The great turnaround

Photo courtesy of Jack Rabbit Nursery

The saying “things happen for a reason” rings true for Todd Morrow, owner of Jack Rabbit Nursery. Todd’s previous career in the medical devices field had him spending workdays in the operating room, when one day his brother asked to borrow money to start a nursery. While Todd was quick to help, success did not come to his brother as quickly. He wasn’t able to pay Todd back, and that’s how Todd ended up owning a 7-acre nursery in 2009. Todd has since grown the nursery to 58 acres in three locations and $8.5 million in sales.

“I knew nothing about growing plants or running a nursery,” Todd explains. “I kept working in the operating room from 5 a.m. until 2 p.m. to be able to pay the bills, and then went to work in the nursery in the afternoon and evenings.” Despite his hard work, success was hard to come by, and money dwindled quickly. But right when he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to make it, he was advised to grow ornamental grasses, which is when things turned around. What started with Miscanthus has since grown to a comprehensive ornamental grass program with approximately 100 species and varieties. Today, business is thriving. Todd was able to quit his “day job” nine years ago, and he hasn’t looked back since.

“I absolutely love what I do,” he says.

Todd credits part of his success to Emerald Coast Growers of Pensacola, Florida, whom he learned of 11 years ago at a trade show in Texas. He purchases ornamental grass liners from Emerald Coast Growers, with the exception of those that he propagates himself. “I needed a reliable supplier of top-quality liners because I couldn’t propagate everything myself,” Todd explains. “Emerald Coast Growers has a great selection, exceptional quality and outstanding customer service. They meet all of my needs. Their technical support has helped me tremendously and is always available when I have questions. My ornamental grass program wouldn’t nearly be where it is today if it weren’t for Emerald Coast.”

Jack Rabbit Nursery sells finished selections of groundcovers, grasses and shrubs to landscape contractors, retail nurseries and garden centers, with about 70% of sales to the East Coast, 25% in the Midwest and 5% to Texas. Jack Rabbit Nursery’s unsurpassed dedication to exceptional quality and personalized customer service is another parallel to Emerald Coast. Its staff of 38 people has decades of experience and pride themselves on the quality of plants they grow and service they provide. Each lot is hand-inspected before it leaves the nursery. Todd buys 38-count liner trays from Emerald Coast and pots them up to 1-gallon containers. While the majority of Jack Rabbit Nursery’s inventory is sold in 1-gallon pots, he also sells 3-gallon containers.

The relationship with Emerald Coast has worked out so well for both sides that Jack Rabbit Nursery is now one of the first who gets to trial their new introductions. “It’s been a pleasure working with Todd over the years, and I’m so impressed with how he’s taken the business to where it is today,” explains Katy Furnas, who manages outside sales for ECG. “Todd and his grower team have become a valuable resource for us when it comes to getting hands-on feedback on our plants’ performance in production and in the field.”

He’s looking forward to offering Emerald Coast’s new introductions for the 2024/25 season to his customers soon. While his final selection is not set in stone yet, he has eight new ornamental grasses to choose from for the 2024/25 season. Among them are standouts such as Miscanthus Morning Sun™, Schizachyrium scoparium Free Spirit® Exclamation Point® and the Dream Catcher series of Panicum.

“I know that Emerald Coast is always on top of industry trends and actively seeks out varieties that meet grower and consumer needs,” Todd says. “I don’t have to second-guess what they bring to market, and that level of reliability and trust is very important to me.”

Todd’s foray into the nursery business may have been accidental, but his success is anything but. The industry can expect to see much more of Jack Rabbit Nursery in the future.

For more: jackrabbitnursery.com; ecgrowers.com