Our Company

The Beginning

In 1816, James Hart Stark and a small band of pioneers moved from Kentucky and settled on the western banks of the Mississippi in a place that would later become Louisiana, Missouri. With him, Stark brought a bundle of apple scions from his family orchard in Hutchison. From this bundle grew a thriving nursery business which became the world famous Stark Bro's Nurseries and Orchards Co.

By carefully selecting and propagating only the best varieties, James Stark started a tradition in horticultural excellence. This work of quality and excellence led to an association with famed plant wizard Luther Burbank. He personally selected Stark Bro's to carry on his work and willed over 750 varieties to the company. Today, Stark Bro's holds exclusive propagation rights to many patented varieties of fruit. Paul Stark Sr., in fact, was instrumental in writing U.S. legislation creating plant patents in the 1930s., and Stark Bro's continues to utilize those laws in developing their own new varieties. Through a dedication to quality, Stark Bro's has gained world leadership as a developer and promoter of outstanding fruit varieties. The most famous of these are the Stark Red Delicious Apple from 1893 and the Stark Golden Delicious Apple from 1914.

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