Our Story

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.

Stark Bro's continues to operate in the tradition of the past 190 years. Our president’s father was instrumental in setting up the Stark Garden Center in Louisiana. Stark trees have been grown on their family farm for many years and continue to be grown there today.

In the Stark tradition, new and innovative products continue to be introduced through the Stark Bro’s catalog and web site, including the new Stark Kwik Krop™ Fruit Tree, the quickest bearing trees ever offered. Most of Stark Bro’s Custom Grafts and some fruit and nut trees are grown in “bottomless” pots to naturally air prune the roots, creating a dense mass that transplants and establishes quicker, eliminating loss due to transplanting, accelerating rate of growth and inducing early flowering and fruiting.

Stark Mother Lode™ Berries are cloned from the tissue of only the finest, most productive mother plants. All are uniform in size, shape, quality and growth patterns, certified disease and virus free and potted to keep the root system intact.

Stark Bro’s intends to be at the forefront of the industry in innovation and productivity. You can look forward to many years of new Stark products to meet your fruit tree, small fruit, nut and landscaping needs in the future. As we move into this new century, look for us. We will be there.