Scotts Miracle-Gro Company

File:Scotts Miracle Gro HQ Marysville1.jpg

Scotts was founded in 1868 by Orlando M. Scott as a premium seed company for the U.S. agricultural industry. In the early 1900s, the company began a lawn grass seed business for homeowners, and in 1924, became the first company to ship grass seed products directly to stores. Prior to 1924, Scotts products were only available through the mail.{{cite web|url=http://www.scottsmiraclegro.com/aboutus/history_popup.html|title=Scotts.com: About Us|publisher=The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company|access-date=September 19, 2007|archive-date=February 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110211211820/http://www.scottsmiraclegro.com/aboutus/history_popup.html|url-status=live}} By 1940, Scotts's sales had reached $1,000,000 and the company had 66 associates.

In 1971, privately owned O.M. Scott & Sons was purchased by ITT, an international business conglomerate. Fifteen years later, in 1986, Scotts became an independent company again through a leveraged buyout. In 1992, Scotts became a publicly traded company with an initial offering of $19.00 a share and three years later merged with Miracle-Gro, a gardening company, to create the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company.

During the 2012 United States presidential election, the company endorsed the election of Republican Party candidate Mitt Romney.{{cite web

|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/miracle-gro-goes-public-in-backing-romney

|title=Miracle-Gro goes public in backing Romney

|date=August 9, 2012

|access-date=July 6, 2015

|archive-date=September 24, 2015

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924115426/http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/miracle-gro-goes-public-in-backing-romney/

|url-status=live

}}

On January 27, 2012, Scotts Miracle-Gro pled guilty in federal court and paid $4.5 million in fines for selling 73 million units of bird seed between November 2005 to March 2008 that was coated with pesticide known to be deadly to birds and fish. Pesticides were added to protect the product from insects during storage, including Storcide II, that was clearly marked as extremely toxic to birds. Records show that Scotts Miracle-Gro's own experts warned of the risk in the summer and fall of 2007 but they continued to sell the product until March 2008. In 2008, Scotts Miracle-Gro also falsified pesticide registration numbers required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on its products.{{citation |url=https://eu.dispatch.com/story/news/environment/2012/01/27/scotts-to-pay-4-5/23362061007/ |title=Scotts to pay $4.5 million in fines over false paperwork, toxic birdseed |first=Spencer |last=Hunt |work=The Columbus Dispatch |location=Columbus, OH |date=January 27, 2012 |access-date=October 1, 2022 |archive-date=August 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825085459/https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/environment/2012/01/27/scotts-to-pay-4-5/23362061007/ |url-status=live }}

On September 7, 2012, a federal court ordered Scotts to pay a $4 million fine and perform community service for 11 criminal violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). In a separate agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency, Scotts agreed to pay more than $6 million in penalties and spend $2 million on environmental projects. According to the Justice Department, both the criminal and civil settlements are the largest under FIFRA to date.United States. Environmental Protection Agency. [http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/bd4379a92ceceeac8525735900400c27/38045218faa33abe85257a72006bef1c!OpenDocument "Scotts Miracle-Gro Will Pay $12.5 Million in Criminal Fines and Civil Penalties for Violations of Federal Pesticide Laws"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130609091227/http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/bd4379a92ceceeac8525735900400c27/38045218faa33abe85257a72006bef1c!OpenDocument |date=June 9, 2013 }} "Press Release. September 7, 2012

Scotts has developed several genetically modified grasses, including herbicide-tolerant Kentucky bluegrass and creeping bentgrass. In 2007, the U.S. Department of Agriculture fined Scotts Miracle-Gro $500,000 when DNA from genetically modified creeping bentgrass was found within relative plants of the same genus, (Agrostis),{{cite journal | vauthors = Watrud LS, Lee EH, Fairbrother A, Burdick C, Reichman JR, Bollman M, Storm M, King G, Van de Water PK | title = Evidence for landscape-level, pollen-mediated gene flow from genetically modified creeping bentgrass with CP4 EPSPS as a marker

|journal= Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |volume=101 |issue=40 |pages=14533–8 |date=October 2004 |pmid=15448206

|pmc=521937 |doi= 10.1073/pnas.0405154101 |bibcode = 2004PNAS..10114533W | doi-access = free }} and other native grasses up to {{convert|21|km|mi|abbr=on}} from the test sites.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/07/business/energy-environment/cries-of-lax-regulation-after-usda-ruling-on-bluegrass.html?_r=2& |title=U.S.D.A. Ruling on Bluegrass Stirs Cries of Lax Regulation |last=Pollack |first=Andrew |date=July 6, 2011 |work=New York Times |access-date=February 26, 2015 |archive-date=January 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160120201137/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/07/business/energy-environment/cries-of-lax-regulation-after-usda-ruling-on-bluegrass.html?_r=2& |url-status=live }}

