value for customers.”

Editor's note: Watch for more on this acquisition in the March issue of Nursery Management. Click here to learn more about the technology in place at Willowbend Nurseries in our November 2018 cover story.