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GREENHOUSES
Providing for year-round production
COOLER SPACE
Optimal for post-harvest care
WAREHOUSE SPACE
Packing, shipping and in-house bulb storage
FIELD PRODUCTION
Taking advantage of each location's unique climate
ANNUAL PRODUCTION
Working to meet Sun Valley's customers' needs
TEAM MEMBERS
Passionately committed to grow the best flowers
MAJOR CROPS
Lilies, Irises, Tulips, Gerbera, Delphinium, Matsumoto Asters, Hypericum, Cotinus
STARGAZER
The Stargazer Lily was hybridized on The Sun Valley Groups Arcata farm location. Dr Leslie Woodriff, in 1974, developed what has now become the most popular oriental lily in the world, the Stargazer lily. Since the introduction of the Stargazer, Sun Valley produces Stargazers with a more intensely colored red bloom distinguishing the Sun Valley stargazer from the competition.
Stargazer blooms are dark pinks to reds with delicate white edges and dark freckling. The Stargazer offers a generous bloom size and a delightful fragrance.
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THE SUN VALLEY GROUP, INC, one of the largest flower growing operations in the United States, grew from small beginnings in Myrtle Point, Oregon. A high school Agriculture teacher and one of his students founded the farm with five acres of irises and a few rows of daffodils.
The business grew and purchased an additional farm location in Arcata, California in 1969, naming the new location Sun Valley Bulb Farm. The cool coastal climate and fertile soil proved to be an excellent place to grow bulb flowers and seasonal field crops. Sun Valleys business expanded with the hybridizing of oriental lilies such as the well-known Stargazer. Demand for Sun Valleys flowers, especially bulb flowers grew rapidly and in 1984 the farm saw completion of its first Dutch glass greenhouse. Sun Valley could now offer lilies year round.
For seven years Sun Valley continued to grow, developing a reputation for high quality cut flowers. In 1991, the current owners of The Sun Valley Group, Inc, purchased the assets of the Arcata operation, changing the name from Sun Valley Bulb Farm to Sun Valley Floral Farms, which has become a nationally recognized floral brand.
Focusing on producing the best quality in cut bulb flowers, Sun Valley continued to build a positive reputation and demand for the flowers spread. In 1995 Sun Valley bought a farm near Johannesburg, South Africa, that operates as Sun Valley Africa. Sun Valley Africa produces and ships flowers to the Far East, Middle East, Europe and the East Coast US market.
By 1996, the farm had become a national leader in Lilies, Irises and Tulips. Sun Valley expanded with a smaller Northern California farm in Del Norte County on the Smith River. The location's slightly cooler microclimate is excellent for producing florist-quality iris and hydrangea.
1999 was a busy time for Sun Valley as it acquired the 210-acre Simpson Lumber property, adjacent to the Arcata farm and returned 20 acres of blacktop to its previous state - farmland. Sun Valleys administrative, sales and customer service teams moved into the newly remodeled office facility.
Sun Valley entered the bouquet market in 1999 with the creation of Sun Pacific Bouquet. With the extensive line of farm grown products from Sun Valley, Sun Pacific Bouquet offers Sun Valleys high standards in quality, freshness and varieties, conveniently prepared in exciting bouquets and bunches of popular flowers and foliages. Wholesale Florists can select among dozens of bouquets crafted for just the right fit to their local Retail Florist marketplace. Retail Florists add signature and style with a finishing touch, and readily delight their customers.
At about this time, Sun Valley also acquired a small farm in Willow Creek, California, about an hour drive through the low mountains east of the Arcata location. This farm produces unique crops for creative designs.
A few years later in 2001, Sun Valley acquired Pleasant Valley Flowers, Inc and Golden Coast Nurseries, with farms in Oxnard, California in the sunny Ventura valley. This enhanced Sun Valley's product line with another unique climate to grow existing bulb crops as well as new crop types, and added additional greenhouse capacity. The Sun Valley Group, Oxnard Division, currently produces Lilies, Irises, Gerbera, Germinis, Matsumoto Asters, and Delphinium as well as other seasonal crops.
In August 2003, Sun Valley Floral Farms, Pleasant Valley Flowers and Sun Pacific Bouquet became The Sun Valley Group, Inc. The Sun Valley Group offers a family of quality floral brands including the Sun Valley Floral Farms Brand, the Pleasant Valley Flowers Brand and the Sun Pacific Bouquet Brand, the Orchid, Sonata, Love and Royal Lilies Brands, and Redwood Grove French Tulips Brand. The Sun Valley Group currently grows flowers year-round in six production farm locations stretching across 750 miles of California, from the Oregon border to the southern central California coast.
The West Coast Evergreen Division was developed in 2005, adding a full line of high quality and fresh Pacific Northwest greens. West Coast Evergreen features a large line of year-round evergreen products, a delightful assortment of seasonal items and a lush line of Christmas greens for the holidays.
Under the current ownership, Sun Valley has grown to become one of the largest grower/distributors of cut flowers in the United States. Sun Valley ships to hundreds of customers throughout the country and in every major city. During normal seasons of the year, one to three semi-trailers filled with flowers leave Arcata six days per week, destined for Bay Area hubs and redistribution around the country. FedEx also carries Sun Valley product, on average days filling three or four of the small planes that can land at the local airport.
Daily, hundreds of Sun Valley team members work to produce the best flowers for their valued customers. The Sun Valley commitment is simple, to create the best floral experience through operational excellence!
Combining the Sun Valley commitment to quality control, state-of-the-art technologies, the best bulb and flower stock, superb growing conditions, and a workforce of dedicated team members, Sun Valley brings flowers to market, Creating a World of Color.
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