In 2001, Scotts was involved in a major dispute with nature conservation bodies and the UK Government about the future of several peat bogs in the north of England. Under pressure from the European Union the UK government moved to declare a number of peat bogs, covering an area of {{convert|4097|acres}} in Yorkshire and Cumbria, as Special Areas of Conservation, thus ending Scotts ability to harvest peat for their garden products. During the course of the dispute Nick Kirkbride, the then managing director of Scotts in Britain, described the peat bogs as having "no more conservation interest than a ploughed field".{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1316275/Supplier-fights-to-keep-mining-at-peat-bogs.html|title=Supplier fights to keep mining at peat bogs|editor=Charles Clover|date=April 15, 2001|via=www.telegraph.co.uk|access-date=April 5, 2018|archive-date=January 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180124070811/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1316275/Supplier-fights-to-keep-mining-at-peat-bogs.html|url-status=live}} The peat bogs were eventually saved from further destruction by the payment by the UK government of compensation of £17 million to Scotts for loss of the right to extract peat.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/feb/27/simonjeffery |title=Bogs to be preserved for peat's sake |first=Simon |last=Jeffery |date=February 27, 2002 |website=The Guardian |access-date=September 19, 2016 |archive-date=September 27, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927200828/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/feb/27/simonjeffery |url-status=live }}

In July 2018, Scotts collaborated with BuzzFeed Inc. to develop a subscription service called [https://lunarly.com Lunarly], which mails crystals, house plants, and other wellness items based on the lunar calendar.{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-16/buzzfeed-to-businesses-let-us-tell-you-what-millennials-want|title=BuzzFeed Will Tell You What Millennials Want, for a Fee|first=Gerry|last=Smith|date=November 16, 2018|website=Bloomberg|access-date=March 15, 2020|archive-date=September 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190904020733/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-16/buzzfeed-to-businesses-let-us-tell-you-what-millennials-want|url-status=live}} The joint effort with BuzzFeed's Product Labs, facilitated by ad agency MullenLowe U.S., is an attempt to make gardening popular among millennial women, thereby opening up avenues for the 150+ year-old company to make inroads with younger consumers.{{cite web|url=https://us.mullenlowe.com/14-noteworthy-media-agency-execs-bringing-fresh-perspectives-and-deep-insights-to-their-brands

|title=MullenLowe Mediahub In the News

|publisher=MullenLowe U.S. |date=May 13, 2019}} While reviews of the self-care boxes have been mixed,{{cite web |url=https://mashable.com/article/lunarly-self-care-subscription-box-review |title=Lunarly is the self-care box for people who are into crystals |first=Morgan |last=Sung |date=March 21, 2019 |website=Mashable |access-date=March 15, 2020 |archive-date=March 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200317171913/https://mashable.com/article/lunarly-self-care-subscription-box-review/ |url-status=live }} they have repeatedly sold out with over $1 million in incremental sales as of May 2019.

• 1914 – The O.M. Scott & Sons Company was incorporated
• 1992 – Scotts acquired Republic Tool & Manufacturing Company
• 1993 – Scotts acquired the Grace-Sierra Horticultural Products Company
• 1995 – Scotts merged with Miracle-Gro Products, Inc.
• 1997 – Scotts purchases Miracle Care Garden Ltd.
• 1997 – Scotts acquired Emerald Green Lawn Service, which would become Scotts Lawn Service in 1998.{{citation needed |date=February 2023}}
• 1997 – Scotts purchased privately held Levington Horticulture Ltd.
• 1998 – The company acquired 80% ownership of plant breeding company Sanford Scientific, Inc. (SSI).
• 1998 – Scotts acquired Rhône-Poulenc Jardin
• 1998 – Scotts acquired the Shamrock brand of U.K. and Irish peat products from Bord na Mona, Ireland.
• 1998 – Scotts enters into collaboration with the Monsanto Company
• 1998 – Scotts completes an acquisition with ASEF
• 1999 – Scotts completes agreements with Monsanto Company for exclusive U.S., Canada, U.K., France, Germany, and Australia agency and marketing rights to Monsanto's consumer Roundup herbicide products and for the purchase of the Ortho and related lawn and garden businesses.
• 2000 – Scotts acquires Substral. Scotts also purchases Smith & Hawken
• 2005 – Scotts acquires the Morning Song brand
• 2014 – Scotts Miracle-Gro sells wild bird food line to Global Harvest Foods Ltd.
• 2015 – Scotts Miracle-Gro buys General Hydroponics and Vermicrop Organics to move into the marijuana market, under the name Hawthorne Gardening Company
• 2015 – Scotts Lawn Service is merged with ServiceMaster's TruGreen lawn care service{{citation needed |date=February 2023 |reason=Other articles say the purchase was in April 2016}}
• 2016 – Scotts acquires Blossom, a California manufacturer of Internet enabled sprinkler systems.{{cite web |url=http://www.ocbj.com/news/2016/nov/14/lawn-device-startup-bought/ |title=Lawn Device Startup Bought |publisher=ocbj.com |date=November 14, 2016 |access-date=November 28, 2016 |archive-date=November 29, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161129100023/http://www.ocbj.com/news/2016/nov/14/lawn-device-startup-bought/ |url-status=live }}
• 2016 – Scotts acquires a minority share of Bonnie Plants.{{Cite press release|last=Company (The)|first=Scotts Miracle-Gro|date=March 2, 2016|title=ScottsMiracle-Gro Completes Minority Investment in Bonnie Plants|url=http://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2016/03/02/816152/0/en/ScottsMiracle-Gro-Completes-Minority-Investment-in-Bonnie-Plants.html|access-date=November 18, 2020|website=GlobeNewswire News Room}}
• 2017 – Scotts sells its European and Australian operations and brands to Exponent Private Equity LLP.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/09/05/scotts-finalizes-250m-european-business-sale-as.html|title=Scotts finalizes $250M European business sale as company focus turns inward|last=Konczal|first=Jeffry|date=September 5, 2017|work=Columbus Business First|access-date=May 8, 2019|archive-date=September 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907143029/https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/09/05/scotts-finalizes-250m-european-business-sale-as.html|url-status=live}}
• 2017 – Scotts acquires Can-Filters, a Canadian-based carbon filter manufacturer and fan wholesaler under their Hawthorne Gardening Co. brand.
• 2018 – Scotts Miracle-Gro announced its plan to acquire Sunlight Supply Inc., a hydroponics supplier, for $450 million in cash and stock.{{cite web |url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/scotts-miracle-gro-to-acquire-hydroponics-supplier-sunlight-supply-2018-04-17 |title=Scotts Miracle-Gro to Acquire Hydroponics Supplier Sunlight Supply |last=Cherney |first=Max |date=April 30, 2005 |website=MarketWatch |access-date=April 17, 2018 |archive-date=April 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180418005113/https://www.marketwatch.com/story/scotts-miracle-gro-to-acquire-hydroponics-supplier-sunlight-supply-2018-04-17 |url-status=live }}
• 2019 – Scotts sells its minority stake in TruGreen for $234 million.{{Cite web|url=https://www.lawnandlandscape.com/article/ll-032219-scotts-miracle-gro-sells-trugreen-stake/|title=ScottsMiracle-Gro sells TruGreen stake to retire debt|last=Castelli|first=Giovanni|date=March 22, 2019|website=Lawn & Landscape|language=en|access-date=May 8, 2019}}
• 2020 – Scotts acquires AeroGrow International lnc., a hydroponics maker.{{Cite web|title=Scotts Miracle-Gro completes acquisition of company that makes home-grow kits|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2020/11/23/scotts-miracle-gro-completes-aerogrow-acquisition.html|access-date=November 23, 2020|website=www.bizjournals.com|archive-date=November 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201123161729/https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2020/11/23/scotts-miracle-gro-completes-aerogrow-acquisition.html|url-status=live}}
• 2022 – Scotts acquires Luxx Lighting Co., A horticultural lighting maker.{{cite web|title=ScottsMiracle-Gro Acquires Luxx For $215 Mln|url=https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/scottsmiracle-gro-acquires-luxx-for-%24215-mln-buys-true-liberty-bags-for-%2410-mln-backs-fy21|website=www.nasdaq.com|access-date=January 5, 2022|archive-date=January 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105020934/https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/scottsmiracle-gro-acquires-luxx-for-$215-mln-buys-true-liberty-bags-for-$10-mln-backs-fy21|url-status=live}}

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

• AeroGrow
• Black Magic
• Blossom
• Botanicare LLC
• Bovung
• Can-Filters
• Earthgro
• Ecoscraps
• Gavita
• General Hydroponics
• Greendigs
• Greenlight
• Hawthorne Gardening Company
• Hyponex
• Lunarly
• Miracle-Gro
• Mother Earth
• Ortho
• Ortho Elementals
• Osmocote
• Scotts
• Scotts Lawn Service
• Supersoil
• TOMCAT
• Vermicrop Organics
• Whitney Farms

{{div col end}}

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

• Gavita Holland B.V.
• Pathclear
• Scotts Ecosense
• Weedol

{{div col end}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Official website|http://scottsmiraclegro.com//}}

{{S&P 400 companies}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scotts Miracle-Gro Company}}

Category:1868 establishments in Ohio

Category:Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange

Category:Horticultural companies of the United States

Category:Lawn care

Category:Manufacturing companies based in Ohio

Category:Manufacturing companies established in 1868

Category:Union County, Ohio

Category:1992 initial public offerings

Category:Companies in the S&P 400